Propane is explosive.
Somehow, for the last 63.7 years, this knowledge has largely
evaded me. At least in a personal sense.
No more.
Yesterday, I thought I might grill some salmon on a cedar
plank. Before final preparations on the
salmon, I pulled the cover off my barbeque grill, dragged the grill out from
where keep it under a portico on my back deck, and twisted open the valve on
the attached propane tank. A few minutes
later, with my salmon plank in hand, I stepped outside and headed to the grill.
On the right side of my grill is a metal work platform. On the left is an outside burner under a
metal lid that must be opened before burner use. When I reached the grill, I placed the plank
on the work platform, cranked open all four burners for inside the grill, and
punched the spark igniter.
WOOF!
A sort of mini atomic explosion mushroomed up on the left side of
the grill. Heat and flames enveloped my
left arm and brushed against my face. I
quickly reached down and turned off the burner valves. Only then did I notice I had somehow inadvertently
opened the valve for the outside burner when I pulled the cover off the grill several minutes earlier.
Thankfully, other than a few singed hairs on my wrist, I was fine.
After the incident, I got to thinking about how complacent we
become around all sorts of explosive stuff.
Not just barbeque grills. Gas
stoves. Heaters. Torches.
Even automobiles.
Lesson learned.
Next time I grill something, I will invite Kevin up for dinner and have him
start the grill.
—Mitchell Hegman
You do get your share of excitement! Please say hello to Kevin for me!
ReplyDeleteI do! I will!
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