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Post by wvengineer on Jul 13, 2014 0:22:08 GMT
My wife works not to far from the interstate. As she was leaving the building today, several very loud explosions came from the interstate behind her building. Turns out that a semi carrying a trailer load of cantaloups caught the trailer breaks on fire and the whole thing went up in flames.
Local news media is claiming that some of the explosions were the melons themselves blowing up.
So what would cause a cantaloup to blow up and how much force are we looking at?
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Post by silverdragon on Jul 13, 2014 6:20:13 GMT
"Loud" explosions....
From Fruit?....
If you were to say it was maybe the bandags air bag suspension going pop, then maybe.
If you were to suggest maybe there was mixed cargo, I can hold with that.
I could even say that a fire extinguisher going over heated pressurised pop may be loud.
If the fire had spread to the cab and fuel etc was going up.... of course.....
But Melons?....
Even with a tough skin one that maybe the water inside had built up a small head of steam, only a small "Splut!", a bit like popcorn levels....
The skin is not that tough that it could contain "Much" pressure.
Unless it was canned product?... they go off with a bang..... I have experience of that....
To be honest, that sounds to me like someone was withholding details of the exact nature of the cargo.
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Post by OziRiS on Jul 13, 2014 12:18:06 GMT
My wife works not to far from the interstate. As she was leaving the building today, several very loud explosions came from the interstate behind her building. Turns out that a semi carrying a trailer load of cantaloups caught the trailer breaks on fire and the whole thing went up in flames. Local news media is claiming that some of the explosions were the melons themselves blowing up. So what would cause a cantaloup to blow up and how much force are we looking at? My first thought was steam buildup too, but as SD says, it's much more likely that they would just rupture and let the steam out than actually explode. Maybe this should be posted as a myth idea? You say local news media reported that the cantaloups exploded? There must be something on the web about that you could link to. |
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Post by the light works on Jul 13, 2014 14:31:33 GMT
I like it.
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Post by wvengineer on Jul 14, 2014 0:04:33 GMT
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Post by the light works on Jul 14, 2014 0:12:42 GMT
also air cans for the air brakes, the air conditioning system, air springs, and several other things. |
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Post by wvengineer on Jul 14, 2014 0:19:26 GMT
www.facebook.com/Amanda.Mangan.NewsThis is from the Facebook page of a local radio host and what goes for a news source in this town. They have pictures posted there as well. And this is from her twitter account. Looks like this is where the exploding cantaloup originated from.
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Post by wvengineer on Jul 14, 2014 0:27:15 GMT
also air cans for the air brakes, the air conditioning system, air springs, and several other things.[/quote] From the pictures on the Facebook page, the fire seams to have been limited to the trailer, right over the wheels. So the tractor AC should have been unaffected, as well as the refrigerator on the trailer. However, there are reports of the firemen having to clean up spilled fuel. Maybe the fuel for the trailer refrigerator? |
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Post by wvengineer on Jul 14, 2014 0:48:03 GMT
Pictures of the fire
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Post by wvengineer on Jul 14, 2014 1:21:41 GMT
More pics.
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Post by the light works on Jul 14, 2014 1:49:15 GMT
the round cylinder under the trailer is the fuel for the refrigeration unit - my guess would be when the trailer frame collapsed, it landed on the tank and damaged a fuel line.
I still like the exploding cantaloupe idea. it sounds like fun.
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Post by silverdragon on Jul 14, 2014 8:05:24 GMT
I just spoke to someone I know, and asked him....
He has had a trailer fire.
He says he heard the tyres "Pop", and yes, that can sound like "Explosions" if you were not expecting it, the air suspension made a noise, and as said above, there were several pops from other bits....
His load at that time was Empty roll cage and a couple of pallets.
His brake fire was caused by one wheel brake seizing up at the end of a long downhill, so it was reckoned, he says it may also be debris from road that caused the seize...
The fire spread quickly, he stopped, pulled the pin, dropped the trailer and shot forward 100ft, so the fire didnt melt his cab... the suzies of course snapped as he didnt even try to take them off, but a new set of them are cheaper than a new cab?...
He has never heard of fruit exploding.
The trailer was a write-off, local fire got there as quick as you can, but even then, the damage to underneath was complete.
He is intrigued by this "Tall tale".
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Post by the light works on Jul 14, 2014 14:03:11 GMT
I just spoke to someone I know, and asked him.... He has had a trailer fire. He says he heard the tyres "Pop", and yes, that can sound like "Explosions" if you were not expecting it, the air suspension made a noise, and as said above, there were several pops from other bits.... His load at that time was Empty roll cage and a couple of pallets. His brake fire was caused by one wheel brake seizing up at the end of a long downhill, so it was reckoned, he says it may also be debris from road that caused the seize... The fire spread quickly, he stopped, pulled the pin, dropped the trailer and shot forward 100ft, so the fire didnt melt his cab... the suzies of course snapped as he didnt even try to take them off, but a new set of them are cheaper than a new cab?... He has never heard of fruit exploding. The trailer was a write-off, local fire got there as quick as you can, but even then, the damage to underneath was complete. He is intrigued by this "Tall tale". My grandfather's standard policy on brake fires was if the driver noticed an incipient brake fire, to, if he could safely do so, get off the brakes and try to "blow it out" - on the policy that if the driver stopped to try to fight the fire with an extinguisher, the truck or trailer would be a total loss. I would guess, knowing my grandfather, that the driver would have also gotten a quiet lecture on proper gear selection on downgrades. |
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Post by Cybermortis on Jul 14, 2014 18:44:11 GMT
{Moved to a new section on the Show Ideas forum - CM}
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Post by wvengineer on Jul 15, 2014 2:48:55 GMT
Just a generic truck question, does a driver have a way to release the trailer kingpin in an emergency from within the cab, or does he have to get out to pull the release and then hop back in to drive away?
Back to the original question, I was wondering, could burning the exterior skin of a melon create a better seal or somehow make the skin stronger so that as the inner moisture boils and turns to steam, it is able to build up more pressure than normal, thus a bigger pop when it finally does go?
Of course this puts a whole new spin on the old black, spherical bombs in the cartoons.
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Post by the light works on Jul 15, 2014 4:25:31 GMT
Just a generic truck question, does a driver have a way to release the trailer kingpin in an emergency from within the cab, or does he have to get out to pull the release and then hop back in to drive away? Back to the original question, I was wondering, could burning the exterior skin of a melon create a better seal or somehow make the skin stronger so that as the inner moisture boils and turns to steam, it is able to build up more pressure than normal, thus a bigger pop when it finally does go? Of course this puts a whole new spin on the old black, spherical bombs in the cartoons. normally the hitch has a mechanical release that is operated at the hitch. - which is typically not a problem since someone has to crank the landing gear, anyway. as for the fire hardened melon rinds; its a good question - and of course, why I like this myth - it is well outside normal parameters. |
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Post by silverdragon on Jul 15, 2014 6:31:59 GMT
Absolutely Not.
Even Shunter's, small cabs that ferry trailers around yards that lift the trailer front up rather than wind legs up, have separate controls outside the cab to unhitch the trailer.
[Or the ones I have driven are like that?....]
Some of the cabs have back door entry so the driver can go out the back of the cab unit to hitch/unhitch without dropping to the ground, but the pin on the fifth wheel is always separate from the driving position to stop accidents.
Dropping a trailer on the move is seen as about the worst thing you could do, its more than rookie crud, our whole job is moving trailers safely
There is more to unhitching than pulling the pin...
As TLW says, you have to wind the legs down, you also have to disconnect hoses and electrical lines, and pull the handbrake...
Thats a separate parking brake that stops the trailer moving when unhitched, just in case the main brakes have failed.
However, in emergency, drop the bloody thing and run.
"Blow it out" on brake fires, if you have a brake malfunction, unless you can be 100% sure the road ahead is clear, I always would opt for stop, because you can never be sure of a sudden outbreak of Idiot on the road ahead of you.
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Post by the light works on Jul 15, 2014 14:14:47 GMT
Absolutely Not. Even Shunter's, small cabs that ferry trailers around yards that lift the trailer front up rather than wind legs up, have separate controls outside the cab to unhitch the trailer. [Or the ones I have driven are like that?....] Some of the cabs have back door entry so the driver can go out the back of the cab unit to hitch/unhitch without dropping to the ground, but the pin on the fifth wheel is always separate from the driving position to stop accidents. Dropping a trailer on the move is seen as about the worst thing you could do, its more than rookie crud, our whole job is moving trailers safelyThere is more to unhitching than pulling the pin... As TLW says, you have to wind the legs down, you also have to disconnect hoses and electrical lines, and pull the handbrake... Thats a separate parking brake that stops the trailer moving when unhitched, just in case the main brakes have failed. However, in emergency, drop the bloody thing and run. "Blow it out" on brake fires, if you have a brake malfunction, unless you can be 100% sure the road ahead is clear, I always would opt for stop, because you can never be sure of a sudden outbreak of Idiot on the road ahead of you. If you have a malfunction, then you're probably stuck with it, anyway - but if the malfunction is being a gear too high, riding it out can result in less damage than stopping the truck - because you are not producing more heat in the brake. - and keep in mind my grandfather retired nearly 40 years ago, and traffic wasn't so dense back then. in either meaning. |
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Post by silverdragon on Jul 16, 2014 10:02:20 GMT
Ok, you are into "Depends" territory.
If the malfunction is not dangerous in any way, you roll with it until it either is or you can get it fixed.
If its any kind of hazard at all, I would stop and fix it.
However....
Windy Hill, I have mentioned this before, its a long steep motorway hill near me.
If I had a brake fire on that, chances of me stopping until I got to the bottom are slim anyway.
But I am aiming to stop anyway.
On a brake fire, I would be inspecting cold brakes before I moved on.
Fire damage to me is a terminal failure on brakes, if I have a fire, its a needs inspection before I would drive it again?...
"Smokin'..."
I have had times where the brakes have smouldered a bit....
But never actually on fire....
Yes, Traffic has changed in 40 years.
40 years ago, I used to enjoy driving.
20 years ago, things began to change for the worst....
People stopped being polite .
Not that you dont get good nice drivers any more, its just the law of average says more than likely the first stranger you meet is a twerp.
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Post by the light works on Jul 16, 2014 13:54:07 GMT
Ok, you are into "Depends" territory. If the malfunction is not dangerous in any way, you roll with it until it either is or you can get it fixed. If its any kind of hazard at all, I would stop and fix it. However.... Windy Hill, I have mentioned this before, its a long steep motorway hill near me. If I had a brake fire on that, chances of me stopping until I got to the bottom are slim anyway. But I am aiming to stop anyway. On a brake fire, I would be inspecting cold brakes before I moved on. Fire damage to me is a terminal failure on brakes, if I have a fire, its a needs inspection before I would drive it again?... "Smokin'..." I have had times where the brakes have smouldered a bit.... But never actually on fire.... Yes, Traffic has changed in 40 years. 40 years ago, I used to enjoy driving. 20 years ago, things began to change for the worst.... People stopped being polite . Not that you dont get good nice drivers any more, its just the law of average says more than likely the first stranger you meet is a twerp. by "malfunction" I was referring to something in the nature of a broken return spring, or something else that is causing the brake to drag. - in which case you would not be able to get off the brake. and yes, you would want to stop at the next opportunity - by my grandfather's belief was that if you try to brake to a stop to fight the fire, between the added heat from braking to a stop and the time it took to bail out of the cab and grab your extinguisher, the fire would have become large enough that the fire extinguisher would not stop it - whereas if you could stop generating more heat in the brakes, then whatever grease they caught on fire would not be able to sustain combustion - and you could let the truck coast to a stop at the bottom and call for the mechanics to come replace the hardware or tow the truck back to the shop. |
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