I Got an Ear Full

OkieFlyer

OkieFlyer

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Lindsay, OK
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Display name:
Andrew L.
of gasoline today!


I took my 55 gal. airplane gas drum to Love's today to get some fuel for the airplane. As I was filling, the drum, which is about head high in the back of my truck, the nozzle came out of the hole, doused the right half of my body from head to toe, and sprayed all over the ground before I could regain control. As I was putting the nozzle back into the drum, I realized that the thing has shot me right in the ear as it flew out, and the inside of my ear began hurt like the dickens. As the pain became unbearable, I glanced around an found a water hose with a spray nozzle on it. I stuck the nozzle tip in my ear and flushed it for a few minutes. The pain subsided pretty soon and I was able to finish up my transaction still soaked with gas. I went on home, jumped in the shower and further flushed my ear with water for several minutes. I think it'll be okay, but I guarantee you that's the first time I've ever heard of anyone shooting their ear full of gas.

The moral of the story: Don't be a dumbass :D
 
Good thing you didn't relieve your stress with a smoke. :)
 
I've felt the pain. A few years ago I was back seat in a Supercub with a guide buddy doing the flying as we looked for sheep in the Alaska Range. The plane was packed. Along the way my ass started to feel hot. I figured it was just the cushion so I shifted around often and all it did was get worse. I finally stuck my hand down to rub my butt and it got wet. WTF? It didn't take long to recognize that my ass, my clothes, and the seat were saturated with gas. It hurt, too. I told my buddy and down valley we went to the closest LZ we could get to. The wind was howling and not favorable but we both wanted out of the plane until we could fix the problem. As soon as both feet hit the dirt I stripped buck naked and found baby wipes in my gear to try to get the gasoline off. We found a gas can had worked under the seat and my weight bouncing on it had let fuel out the vent. We wrung out the seat and aired the plane, which was aided by the howling winds, and took back off. Scary stuff. Gasoline in your sensitive parts sure does hurt!
 
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Ouch! That does hurt.

I once had my foot get soaked while riding cross-country.
Pulled into a gas station and doused it with water as well as I could. Pain subsided, a bit. A week or so later, the skin peeled off in a sheet.

I hope your ear stays attached!
 
JoeSelch said:
Ouch! That does hurt.

I once had my foot get soaked while riding cross-country.
Pulled into a gas station and doused it with water as well as I could. Pain subsided, a bit. A week or so later, the skin peeled off in a sheet.

I hope your ear stays attached!
Click to expand...

Dang! I hope my eardrum doesn't peel. I'm hoping that getting it rinsed out within a minute or so will minimize any damage. Fingers crossed.
 
A friend of mine flew KC135 tankers for decades. He has a great story about getting himself, his co-pilot, and the whole cockpit doused, then doing an emergency landing with all electricals off. Seems the junior officer saw a valve and said, "what's this do?" D'OH :rolleyes2:
 
One time out in the field in Germany I was fueling up a M113 (armored personnel carrier) and the nozzle blew out of the fill tube, and I managed to completely soak myself with diesel fuel. I did have another uniform packed, but I had no access to a shower, or soap and water. That was a miserable week.
 
Yikes!! :(

Worst 100ll dousing I've had so far was last winter at a fuel stop I'd never used before. Managed to let the nozzle slip and got sprayed in the face and all over my coat. I wiped my face off right away and didn't suffer any (immediate) ill effects, but the smell coming from my coat made me pretty sick on the flight back. Luckily it was only a half hour flight back to home base and I had a spare coat in my car, but I was still smelling it for a couple of days afterward.

Since then I've been extra careful at the pumps, but some are so awkward to handle that it's bound to happen again eventually.

Hey, it could be worse. Think if you were a turbine driver...
 
There is some strange geometry to the filler neck on the Hughes 500. Not knowing this, as a brand new lineman during college at the local airport, I proceeded to let the thing blow out full bore and coat my entire front with Jet A, as well as a little getting into my mouth. That was really awesome. Jet A feels fantastic on your skin :)
 
Although not fuel related......
In high school I worked at jiffy lube. Y'all know those pump guns they use to fill oil and whatnot? Well on the day I knew I was quitting I went downstairs and had an all out battle with someone else who clearly didn't care about his job with the oil gun and transmission fluid gun. We were covered head to toe in that gunk. As funny as it was at the time, it was one of those things I wished I hadn't done.....really f-ing nasty. Pretty sure that sht got in my ears as well.
I have other awesome jiffy lube stories but I'll save them for a more appropriate thread.
 
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