Magnesium Car Parts Suck For Firefighters

"PatBateman" (PatBateman) 03/15/2020 at 09:30 • Filed to: None

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For our brave men and women in the fire service, there are a few sudden hazards that can arise with little to no warning. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and brush fire wind shifts can either ruin a day, maim, or even kill with ease . But a hidden danger is potentially lurking at even the most basic and routine automotive fire calls: major magnesium parts on our cars.

Most of you don’t know that I, before going into finance, was a firefighter for five years. The VERY FIRST car fire I went on as a cadet involved an old VW Bug in the parking lot of a Circle K convenient store . And boy, was it burning! “Fully involved”, as we might say. My Lieutenant threw on his gear WITHOUT a mask/SCBA (air tank), grabbed a hose, and marched confidently/haphazardly/moronically up to the fiery back of the Beetle. As soon as he opened the nozzle up on the inferno , the following basically happened (someone else’s video of someone else’s nonchalant death-defying screw up, same principle) :

BOOM went the magnesium engine block ! It sent the LT running away, unscathed only by the grace of God , and embarrassed that he didn’t know better. Witnessing that incident was a better learning event than any class or training activity I’ve ever gone to since. For the record, I’ve also seen the same thing happen with magnesium wheels (but with a better firefighting approach/no moronic attack).

The chemists reading this will know exactly why this happened, but for everyone else, let’s break this down to a very simple explanation as to WHY squirting water on a magnesium fire can be a bad thing: when magnesium (and all materials, really) gets hot enough, it releases flammable vapors that obviously combust at the proper temperature and mix of gases. When magnesium burns, however , it does so at temperatures as high as 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. When water hits the magnesium at this temperature, it splits the h ydrogen and o xygen apart. Hydrogen’s ignition point is 932º; combined with a fresh batch of newly-available oxygen, we get said BOOM.

So if water makes it explode, how would a fire department put out a fire like this? With ALL THE WATER. Literally, I mean. In order to put out any fire, you must lower the temperature and/or take away the oxygen. Emptying a fire truck’s tanks onto an engine block-sized magnesium fire will eventually lower the temperature of the fire and drown the fire out. From experience, it’s also the most entertaining fire to put out, considering we got a fireworks show to go along with the excitement of a car fire.

Magnesium is lighter than aluminum, which makes it still a favorite of auto manufacturers desperate to either increase the performance or efficiency of their vehicles by taking out every pound from curb weights that they can. From Chrysler Pacificas to Aston Martin Valkyries, F-150s to Mercedes AMG-GTs, magnesium is still being incorporated into both bodies and drivetrains. And that’s a net positive for us all, too!! The lighter the vehicle, the better!

Just be sure to keep back if it catches fire.

AestheticsInMotion > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 09:42

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What made you want to jump over to finance? 

Nibby > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 09:50

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how many ferraris did you have to put out

vondon302 > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 09:52

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Truth. I used to machine magnesium and a burning pile of magnesium scraps thrown into a kiddie pool will get the cops called on your house everytime.

Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 10:28

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We machined magnesium once at work and it was the most nervous we had ever been with our CNC lathe.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 10:41

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I remember my chemistry teacher burning a strip for us. It was quite exciting. 

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! 03/15/2020 at 11:02

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I think the statutes now require those CNC machines, when used on  Magnesium, to have full Industrial fire suppression. It’s damn hard to extinguish.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 11:03

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Porsche-VW famously used it in engine cases for awhile (boxers) but nobody’s using it for blocks are they?

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 03/15/2020 at 11:05

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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > AestheticsInMotion 03/15/2020 at 11:50

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He didn’t have enough boredom in his life. And the money was probably better. And he probably had a knack for it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 11:51

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Looks like he does exactly what you say: keeps dousing it until it’s cooled off. What about the fuel tank?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 03/15/2020 at 12:23

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My best friend is a firefighter. There is no shortage of reasons why one would rather move to finance.

bmil128 > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 12:58

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Formula One constructors experimented with magnesium chassis’ in the late 60's but abandoned it after Jo Schlesser and Piers Courage were killed in very fiery accidents.

jimz > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 13:15

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this wasn’t that long ago, about an hour and a half west of me.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/05/21/auto-supplier-plant-explosion-meridian/630049002/

DipodomysDeserti > PatBateman 03/15/2020 at 17:09

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My CL450s engine uses magnesium cases. I once thought my legs were on fire while riding it, but it was just the heat radiating off the asphalt on a particularly hot  day.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/15/2020 at 19:20

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Ugh. I'm bored of boring jobs. I guess the grass is always greener though... 

AestheticsInMotion > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/15/2020 at 19:20

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These are all good reasons5

PatBateman > AestheticsInMotion 03/16/2020 at 06:51

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More sanity/pay/life expectancy. 

PatBateman > Nibby 03/16/2020 at 06:53

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Amazingly, none.  A couple of Porsches, though.  

PatBateman > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/16/2020 at 06:56

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Unless it ruptures, the fuel tank isn’t the primary danger. If it gets hot enough for long enough , it MIGHT leak and exacerbate things, but usually they didn’t.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > PatBateman 03/16/2020 at 07:22

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Good morning Pat. Television always has the gas tank blowing up.

PatBateman > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/16/2020 at 09:18

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Indeed they do. It’s an extremely rare occurrence, and it’s usually from an alternative fuel source (LNG or Propane). Firefighters have more to worry about o a car fire call from the tires popping than they do from a fuel tank explosion.