Can a cigarette light a gasoline fire?

[jupiter57]

In my inquisitive years, I tried this.
I dropped a lit cigarette into a jar of gasoline, nothing.
I dropped one into a baking pan of gas, nothing.
I flicked the burning end off into the pan, scattering the "fire" of the cigarette,nothing.
I remember I tried everything I could think of at the time, but i was never able to ignite the gasoline with a lit cigarette.
But now, and ever since then, even after some 30 odd years, I don't take chances!

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: 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.

I have never in my life seen anyone pour gas out on the street. I have never seen a car leak gas on the street. But then again I'm only fifty years old so perhaps I'll see it happen before I die.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: 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.

I have never in my life seen anyone pour gas out on the street. I have never seen a car leak gas on the street. But then again I'm only fifty years old so perhaps I'll see it happen before I die.

On a trip back home I pulled up at a gas station where ther was a car filling up. It's owner was nowhere in sight and the auto shutoff apparently didn't trip so there was gasoline pouring out of the overfilled tank making a nice big lake in the middile of a 8 pump service island (it was later at night with few people around). I pulled over a WAYS away and ran up to the store to tell them to hit the shut off.

The woman (who's car it was) was in the store talking on her cell and browsing the asiles. She was very suprised to learn that the auto shutoffs don't ALWAYS work.

 

[ebaycj]

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

FTW

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: 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

Mythbusters also tested cigarettes on a puddle of gas; couldn't ignite the gas. They tried dropping the cigarette, placing the cigarette, and rolling the cigarette in the puddle, with no flames. They could only get it to ignite after dropping a burning piece of paper in the puddle. Jamie explains that theoretically it is possible because the ember burns at around 500 F, but they couldn't get the puddle to ignite because the ember only burns that hot when you are puffing on it.

 

[daveymark]

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