PLD
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Posts posted by PLD
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Oneness: Yep, precisely what I tried to do. I was flushing my x-jet line too. Normally, I wear leather gloves, but I had pulled them off cause I was rolling up.
The injury hurt like hell, but cleaning up all my gear (rinsing buckets, flushing lines) hurt worse. 3.0% NaHClO, house wash, and raw flesh just doesn't mix too well....
Alan: Nothing like that pic. Each spot looks more like blister (from working) that you didn't/couldn't take care of until after you had worked the skin off of it. Anyone who has ever done alot of hiking/walking in boots can appreciate finding a blister you knew you had but has seriously underestimated till you got your sock off.
It's more notable than painful. A little neosporin, some band-aids, and a few ouchies this week at work and I'll be good as new. If my meager pain causes someone to think twice and avoid a serious injury, I'd do it all over again. Ok, make that a definite "maybe".
Philip
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Beth,
Thanks for thinking about me. I'm fine really. It hurt like heck, but no serious trauma. I thought about a pic an figured that might ick-out some. I'll try and get a pic online.
Philip
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Guys,
I did a really stupid thing today and lived to tell about it. I share here, so the same thing may not happen to others.
I had finished a nice job in an excllent time. The homeowner was pleased and I was packing up when dumba** struck fast and hard. When finished, I always flush all my lines and my xjet hose, etc. Normally, I do this with my HP hose after everything has been shut down and the gun has been disconnected and lines decompressed. For some reason today (for just a millisecond) I equated X-jet with low pressure and placed my x-jet chem line to the tip of the x-jet and pulled the trigger (pump off). The static pressure cut lose, ripped the chem line from my hand, and ripped the flesh from 4 of my finger tips. (picture a 3rd degree burn with charred flesh gone). Fortunately, there was minimal injection and it was little more than a flesh wound. Aside from some very sore fingers and a few days of bandages and neosporin, I will be fine.
For those who would (correctly) label me a dumba**, don't be so quick to be self-righteous lest you suffer a similar fate. I have a degree in physics, and and a great deal of experience with energetic materials in my experimental rocketry background. I am (and was) completely aware of the potential energy involved. I was in a hurry, and expediency overcame intelligence and common sense for a mere 3 seconds. And I got hurt. I knew the instant I felt pain exactly what my error was. Take this to heart, and don't let it happen to you.
Philip
P.S. I'm going to cross post this to the other major BBS's so as many people as possible get a chance to read it.
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That would be an infestation of termites....
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I had this problem recently about 25 feet off the ground. I pulled back the siding to reveal a nice infestation. Most of the dirt in Ga is red clay, so if you're getting alot of clay more than a foot or so off the ground, worry...
Philip
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Do you have a Northern Tool locally? I have purchased their 3/8" 4kpsi hoses and found them to be good quality and reasonably priced.
Philip
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What do you do when a supply can't keep up with your pump requirements? It's coming up soon for me as I'm about to either add a 2nd 4 gal pump or upgrade to an 8gal unit.
I know you can buffer water/time with a tank, I'm looking for specifics. As in: Start with 350 on board, fill at 5gpm while you work, run for 115 minutes (max), finish by then or wait for a refill. If this is how you work, how do you determine when you tank is empty? Auto shutdown systems? Pump dry and then run to cut off the pump?
Speaking of pump damage. Has anyone connected a tank to their unloader to increase their no-damage closed trigger run time? Is it as simple as tank with an in and an out feed? Do you also run your supply into this tank with a float valve?
Philip
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SunBrite in North Atlanta offers a wood restoration class in May. I believe the details are on Delco's site. Tell Pete that I sent you.
Philip
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I assume you mean granulated pool chlorine? Liquid Cl in just about any concentration should provide enough cooling/buffering to prevent flames. Anyway, I used to do this as a kid for kicks. Put some pool shock in a tin can and add a spoonful of brakefluid. Set it somewhere in the yard at a safe distance, but in plain view of some unsuspecting victim. A few minutes later, dad (quietly mowing the lawn) nearly falls off the lawnmower when he sees a 3ft flame erupting from the bird bath.
Anyway, pre-teen pranks aside. It's extremely combustible, auto igniting, and will become explosive if contained. The time to erupt varies wildly with temperature and in the presence of contaminants. For that matter, compounds of oxidizers (like hypochlorite compounds) and any type of fuel (oil, brake fluid, etc) make a hazardous enerjetic mixture. Most solid rocket fuels are nothing more than an oxidizer suspended in a rubber fuel.
Brake fluid is particularly nasty because it contains sulfur compounds which destabilize the mixture and allow decomposition to begin. This decomposition liberates heat, which causes further decomposition. The ends result is a big hot fire that errupts with no warning.
The moral: Be very aware of oxidizers and their proximity to any type of fuel.
Very partial list
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Oxidizers:
sodium/calcium hypochlorite
Acids - oxalic, hydrochloric, HF.
Some ammonia compounds
Almost all nitrate compounds.
Fuels:
Wood, paper, oil, plastic, rags, etc.
i.e. Just about anything. In the presence of a strong oxidizer, even metal will burn as readily as gasoline...
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Look into any cable installers catalog. They sell a crossbow with a hard rubber bolt that is used for shooting pull string over drop ceilings, etc. That would work fine. Also, you can throw a spool of 3mm rope and use it to pull the main line.
Regarding rope. I recommend considering DYNAMIC rope over static. Dynamic rope (climbing rope)has a built in stretch (typically 10%) to absorb the energy of your fall. Static rope (rapelling rope) has less than 2% stretch and should be used with no slack and no fall distance. If you fall 5 ft and then get caught by a static line, you could still suffer a serious injury when the rope snaps taught. Think of having your fall broken by a driveway vs. bushes. On the other hand, falling off the edge of a 12 ft roof with 200 ft of dynamic line between you and the anchor would be bad too as it would stretch as much as 20ft before becong taught.
A cheap and easy way to protect your rope is to sleeve it with 1" tubular nylon. It is almost a perfect fit, will pass through a figure eight (but not an auto-belay/jumar), and can be packed with the rope. It also comes in any length you choose. We use it over sharp edges on the edges of cliffs.
Philip
Hand vs. X-Jet: The results
in Tools, Equipment & Basic Maintenance
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I found an article on injection injuries (below). I find it very interesting that injections injuries are rare in women. Are we really that dumb as a gender?
Philip
Copied from: http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic226.htm
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Background: A high-pressure injection injury should be considered a potential surgical emergency. Immediate decompression and thorough cleansing of the offending material from the tissue is required to preserve optimal function.
Pathophysiology: Acute injury is caused by introduction of a foreign material, under high pressure between 2,000 and 10,000 psi, into the poorly distensible digital or palmar tissues. The pathophysiology involves acute and chronic inflammation and foreign body granuloma formation. Damage results from the impact, ischemia due to vascular compression, chemical inflammation, and secondary infection. Highly viscous substances (eg, grease) require higher injection pressures than paint or solvents.
Fuel and paint injections lead to the most severe inflammatory response with a high incidence of subsequent amputation. Grease- and oil-based compounds may lead to oleogranulomas with chronic fistula formation, scarring, and eventual loss of digit function. For a photo demonstration of hydraulic injection injury, see farmedic.com.
Mortality/Morbidity: Overall incidence of amputation approaches 48%. Morbidity is dependent to a large degree upon the material injected. Paint solvents appear to cause the greatest damage and result in amputation in 60-80% of the cases. Grease, the more common injectant, causes a less severe inflammatory response. Amputation is necessary in about 25% of these patients.
***: These injuries are rare in women. Age: This injury usually occurs in young men while working, most often to their nondominant index finger. The average age at time of injury in one large review was 35 years (range 16-65 y). These injuries occurred to the nondominant hand 76% of the time.