Can a cigarette light a gasoline fire?

[James Bond]

In movies, they always have a badass dude toss a cigarette into a stream of gasoline to ignite a large fire. (Usual Suspects, etc).

One of my friends told me that cigarettes don't generate enough heat to ignite gasoline, and assured me that he had personally tested it.

Does anyone know if that is true?

 

[coolred]

I believe they tried that on mythbusters, and I don't think it was able to ignite the gasoline

 

[compnovice]

Try putting one in your gas tank

IMO, it will....

 

[Amused]

No. A lit cigarette cannot light gasoline on fire.

I was shown this way back as a teen when I worked at a gas station. The manager filled a dixie cup with gas, and doused his cigarette in it.

That freaked me out.

 

[FoBoT]

mythbusters did this as part of the exploding toilet myth

it think they found that it wasn't reliable, they had to use a match/open flame

but i don't recommend you rely on this for your own safety

 

[Midlander]

I have seen someone put out a cigarette by dunking it in gasoline. He did wait for a bit after he had taken a puff before extinguishing it, so I don't know if that amount of cooling made a difference.

 

[oCxTiTaN]

gasoline itself isn't flammable, it's the fumes so if you toss a cigarette into a bucket or puddle of gasoline it won't have the chance to actually light the fumes but instead get put out by the liquid gas...

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: compnovice
Try putting one in your gas tank

IMO, it will....

Your opinion would be wrong. The cherry of a cigarette is not hot enough to ignite gasoline.

 

[Skunkwourk]

only if you're having a freak gasoline fight with 3 of your buddies...

 

[randay]

try it and let us know!

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: randay
try it and let us know!

The next time I am around gasoline and a cigarette I will definitely be trying it for myself.

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: Eghck
only if you're having a freak gasoline fight with 3 of your buddies...

classic scene.

 

[Leros]

I would think a cigarette might be able to light the fumes in a can, but not a liquid filled container.

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: Eghck
only if you're having a freak gasoline fight with 3 of your buddies...

You know, there's more to life than being really really really good looking.

 

[GasX]

if you get enough fumes, yes

 

[illusion88]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
if you get enough fumes, yes

but this isn't about fumes, this is about liquid gas

 

[Freshgeardude]

Originally posted by: Eghck
only if you're having a freak gasoline fight with 3 of your buddies...

lol ahaha Zoolander

 

[foghorn67]

It's the fumes. I know people that aren't careful with fuel tanks that have been empty for months....Kablamo!

 

[Jahee]

Originally posted by: illusion88

Originally posted by: Mwilding
if you get enough fumes, yes

but this isn't about fumes, this is about liquid gas

lol!

 

[Minerva]

Gasoline has a sub 500°F ignition point. In the presence of sufficient oxygen and gasoline vapors, ignition can occur with a lit cigarette. When an idiot tosses one out their window at night and it flies into the road sending sparks everywhere those sparks could easily light gas that was poured on the pavement recently.

Fortunately things have to come together to have this happen. There's other ways to make sure the gas will blow if you must have it go off.

 

[artikk]

Originally posted by: illusion88

Originally posted by: Mwilding
if you get enough fumes, yes

but this isn't about fumes, this is about liquid gas

a gas isn't a liquid and vice versa. You were trying to specify that a cigarette wouldn't light gasoline in its liquid form.

 

[Zenmervolt]

It cannot ignite liquid gasoline.

It can, under the right circumstances, ignite the vapors that form just above a puddle of gasoline if there's not enough air circulation to disperse those vapors.

ZV

 

[BooGiMaN]

i think mythbusters also showed that you can not blow up a car by shooting bullets at its gas tank

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: Eghck
only if you're having a freak gasoline fight with 3 of your buddies...

Actually, I believe that was with a lighter.

But LOL anyway! I love that movie.

 

[TheChort]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
mythbusters did this as part of the exploding toilet myth

it think they found that it wasn't reliable, they had to use a match/open flame

but i don't recommend you rely on this for your own safety

I think the difference between this and the OP's example is the toilet is a pool of gasoline, and the cigarette dips into the pool, where there is no oxygen. But in the OP, the cig would rest on top of the stream of gasoline.

Just an observation