Any of you tong throwin' roughnecks ever had a truck keep running after it was shut off due to high levels of natural gas in the air out in the field? I have heard many stories......
Mark

 

if the concentration was high enough for a compression engine to continue running, dont you think the personnel would be overcome and pass out?

 

I know nothing about oil fields except that alot of diesel engines in oilfields get air shut offs for that basic reason.

 

That would seem to confirm the myth. Anybody seen it happen?

 

It is not a myth. It happens in the petrochemical industry all to often. It is called Diesel runaway.

 

i saw a truck on ebay that spun to the moon till the clutch/flywheel blew up, it was in a paint booth. i am sure they would un away around some of the gas plants i have been around.

 

My brother in law was running a D7 Cat. He hit a natural gas line. The motor took off, he tried shutting it off even rapped his coat around the intake. The motor revved so high it broke.

 

Years ago I saw a cherry picker get a snootfull of ethylene. It idled way up but the cloud was gone before it did damage.

 

This explains it well.
http://www.amotusa.com/Z_Dead%20Datasheets/4261.asp

 

I have one on my truck, legislated for me to work on sites in the province of Alberta.

IF you don't believe it, check out the news for that huge refinery explosion in Houston last year. It levelled a few blocks of process equipment and was all sourced back to a Ford Service truck parked near a vessel that ran away.

BOOM....

I don't recall if there were fatalities or not.

 

I've seen runaways with the hummers we use... Smothered air, cut fuel, punched holes in the oil pan... nothin. I think that if we took the oil away faster it would have stopped, but I'm not sure. Hard to stop these Cummins when they want to run. Bout the only thing that I know of that will stop them is a fire extuingusher in the intake.

 

I have also heard that trucks will start up by themselves in the field after they are turned off. Harder to believe for sure, but possible....???

 

Yep, I've personally had to do it. Had one of our road drivers come in once with a blown seal in his turbo. He shut her down, but the truck continued to run on its own motor oil. SHot a fire extinguisher in the turbo and that did the trick.

I've also heard of trucks starting by themselves from people who *claim* to have witnessed it first hand. Sounds a little far-fetched to me, but I suppose if conditions were absolutely perfect it may be possible.

 

How would they start on their own?

 

That's a good question. I cannot see it hapening, unless someone left the ignition on and the truck started rolling in gear...??? Not unless there was some MAD static electricty that jumped the starter....???