[RE-wrenches] Snowman Armed with Solar Powered Flamethrower

Joel Davidson joel.davidson at sbcglobal.net
Mon Jan 12 11:51:49 PST 2009 

Hi Matt,

Reflected sunlight is powerful. I did not see fire, but I did see charring of the wood boardwalk and heard reports of "some smoke" in the incident mentioned in 
http://www.awci.org/cd/pdfs/8907_d.pdf 
"Reflective glass can occasionally be too effective. During a recent summer day in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a mirrorlike wall of reflective glass on one of the new casinos caused the wooden boardwalk to catch fire."

Joel Davidson
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Matt Lafferty 
  To: 'RE-wrenches' 
  Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 11:33 PM
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Snowman Armed with Solar Powered Flamethrower


  Wrenches,

  Thanks for the great notes, guys.  On and off-list.

  For the record, I first ran across this about a week ago doing some research into how many fires are attributed to or otherwise related to solar.  This was spurred by the recent hot-topic related to the inaccurate and misleading article on the firefighter's website.  I happened to be applying various search techniques that were in the "How To Do Online Research" powerpoint that Joel D offered and sent.  Thanks Joel!  

  Of course my twisted sense of humor thought it was hilarious at the time, especially in light of the research I was working on.  When it was included in the monthly list of "recalled consumer items" in this morning's paper, I figured it had to be a sign.

  A couple of notes that I think are interesting &/or important here:

  1)  As witnessed by Travis & Todd's experiences, intensified sunlight can be hazardous.

  2)  Considering the amount of solar, thermal & PV, that is out there and the number of years that it has been, I found surprisingly little in the way of reported "fire caused by solar" incidents.  My research has Hallmark as the leading manufacturer with two in this statistic.  I'll put a caveat of "so far" on the end of that.  Hope it stays that way.

  3)  Keep in mind that, fire + solar in the same article do not mean "solar caused fire".  In fact, it does not even mean there is or was a fire... Or necessarily even have anything to do with solar.  Solar Car catches fire (caused by overcharged batteries); SolarFire (astrology software); Solar Projects Catching Fire (headline of an article in a NC newspaper. Article was about the booming solar business).

  4)  A great many incidents are not reported in places reached by the WWW.  I personally know of several structure fires that have occurred on buildings that have PV systems on them.  In these cases, the fires were not related to the PV, and the PV did NOT get in the way of the firefighters. These cases did not turn up in my searches.  The reality is that there would not be a reason for the PV system to have been mentioned in a typical blotter story.  Unfortunately.  

  You see, the way I look at it is this:  The stories need to be told. Truthfully and wholly.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Maybe if these things were better tracked, there would be less likelihood of future "experts" spreading falsehoods in the name of "saving firefighters".

  We all need to understand how the work we do today affects somebody down the road.  Are firefighters being overly protective?  Are solar installers doing dangerous work or installing in a manner that poses undue risks to firefighters?

  I can't really tell ya based on the statistics.  Or maybe I can.  X # of PV systems deployed over Y # years with 0 structure fires caused by PV reported?  X # of PV systems deployed over Y # years with 0 times that firefighters report being impeded by the PV system.  Which is what I started out looking for in the first place.  I found Frosty instead.

  Would love to get into the archives on that "secret list" to see what they have to say about solar and their experiences there.

  $0.02001

  Matt Lafferty
  gilligan06 at gmail.com



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Travis Creswell
  Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 11:51 AM
  To: 'RE-wrenches'
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Snowman Armed with Solar Powered Flamethrower


  Before we get told to stop telling stories I have got to tell this one...

   

  I have a solar cooker made by ZomeWorks.  It's about 4' diameter reflector on stand with hole in middle and you set your pot in the hole.  I used to keep it on my patio until I came home one day and noticed a 1" deep x 1" wide x 8" long scorch burned into one of the 4x4 posts.  Apparently the wind had blown the cover off and moved the reflector into just the right position.  How my entire porch didn't catch on fire and take my house with it I don't know but needless to say it got put inside from that point on.

   

  Travis

   


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Todd Cory
  Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 1:31 PM
  To: gilligan06 at gmail.com; RE-wrenches
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Snowman Armed with Solar Powered Flamethrower

   

  It is wise to consider the power of the sun. I used to keep a gallon jug of water in my work truck for drinking. One day I noticed it had magnified the sun and burned a long hole in the seat. I am lucky it did not start the truck on fire!

  Todd



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