Solar Panel Fire Sale

[o1marc]

So I burned a bag of kitchen trash earlier in my fire pit. Went upstairs on the deck and watched it burn down some and then went to watch some TV. A little while later I hear this big BOOM. I get up to see what's up. walk out on the deck and see my whole back yard up in flames. I run down grab the hose and the first thing I notice is my pallet of solar panels is engulfed in flames and there's a big puddle of silver on the ground and they are popping and cracking. I start to fight the fire before it burns down my racecar trailer again (happened 2 years ago, undetermined), got the new turn signal, but not the tires this time. Last time it toasted everything but the frame.
Here's the sour grapes- I didn't like the size of those anyway, would rather have smaller one. $750 down the drain. Now I need to sell a both propane tanks just to break even. Seems the Fire Marshall will visit me tomorrow to give me an award.

[jazty]

Wow, sorry to hear about the loss! Could have been much worse, though.
I'm sure that situation got the heart pumpin'.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by o1marc

So I burned a bag of kitchen trash earlier in my fire pit. Went upstairs on the deck and watched it burn down some and then went to watch some TV. A little while later I hear this big BOOM. I get up to see what's up. walk out on the deck and see my whole back yard up in flames. I run down grab the hose and the first thing I notice is my pallet of solar panels is engulfed in flames and there's a big puddle of silver on the ground and they are popping and cracking. I start to fight the fire before it burns down my racecar trailer again (happened 2 years ago, undetermined), got the new turn signal, but not the tires this time. Last time it toasted everything but the frame.
Here's the sour grapes- I didn't like the size of those anyway, would rather have smaller one. $750 down the drain. Now I need to sell a both propane tanks just to break even. Seems the Fire Marshall will visit me tomorrow to give me an award.

When I was a kid my friend and I stuffed a couple hundred of those little Black Cat fireworks in a rotten stump in his front yard and lit them off. We got bored after a while and went inside to play, although we could still hear some going off. At five his dad came running in the house: "WHAT THE **** DID YOU DO?!?!" We had set fire to the lawn - there was like a 50' diameter ring of fire slowly spreading outwards from the stump.

[joeblack5]

Oh man that sucks..what a shame of the panels..did you leave the starter fuel close by... Do not get the big boom.. There is not a whole lot to burn on solar panels.

Good luck. Johan

[weboughtabus]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Oh man that sucks..what a shame of the panels..did you leave the starter fuel close by... Do not get the big boom.. There is not a whole lot to burn on solar panels.

Good luck. Johan

If the hand truck had pneumatic tires, that could have been the cause of the boom. The heat makes the air in the tires expand and then, eventually, the tire blows. Was across the street from a truck fire and the same thing happened to the front tires. Everyone was panicking thinking the whole truck had just blown up but I had read that the tires usually go first and it wasn't that massive of a sound.

[o1marc]

I'm sure the boom was a 5ga. plastic jug when the fire reached the trash heap on the hill. The tires were solid I believe.