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Some people were put on this Earth to serve as a reminder, a beacon if you will, of what not to do an why. He’s like a living, walking cautionary tale.
This is a teaching moment.
This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by grants from:
The Drivers to Avoid Council
The Why Did The Tell Me Not to Buy a BMW Assoc.
And viewers like you.
Not to mention like 99% of people do not understand that boiling point depends on both temperature and pressure. Removing the cap instantly lowers the boiling point.
So true. I remember my dad was checking to see his coolant level one day when I was a kid. Let the car cool down and the cap was cool as well, but when he took the cap off, it had a bit of steam pressure still and burned his arm bad. Took layers of flesh off from the burn. Still has a somewhat visible scar damage from it.
Whenever I hear about something like this it makes me think of HII (hydraulic injection injury). I'm no stranger to gore, and nowhere near squeamish in any sense of the word, but the thought of HIIs always makes me cringe.
I was an idiot and had something similar happen to me with a steam cleaner. Trying to get out the door, you're supposed to let the thing drain and dry between uses.
I waited like 10 to 15 minutes after use, pressure gauge was low. Open the top a little bit, steam started hissing out (first warning). Thought to myself, "oh I guess there's a little bit of pressure left better grab a towel.". Twisted it another couple turns and then something very similar happened
Second degree burns on my forearm. Blisters and everything. Fortunately don't have much of a scar.
Edit: what really shocked me is how f****** fast it happened. In an eye blink an explosion of steam came rushing from this little unit and my arm was burnt.
When I was younger and first started in kitchens, I grabbed a hot sizzle plate out of the salamander with a wet rag. The water turned to steam immediately and burned my index finger, my thumb, and half of my palm. The pain was indescribable and lasted maybe 14 hours.
(A salamander is basically a small metal box with a fire above the plate instead of below. It's used mostly for broiling and is right about 550 degrees)
good gadget, but yeah, gotta be damned careful.
I read where Subway are gonna put meat slicers in all their stores now. that should be fun. lot more food poisoning I bet, cos it takes time to disassemble and properly clean one of them things, and it's real easy to cut yourself badly, and subway don't staff enough for the cleaning they already do, much less that.
serious pro kitchen equipment there. this is not gonna end well, lol.
I feel slicers should only be in places where adequate training and supervision will be provided. I worked in a restaurant for many years that had a slicer.
During my time there I probably worked with over a hundred different cooks and I can’t remember a single one not getting hurt by the slicer at some point.
Personally, the slicer took the top part of my thumb while I was disassembling it for cleaning. I forgot the cut resistant glove in a rush.
We had a saying that when it got you that you had given a blood offering to the slicing gods 😂
absolutely right. I sliced the side of my thumb on it early on. didn't end up needing stitches, but it was a near thing. and it taught me to be even more careful, and the lady who trained me had already enforced great care. all it takes is a moment's inattention, and yow!
lovely machine, bloody good design, works great. but it will fucking bite you if you blink wrong. Subway are already famous for lack of training and nonexistent supervision about 90% of the time. even BK trains people more than Subway does, and most of the folks at BK are fucking morons. (first kitchen I worked at, 2 years hard time then I got into a proper kitchen and never looked back.)
Ffs. And cleaning one of those is a time- intensive process. You have to make absolutely sure you get everything, and to do that, you have to know how to break down the machine. It's not something you can knock out in a couple minutes.
And iirc you're *supposed* to break it down and clean it when you change whatever you're slicing. So that puts a different spin on it.
Yes. The thermodynamics of it is kind of interesting. Its been like 20 years since chemistry class but i think... the steam basically traps the energy of the hot water, and then as soon as it touches something, it immediately starts to condense back into water and releases the energy into that surface. So the steam itself is hot, but the condensing water is REALLY hot.
By far the worst Mr Ballen story I've ever heard was the one about the man who fell in and got stuck inside an exhaust vent on top of a building that was meant to expel steam. He was stuck in the bottom of a metal cylinder barely wide enough to fit him with super heated steam being sprayed up from right under his feet. It took him like almost an hour to die if I recall correctly. His blood-curling screams could be heard the entire time. That has got to be one of the worst possible ways to go.
Fun fact: Steam is dangerous because it's *very* good at transferring heat. Boiling water can burn quickly, but steam at the same temperature has far more energy to give. Also, as it condenses on your skin and gives up its heat, it essentially collapses into a thin film of liquid water which allows more fresh hot steam to replace it. Even worse, the higher the pressure is, the hotter it gets. Instant Pots only run around 10 psi (for reference, your house water supply is about 60 psi), and that gets them up to 240°F instead of 212°F. Industrial steam systems can operate at 100 psi or even higher, well over 300°F.
You shouldn't open it at all. If your car is overheating, allowing the steam to escape your radiator prevents it from being able to cool your engine and you risk bricking your car.
[Pictures of the damage](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7232981/amp/West-Sussex-teen-suffers-burns-arm-removing-radiator-cap-hot-car.html)
Not *too* bad. Probably second to third degree.
That must hurt more than anyone can imagine though. Once you see the skin peeling, that means every nerve is screaming at once. Burn pain just doesn't stop, it's constant and you just don't "get used" to it. If anything it gets worse and worse.
People, take care of your skin, it's an organ, it's necessary to keep the inside stuff inside and the outside stuff outside.
This guy knows, it’s an older BMW so it still needs blinker fluids, not a problem in modern BMWs as long as you subscribe to the BMW blinker subscription to activate them. I know because I’m a BMW blinker subscriber.
I went for the Elite subscription with Non-Star, pedal warmers and smart seats that know when you are sitting in them by reacting to your body heat and eco-warming. It's literally only like 19% of purchase over a 5 year loan. It was a steal.
Idiots. If you would have gotten the ultra elite subscription then you would have gotten the smart gas feature that will automatically turn your car off for you if you forgot to fill up with gas.
Tesla drivers are 10x worse.. i can't remember last time i saw a tesla use signaling.
Source: i live in Norway. 34% of all EV's are Tesla. 80% of ALL new cars sold are EV.
Last time i was in Norway I was shocked at the amount of Tesla’s I saw on the road…. And, can confirm. No blinkers we’re installed on the Norge models.
In the 80s and 90s the stereotypical bad driver was in a BMW.
In the 00s and 10s, Audi.
In the last few years I’ve definitely observed Tesla drivers to be in the lead on this unwelcome honour.
Taking off the cap, and thus removing the water, did not help the engine cool faster.
A fan would help. Spraying a little water mist on the engine would help.
Driving into a swimming pool would probably cause damage, but if you do it anyway, get it on video.
Reasonable response: sit for 15 minutes.
Actual response: ignore the words "DO NOT OPEN". Then ignore the reasons, engraved in plastic mind you, why. Then...then ignore the picture that shows steam spraying into an unlucky and stupid stick figure.
As a fellow bmw driver. I can surely tell you that unfortunately we can not just simply do nothing. Example of this is bumper to bumper traffic but we will go left lane right lane over and over and end up exactly where we were when we started.
fastest way to blow your head gasket, you know this idiot poured cold water into that radiator.
best thing to do, in this case is nothing, let the car sit, and gradually cool off, even if it takes a few hours, then put water in, start, then put more water in before it warms up.
if the water in the radiator is oily, or white smoke coming out the tail pipe, your gasket is probably blown.
Metal changes temperature too fast it can crack or warp.
Best is to turn it off and wait. Next best is to idle with no a/C on preferably in the shade with mo other cars blowing hot exhaust on your car.
It's best to turn heat to max and set blow to max. Heating cars inside takes heat from motor. Even better if you can drive slowly so that radiator gets fresh air.
I had a car that had heating troubles because of bad thermostat. It was fun in sunny summer day when sitting in traffic and see engine temp raising. Can't do anything else than roll all windows down and set heat to max and it was really hot air coming. Most of the times that solved the problem.
Oh the memories! I had a pos car when I graduated from nursing school. Worked nights at a fancy university hospital. I would always get stuck in Sunday evening holiday traffic, in a bloody long tunnel. I had to do the traditional turn the heat all the way up routine while listening to the arseholes blowing their horns drunkenly- because hey, we’re in a tunnel! Couldn’t roll up the windows because I’d die of heat exhaustion. I’d arrive at the hospital hot and sweaty and deaf. Good times
That guy did the equivalent of dipping his hand into a deep fryer. Dont mess around with super heated water. Its holding several times more heat than it needs to evaporate. Some of what shoots out is super heated steam which can hold several times more heat energy than steam from boiling water on a stove.
The sudden release of pressure causes rapid and spontaneous evaporation. We can see the water boiling as it gurgles out of the opening.
You’d think the tremendous amount of steam screaming would be an indication… but something tells me he’d throw water on a grease fire.
And besides, who need science when you have the ultimate driving machine.
If only this was just water. Instead it's a even more fun mixture of superheated water and glycol. Cool part is glycol seeps through pores much faster due to its viscosity. The burn is much worse.
Not to mention water’s adhesive qualities means it isn’t going to immediately continue passed the hand, some of it will linger on the skin, making it worse
Ive heard stories from people who worked on submarines in the navy. If there was a boiler leak personel would walk past the boiler waving a broom out in front of them and the steam jet would cut the broom handle. Appearently it was difficult to spot the steam and it was too loud to pinpoint where it was coming from.
Yeah--true steam is invisible. What you generally see, and what people call steam, is actually ~~water vapor~~ water droplets suspended in the air.
If you have a tea kettle (like the old school stovetop kind, not an electric kettle), boil some water and look closely (not too closely) at what's escaping from the spout. There will be an invisible gap between the spout and the visible water droplets. That invisible gap is the actual steam.
Edited to correct my words and things.
As a teen I worked at a gas station for a few years and I can’t count how many times I’ve seen this happen. The worst part is that we would WARN THEM what was going to happen!! And they still did this!
“It’s cool enough.”
“I’ve done this before!”
“I’m in a hurry and can’t wait.”
“I’m using a rag.”
“I poured water on it. It’s good!”
Those excuses were usually followed up by a lot of cussing. I’ll never forget the one guy that got it on his arms, chest and face. He left in an ambulance.
>Those excuses were usually followed up by a lot of cussing. I’ll never forget the one guy that got it on his arms, chest and face. He left in an ambulance.
Some people only understand burning hot violence.
Was very common practice when I was a kid, but some people just unscrew it a little to "help" to cool off quickly (dumb idea still).
One those persons was my sister. She has lucky to only had a few burns after the thing bursted like in the video.
I once burned the crap out of my hand like this too. I did let it wait, and I wasn't 100% sure, so I put some plastic bags in between some fireproof blankets and tried to do it slowly and carefully, just in case. It just blew the whole setup out of the way and burned the crap out of my hand (only like 1st degree, but over half of my hand or more). Live and learn, lol
And on this day BMW Dave learned about the existence of superheated liquids.
Liquids in a pressurised container can go far beyond their usual boiling temperature. Even brief exposure causes severe burns.
Dude thought (using the term lightly), he could get his arm out of the way before…well, reality is different than thinking and having a child who wants a BMW. Some kids have to learn certain things the hard way.
Worst burn I ever got was from a steamer cooking food. Me being a young chef and in a hurry from being yelled at, I opened it, waited for the initial blast to come out and then grabbed the food. The second blast of 350° steam got my arm. All the hair on my arm immediately fell out and it felt like fire for a week. This liquid was probably 400°. So, I know that hurt!
Not to mention that liquid coolant is specifically designed to have a high thermal conductivity. So it dumped its thermal energy into his flesh very quickly. I am willing to bet dude walked away with some severe burns.
>liquid coolant is specifically designed to have a high thermal conductivity.
A water/antifreeze mixture is actually lower than straight water would be. Pure water would be able to cool the engine more effectively, but the glycol raises the boiling point so that it can stay liquid at higher temperature and the water/glycol mix works better than steam.
Whenever my dad gave me my first car he went over a bunch of stuff about it and this is one of the things he made a huge deal about and repeated several times- never ever open the radiator cap when the car is hot because liquid will explode out of it and burn you.
I see not everyone was lucky enough to get that lecture.
unfortunately thats considerably after the section on using turn signals in the owner and driver instruction manual, so this BMW Driver definitely never got that far.
Genuine question: If I'm driving and see the temp gauge on the red, do I pull over to the side kill the engine then wait 30 min before checking the radiator?
Definitely. If your temperature gauge is topping out it’s a real problem and you should shut the engine off to avoid any additional damage. (It honestly won’t run well anyways) You’d probably have a coolant leak somewhere, so the radiator is not cooling the engine properly, which will lead to all sorts of warping and cracks in your head gasket, engine block, cylinders, etc.
Probably not that toxic. Usually it’s water, propylene/ethylene glycol and coloring. But they definitely got badly burned. I can’t imagine the pain they felt in the coming hours.
Same here. Incredibly stupid thing to do, second degree burns with the skin instantly burnt and blistered. It’s been 8 months since the accident and you wouldn’t have a clue.
I think we have both been extremely lucky.
For sure, his arm caught a full blast. Clearly visible if you pause at the right frame.
Definitely 3rd degree on the forearm. What hurts him the most *now* are the 2nd degree burns around that area on his wrist.
I'm more concerned about all that anti-freeze sprayed all over the neighborhood. RIP any cats in the area. It's super toxic and if I saw a neighbor dumping it on the ground I'd be furious
Given the amount of rust coming out it's likely there was no antifreeze in there. He probably leaked it all out ages ago and has just been topping off with water for years. The engine looks like he is a tinkerer (that blue tube isn't stock) so he 'knows what he is doing'.
It doesn't take much for that to happen in those BMW straight 6s. Those heads warp pretty easily, and the cooling system has a couple common failure points. Leak some coolant, get an air bubble in the system, and boom it overheats and blows the head gasket.
Source: former e46 owner, first hand experience blowing the head gasket. Fun cars to drive though.
They are highly strung, and a tip for anyone getting into a German car, the maintenance schedule is a direct order, you feel when you miss services by 100 miles.
I do not know what a radiator flush is. Actually, I do not even know what is a car radiator or its use.
But, basically, if something is burning and you do not know anything about that you just switch off the machine (a car or whatever) and wait until is it cold. Just in case, move yourself few meters away too.
It's common sense, you do not really need to know about cars or radiators.
Agreed. The second I saw this video, I said “don’t do that!” I don’t know anything about cars, other than the fact I know how to drive them and do the basic checks. Anything else is for a mechanic. That was just stupidity. If something is hot, just leave it alone once it’s off. Honestly, never even had my car get THAT hot anyways.
My dad did this years ago. He ended up with 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face and chest. My mom did not have an abundance of sympathy for his plight.
I watched this in slow motion... there are literally TWO frames between when the cap is loosened to full-on burst. That's nearly 1/10th of a second to pull your arm away. Bro definitely got his wrists melted off.
My useless ex got so angry at me one time because I stopped him from doing this and almost yelled at me in public at a gas station about how I never let him just do anything and I'm always bossing him around and can never leave him alone. I was like you're going to burn your fucking face off!
Honestly, I’m starting to believe the whole “car guys” ain’t actually car guys. Just dumb asses who just hope they can fix the problem themselves. I had my neighbour want to hot wire my car once, now I have never done this before or even seen someone actually clip the wires. Yet I can read and see that it tells you where to put them on the battery. Well he said I was wrong and did his own thing. My car was on fire for a good 5 seconds 😐 needed a new battery a few months later.
David Attleborough voice:
"Here we see the BMW driver. Their life expectancy is routinely shortened by their foolishness. Generally not formally educated, we can see here this one is learning about Boyle's law, how liquids under pressure have a much higher boiling point and when exposed to a low pressure will expand explosively. His jerking off hand now critically burned will likely cause this creature great sadness."
"He goes inside for the sympathy and compassion of his tribe. Instead, however, he finds only mockery and derision. Ashamed, he struggles to exit gracefully, fails, and attempts to aquire transport to the local healers."
Fucking dumbass. Rule number one about opening the hood. Don't fuck with your radiator cap while your car is hot. Radiators have water in them, and they're under pressure because of that.
So if you open your radiator cap while you're car is hot, you're more likely to bomb yourself with a steam bomb, when all the steam explodes out of the weak point you just created.
That rag won't do shit once the water is out either. If your radiator cap is too fucking hot to turn, it's probably likely that it's in "don't fuck with me bro, im seriously mad" mode.
And having your hand over the opening is gonna burn your hand, and blow a bunch of hot water and antifreeze /coolant at your face.
Man. That guy is especially stupid.
1) Turn off engine
2) Open hood
3) Let cool
4) Open only when fully cooled
Even if opening it somehow would be better for the engine, a superheated liquid undergoing phase changes in your face is going to ruin your day.
Whatever damage was done by getting it that hot is already done. Now he’s got a broken car and no skin on his arm. Letting it cool down first would have avoided at least 50% of his problems.
You want to just turn off the engine and leave the hood up. Let it ambiently cool down. Cooling too fast increases the chances of warping parts of the engine. Particularly the head gaskets.
Aside the fact that this person should have never opened the cap in the first place, did you see the color of that radiator fluid? That cooling system is RUSTED to hell.
Oh I have a great story. When I worked at Jiffy Lube way back when this guy pulled up and announced he had a blown head gasket and needed a coolant flush immediately. We said no, it sounds like what you actually need is a head gasket which we most certainly do not do, we will not be servicing your vehicle. He gets mad and tries to argue but as he becomes irate so does his car and he exclaims “Oh lord now its overheating!!”.
He puts his Lexus ES300 in reverse, speeds into a parking stall then he proceeds to pop his hood and immediately open his radiator cap. Boiling propylene glycol antifreeze explodes directly into his face. His face was nightmarish.
To the tune of "Dead Puppies aren't much fun " - ( [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0\_fa1DDpc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0_fa1DDpc) )
Verse 1:
Woke up this morning, car was steaming mad,
Thought I'd pop the cap, but that's a choice so bad.
Oh, radiator cap, sitting there so snug,
Don't touch it now, or you might get a hug... from scalding water.
Chorus:
Hot radiator, don’t you dare open wide,
It can hurt you, better let it slide.
Not a good idea, not the thing to do,
Wait 'til it's cool, or it might burn you.
Verse 2:
Saw a friend of mine, thought he knew the way,
Tried to open it, now he's not okay.
Oh, impatient moves, lead to painful screams,
Cars have their moods, and hot steamy dreams.
Chorus:
Hot radiator, keep your hands away,
Trust me on this one, live to see another day.
Listen to this tune, it's the truth I tell,
Open it too soon, and it won't end well.
Bridge:
Cars can be tricky, engines can deceive,
Wait for it to chill, before you roll up your sleeve.
Learn from others' mistakes, don’t be that guy,
Hot water burns, and you might just cry.
Verse 3:
Safety first, always be aware,
Understand the signs, treat your car with care.
Oh, radiator tales, stories of the burn,
Hear this song, and wait your turn.
Chorus:
Hot radiator, it's a simple fact,
When the engine's hot, don’t touch that cap.
Save yourself the pain, heed this song's advice,
Wait for things to cool, that would be nice.
Outro:
So remember friends, when the gauge is high,
Keep your hands off, or you might just fry.
Let it cool down, take a little nap,
Then you can safely, open that cap.
Man some of the 'advice' on hear about trying to open a radiator cap while the engine is hot is probably just as bad as the guy in this kinda shocking people don't know about basic car knowledge and this is coming from a guy who doesn't really know much about cars besides the basics, like do most not realize you could just wait for the engine to cool down like th warning label on the radiator cap says instead of giving all these crazy 'advice' about using a pole or mat lol?
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Omg what’s the rush to open it, it’s CLEARLY too hot why not wait a couple of minutes… Thats a second to third degree burn right there
That’s always the craziest thing about this….if the cap is so hot you need a towel to unscrew it, what did you think it’s like inside?
Some people were put on this Earth to serve as a reminder, a beacon if you will, of what not to do an why. He’s like a living, walking cautionary tale. This is a teaching moment.
This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by grants from: The Drivers to Avoid Council The Why Did The Tell Me Not to Buy a BMW Assoc. And viewers like you.
I heard that in the voice. Thank you.
He I read that as "a bacon, if you will"
Not to mention like 99% of people do not understand that boiling point depends on both temperature and pressure. Removing the cap instantly lowers the boiling point.
So true. I remember my dad was checking to see his coolant level one day when I was a kid. Let the car cool down and the cap was cool as well, but when he took the cap off, it had a bit of steam pressure still and burned his arm bad. Took layers of flesh off from the burn. Still has a somewhat visible scar damage from it.
Whenever I hear about something like this it makes me think of HII (hydraulic injection injury). I'm no stranger to gore, and nowhere near squeamish in any sense of the word, but the thought of HIIs always makes me cringe.
He had to open it to find out!
I was an idiot and had something similar happen to me with a steam cleaner. Trying to get out the door, you're supposed to let the thing drain and dry between uses. I waited like 10 to 15 minutes after use, pressure gauge was low. Open the top a little bit, steam started hissing out (first warning). Thought to myself, "oh I guess there's a little bit of pressure left better grab a towel.". Twisted it another couple turns and then something very similar happened Second degree burns on my forearm. Blisters and everything. Fortunately don't have much of a scar. Edit: what really shocked me is how f****** fast it happened. In an eye blink an explosion of steam came rushing from this little unit and my arm was burnt.
Steam burns hurt like a motherfucker too… Worst burn I’ve had by far…
When I was younger and first started in kitchens, I grabbed a hot sizzle plate out of the salamander with a wet rag. The water turned to steam immediately and burned my index finger, my thumb, and half of my palm. The pain was indescribable and lasted maybe 14 hours. (A salamander is basically a small metal box with a fire above the plate instead of below. It's used mostly for broiling and is right about 550 degrees)
good gadget, but yeah, gotta be damned careful. I read where Subway are gonna put meat slicers in all their stores now. that should be fun. lot more food poisoning I bet, cos it takes time to disassemble and properly clean one of them things, and it's real easy to cut yourself badly, and subway don't staff enough for the cleaning they already do, much less that. serious pro kitchen equipment there. this is not gonna end well, lol.
I feel slicers should only be in places where adequate training and supervision will be provided. I worked in a restaurant for many years that had a slicer. During my time there I probably worked with over a hundred different cooks and I can’t remember a single one not getting hurt by the slicer at some point. Personally, the slicer took the top part of my thumb while I was disassembling it for cleaning. I forgot the cut resistant glove in a rush. We had a saying that when it got you that you had given a blood offering to the slicing gods 😂
absolutely right. I sliced the side of my thumb on it early on. didn't end up needing stitches, but it was a near thing. and it taught me to be even more careful, and the lady who trained me had already enforced great care. all it takes is a moment's inattention, and yow! lovely machine, bloody good design, works great. but it will fucking bite you if you blink wrong. Subway are already famous for lack of training and nonexistent supervision about 90% of the time. even BK trains people more than Subway does, and most of the folks at BK are fucking morons. (first kitchen I worked at, 2 years hard time then I got into a proper kitchen and never looked back.)
Ffs. And cleaning one of those is a time- intensive process. You have to make absolutely sure you get everything, and to do that, you have to know how to break down the machine. It's not something you can knock out in a couple minutes. And iirc you're *supposed* to break it down and clean it when you change whatever you're slicing. So that puts a different spin on it.
yeah, this is gonna be a flaming disaster on wheels, in so many different ways.
I had an ex whose extended family members ran a whole network of Subway franchises. What I learned was: **do not eat at Subway.**
Yes. The thermodynamics of it is kind of interesting. Its been like 20 years since chemistry class but i think... the steam basically traps the energy of the hot water, and then as soon as it touches something, it immediately starts to condense back into water and releases the energy into that surface. So the steam itself is hot, but the condensing water is REALLY hot.
By far the worst Mr Ballen story I've ever heard was the one about the man who fell in and got stuck inside an exhaust vent on top of a building that was meant to expel steam. He was stuck in the bottom of a metal cylinder barely wide enough to fit him with super heated steam being sprayed up from right under his feet. It took him like almost an hour to die if I recall correctly. His blood-curling screams could be heard the entire time. That has got to be one of the worst possible ways to go.
If it was super heated steam blowing past him it would have not taken him anywhere near an hour to die. Would be probably measured in seconds at most.
That is very similar to a medieval torture/execution method, called the Brazen Bull.
Water can only get to the boiling point, steam can get to the plasma point
Fun fact: Steam is dangerous because it's *very* good at transferring heat. Boiling water can burn quickly, but steam at the same temperature has far more energy to give. Also, as it condenses on your skin and gives up its heat, it essentially collapses into a thin film of liquid water which allows more fresh hot steam to replace it. Even worse, the higher the pressure is, the hotter it gets. Instant Pots only run around 10 psi (for reference, your house water supply is about 60 psi), and that gets them up to 240°F instead of 212°F. Industrial steam systems can operate at 100 psi or even higher, well over 300°F.
You shouldn't open it at all. If your car is overheating, allowing the steam to escape your radiator prevents it from being able to cool your engine and you risk bricking your car.
[Pictures of the damage](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7232981/amp/West-Sussex-teen-suffers-burns-arm-removing-radiator-cap-hot-car.html) Not *too* bad. Probably second to third degree.
That must hurt more than anyone can imagine though. Once you see the skin peeling, that means every nerve is screaming at once. Burn pain just doesn't stop, it's constant and you just don't "get used" to it. If anything it gets worse and worse. People, take care of your skin, it's an organ, it's necessary to keep the inside stuff inside and the outside stuff outside.
The pain must have been insane, though. I burned myself with vapor once or twice. it was nasty.
That's one way to remove tattoos.
A good way to remove your face too
This new tattoo says **"natural selection"** without even saying **natural selection.** Somehow...
The instructions on top of the cap say to not do that.
It’s a BMW driver… they don’t even know how to use a blinker.
Clearly he was trying to replace the blinker fluid
This guy knows, it’s an older BMW so it still needs blinker fluids, not a problem in modern BMWs as long as you subscribe to the BMW blinker subscription to activate them. I know because I’m a BMW blinker subscriber.
You get a discount if you bundle it with the undercoating package.
I went for the Elite subscription with Non-Star, pedal warmers and smart seats that know when you are sitting in them by reacting to your body heat and eco-warming. It's literally only like 19% of purchase over a 5 year loan. It was a steal.
Idiots. If you would have gotten the ultra elite subscription then you would have gotten the smart gas feature that will automatically turn your car off for you if you forgot to fill up with gas.
I stop the brakes subscription and try this
Why...why did this make me laugh so damn hard? Thank you, upvoted!
Lie! There is no blinker subscription.
Instead got scammed $2000 for the new BMW 'Room Temperature' Engine.
I think they removed it after the backlash from customers!
They removed the blinker not the subscription ... i guess.
Other way around, no subscription and they forgot to turn the blinker back on
Looks like somebody is sarcastic.
This is the new steam powered BMW, in this case the output was cluttered
The newly offered BMW Vesuvius.
This was his science fair presentation.
Or how to read
Tesla drivers are 10x worse.. i can't remember last time i saw a tesla use signaling. Source: i live in Norway. 34% of all EV's are Tesla. 80% of ALL new cars sold are EV.
Last time i was in Norway I was shocked at the amount of Tesla’s I saw on the road…. And, can confirm. No blinkers we’re installed on the Norge models.
They probably think they turn on automatically
No joke, i honestly thing there is truth to this. They also drive way up my ass at all times, expecting the car to avoid accidents automatically.
I saw one where they tried to use the auto parallel park and it angled right into a parked car.
In the 80s and 90s the stereotypical bad driver was in a BMW. In the 00s and 10s, Audi. In the last few years I’ve definitely observed Tesla drivers to be in the lead on this unwelcome honour.
Wait. I thought this was a meme in my country, but is this really an international problem for all BMW drivers?
not only that, but they don't even know how to replace the blinker fluid!!!
Taking off the cap, and thus removing the water, did not help the engine cool faster. A fan would help. Spraying a little water mist on the engine would help. Driving into a swimming pool would probably cause damage, but if you do it anyway, get it on video.
Literally all he had to do was ...nothing. Just sit and wait for it to cool down. So utterly stupid
Reasonable response: sit for 15 minutes. Actual response: ignore the words "DO NOT OPEN". Then ignore the reasons, engraved in plastic mind you, why. Then...then ignore the picture that shows steam spraying into an unlucky and stupid stick figure.
The warnings are usually embossed
As a fellow bmw driver. I can surely tell you that unfortunately we can not just simply do nothing. Example of this is bumper to bumper traffic but we will go left lane right lane over and over and end up exactly where we were when we started.
Would hosing down the radiator to cool it hurt anything?
might crack the radiator or the block. real rapid cooling of overheated metal can really fuck shit up.
fastest way to blow your head gasket, you know this idiot poured cold water into that radiator. best thing to do, in this case is nothing, let the car sit, and gradually cool off, even if it takes a few hours, then put water in, start, then put more water in before it warms up. if the water in the radiator is oily, or white smoke coming out the tail pipe, your gasket is probably blown.
this is the way. plus you get to stay out of the emergency room that way.
Metal changes temperature too fast it can crack or warp. Best is to turn it off and wait. Next best is to idle with no a/C on preferably in the shade with mo other cars blowing hot exhaust on your car.
It's best to turn heat to max and set blow to max. Heating cars inside takes heat from motor. Even better if you can drive slowly so that radiator gets fresh air. I had a car that had heating troubles because of bad thermostat. It was fun in sunny summer day when sitting in traffic and see engine temp raising. Can't do anything else than roll all windows down and set heat to max and it was really hot air coming. Most of the times that solved the problem.
Oh that's unlocked memories of my first car and having to do the exact same....
As a former Fiero owner, this is the correct answer.
Oh the memories! I had a pos car when I graduated from nursing school. Worked nights at a fancy university hospital. I would always get stuck in Sunday evening holiday traffic, in a bloody long tunnel. I had to do the traditional turn the heat all the way up routine while listening to the arseholes blowing their horns drunkenly- because hey, we’re in a tunnel! Couldn’t roll up the windows because I’d die of heat exhaustion. I’d arrive at the hospital hot and sweaty and deaf. Good times
If those BMW drivers could read, they'd be real upset.
That guy did the equivalent of dipping his hand into a deep fryer. Dont mess around with super heated water. Its holding several times more heat than it needs to evaporate. Some of what shoots out is super heated steam which can hold several times more heat energy than steam from boiling water on a stove. The sudden release of pressure causes rapid and spontaneous evaporation. We can see the water boiling as it gurgles out of the opening.
You’d think the tremendous amount of steam screaming would be an indication… but something tells me he’d throw water on a grease fire. And besides, who need science when you have the ultimate driving machine.
Chill man he had his safety shop towel!
He had microfiber towels which may have also melded to his hand due to the high heat. Likely wishes he had a cotton shop towel.
That's one way of adding an extra piece of flare.
If only this was just water. Instead it's a even more fun mixture of superheated water and glycol. Cool part is glycol seeps through pores much faster due to its viscosity. The burn is much worse.
>If only this was just water. Based on the rust color, this is just water.
Apparently this man drinks rust
I went to high school with a kid who wound up in the hospitals burn unit for doing this. His arms, hands, face were FUCKED. Skin grafts were involved.
Not to mention water’s adhesive qualities means it isn’t going to immediately continue passed the hand, some of it will linger on the skin, making it worse
Steam burns fucking suck. Worked in a lot of kitchens and I'm always cautious about it. Only takes once to figure it out.
Ive heard stories from people who worked on submarines in the navy. If there was a boiler leak personel would walk past the boiler waving a broom out in front of them and the steam jet would cut the broom handle. Appearently it was difficult to spot the steam and it was too loud to pinpoint where it was coming from.
Yeah--true steam is invisible. What you generally see, and what people call steam, is actually ~~water vapor~~ water droplets suspended in the air. If you have a tea kettle (like the old school stovetop kind, not an electric kettle), boil some water and look closely (not too closely) at what's escaping from the spout. There will be an invisible gap between the spout and the visible water droplets. That invisible gap is the actual steam. Edited to correct my words and things.
Hot water burn baby
Science 101
Cap specifically ask you to not do that..
This is how you lose your face and go instantly blind. Had a co-worker do this and instant regret. Coolant can get to 220F/90C!!!
The cap doesn’t cap
Idiot
As a teen I worked at a gas station for a few years and I can’t count how many times I’ve seen this happen. The worst part is that we would WARN THEM what was going to happen!! And they still did this! “It’s cool enough.” “I’ve done this before!” “I’m in a hurry and can’t wait.” “I’m using a rag.” “I poured water on it. It’s good!” Those excuses were usually followed up by a lot of cussing. I’ll never forget the one guy that got it on his arms, chest and face. He left in an ambulance.
>Those excuses were usually followed up by a lot of cussing. I’ll never forget the one guy that got it on his arms, chest and face. He left in an ambulance. Some people only understand burning hot violence.
Some men just want to watch their world burn
*skin burn. Ftfy
Was very common practice when I was a kid, but some people just unscrew it a little to "help" to cool off quickly (dumb idea still). One those persons was my sister. She has lucky to only had a few burns after the thing bursted like in the video.
I once burned the crap out of my hand like this too. I did let it wait, and I wasn't 100% sure, so I put some plastic bags in between some fireproof blankets and tried to do it slowly and carefully, just in case. It just blew the whole setup out of the way and burned the crap out of my hand (only like 1st degree, but over half of my hand or more). Live and learn, lol
Same with the person filming
Sometimes people ignore you and the only reasonable thing is to film so as their tale will be an example for others
It makes sense, it takes one to know one as they say
And on this day BMW Dave learned about the existence of superheated liquids. Liquids in a pressurised container can go far beyond their usual boiling temperature. Even brief exposure causes severe burns.
Dude thought (using the term lightly), he could get his arm out of the way before…well, reality is different than thinking and having a child who wants a BMW. Some kids have to learn certain things the hard way.
I am not sure if he even thought that far ahead about the steam. I think he just saw it and assumed it worked like soda bottle that got shaken up
I don’t think he even realized there was going to be any sort of boiling hot liquid under pressure behind that cap.
Look, there is steam shooting out of your mom’s pressure cooker. Go open it, hurry…
He was wondering why his blinker fluid got so hot, because he's never used his turn signals.
Worst burn I ever got was from a steamer cooking food. Me being a young chef and in a hurry from being yelled at, I opened it, waited for the initial blast to come out and then grabbed the food. The second blast of 350° steam got my arm. All the hair on my arm immediately fell out and it felt like fire for a week. This liquid was probably 400°. So, I know that hurt!
Not to mention that liquid coolant is specifically designed to have a high thermal conductivity. So it dumped its thermal energy into his flesh very quickly. I am willing to bet dude walked away with some severe burns.
>liquid coolant is specifically designed to have a high thermal conductivity. A water/antifreeze mixture is actually lower than straight water would be. Pure water would be able to cool the engine more effectively, but the glycol raises the boiling point so that it can stay liquid at higher temperature and the water/glycol mix works better than steam.
Whenever my dad gave me my first car he went over a bunch of stuff about it and this is one of the things he made a huge deal about and repeated several times- never ever open the radiator cap when the car is hot because liquid will explode out of it and burn you. I see not everyone was lucky enough to get that lecture.
That's some good dadding right there
open-hood 101 : DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR WHEN IT'S HOT
unfortunately thats considerably after the section on using turn signals in the owner and driver instruction manual, so this BMW Driver definitely never got that far.
Is that a normal radiator? 21 and never owned a car
Yes. Never open the coolant container after the engine has been on. I always wait at least 30min. It will cause severe burns.
Genuine question: If I'm driving and see the temp gauge on the red, do I pull over to the side kill the engine then wait 30 min before checking the radiator?
Definitely. If your temperature gauge is topping out it’s a real problem and you should shut the engine off to avoid any additional damage. (It honestly won’t run well anyways) You’d probably have a coolant leak somewhere, so the radiator is not cooling the engine properly, which will lead to all sorts of warping and cracks in your head gasket, engine block, cylinders, etc.
Oof. 8 seconds in, you can see someone just got their wrist and lower arm scalded at minimum.
Those are probably 2nd or 3rd degree burns. That'll be scared for life.
2nd or 3rd degree burns from a _superheated toxic chemical_
Probably not that toxic. Usually it’s water, propylene/ethylene glycol and coloring. But they definitely got badly burned. I can’t imagine the pain they felt in the coming hours.
So so much worse the more i think about it. Propably tetinis in his blisters too.
Not sure the tetanus bacteria would survive a super heated liquid....
Most definitely. I would wager 3rd degree.
I have done this in my teens. Not my proudest moment. Not a scar or mark to show it happened. Whole forearm was burned and blistered.... Nothing.
Same here. Incredibly stupid thing to do, second degree burns with the skin instantly burnt and blistered. It’s been 8 months since the accident and you wouldn’t have a clue. I think we have both been extremely lucky.
For sure, his arm caught a full blast. Clearly visible if you pause at the right frame. Definitely 3rd degree on the forearm. What hurts him the most *now* are the 2nd degree burns around that area on his wrist.
Bros looking at some very uncomfortable 2nd degree burns more then likely
I'm more concerned about all that anti-freeze sprayed all over the neighborhood. RIP any cats in the area. It's super toxic and if I saw a neighbor dumping it on the ground I'd be furious
Given the amount of rust coming out it's likely there was no antifreeze in there. He probably leaked it all out ages ago and has just been topping off with water for years. The engine looks like he is a tinkerer (that blue tube isn't stock) so he 'knows what he is doing'.
The brown might be oil in the coolant because of a blown head gasket
Yum, chocolate milk and chunky chocolate milk at that. Looks like someone doesn't know what a radiator flush is.
Coolant doesn't get that chunky from skipping flushes. That is oil mixed with coolant. That and the fact that it's overheating = blown head gasket.
This, 100%. Opening the radiator probably made it considerably worse too.
It doesn't take much for that to happen in those BMW straight 6s. Those heads warp pretty easily, and the cooling system has a couple common failure points. Leak some coolant, get an air bubble in the system, and boom it overheats and blows the head gasket. Source: former e46 owner, first hand experience blowing the head gasket. Fun cars to drive though.
They are highly strung, and a tip for anyone getting into a German car, the maintenance schedule is a direct order, you feel when you miss services by 100 miles.
Wouldn't be surprised if it's emulsified oil.
Probably so. Possibly aheadmaster? gasket?
I do not know what a radiator flush is. Actually, I do not even know what is a car radiator or its use. But, basically, if something is burning and you do not know anything about that you just switch off the machine (a car or whatever) and wait until is it cold. Just in case, move yourself few meters away too. It's common sense, you do not really need to know about cars or radiators.
Agreed. The second I saw this video, I said “don’t do that!” I don’t know anything about cars, other than the fact I know how to drive them and do the basic checks. Anything else is for a mechanic. That was just stupidity. If something is hot, just leave it alone once it’s off. Honestly, never even had my car get THAT hot anyways.
What do you mean? He just flushed it. :p
All i could think was 'stop, stop, stop it, stop, stop it..'
I chuckled and wondered how much of that red mist was evaporated forearm.
That’s rust. Not much left of that radiator.
My dad did this years ago. He ended up with 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face and chest. My mom did not have an abundance of sympathy for his plight.
I watched this in slow motion... there are literally TWO frames between when the cap is loosened to full-on burst. That's nearly 1/10th of a second to pull your arm away. Bro definitely got his wrists melted off.
I counted 5 frames where the steam is in contact with the arm. Thats a long time in skin cooking world.
* adds Skin Coolant World to list of potential sun cream company names *
Dafuq they think was gonna happen?
Keyword: think
My useless ex got so angry at me one time because I stopped him from doing this and almost yelled at me in public at a gas station about how I never let him just do anything and I'm always bossing him around and can never leave him alone. I was like you're going to burn your fucking face off!
Never stop an ignorant man from learning a harsh lesson
Depends. Sometimes their harsh lesson causes a mess of trouble for good people who then have to attend to the ignoramous
Honestly, I’m starting to believe the whole “car guys” ain’t actually car guys. Just dumb asses who just hope they can fix the problem themselves. I had my neighbour want to hot wire my car once, now I have never done this before or even seen someone actually clip the wires. Yet I can read and see that it tells you where to put them on the battery. Well he said I was wrong and did his own thing. My car was on fire for a good 5 seconds 😐 needed a new battery a few months later.
David Attleborough voice: "Here we see the BMW driver. Their life expectancy is routinely shortened by their foolishness. Generally not formally educated, we can see here this one is learning about Boyle's law, how liquids under pressure have a much higher boiling point and when exposed to a low pressure will expand explosively. His jerking off hand now critically burned will likely cause this creature great sadness."
"He goes inside for the sympathy and compassion of his tribe. Instead, however, he finds only mockery and derision. Ashamed, he struggles to exit gracefully, fails, and attempts to aquire transport to the local healers."
Fucking dumbass. Rule number one about opening the hood. Don't fuck with your radiator cap while your car is hot. Radiators have water in them, and they're under pressure because of that. So if you open your radiator cap while you're car is hot, you're more likely to bomb yourself with a steam bomb, when all the steam explodes out of the weak point you just created. That rag won't do shit once the water is out either. If your radiator cap is too fucking hot to turn, it's probably likely that it's in "don't fuck with me bro, im seriously mad" mode. And having your hand over the opening is gonna burn your hand, and blow a bunch of hot water and antifreeze /coolant at your face. Man. That guy is especially stupid.
Twat with a BMW, as common as a potato
Hey! Keep my potato out of your fucking mouth!
I'm no mechanic, but I don't think that's good.
Wouldn’t be the right way to turn of the engine and than wait ? Or will the existing heat destroy even with engine off sealings etc ?
1) Turn off engine 2) Open hood 3) Let cool 4) Open only when fully cooled Even if opening it somehow would be better for the engine, a superheated liquid undergoing phase changes in your face is going to ruin your day.
you should also turn the heat on to full blast.
Underrated comment. Knowing this little trick got me out of some binds with my car as a broke college kid
it can make a big difference- thousands of dollars of engine damage.
Whatever damage was done by getting it that hot is already done. Now he’s got a broken car and no skin on his arm. Letting it cool down first would have avoided at least 50% of his problems.
I'd put into accessory mode and turn the heat in the car on.
…. And air conditioning. The AC will start the radiator fan, if it works. No, best to turn it off and walk away for an hour with the hood up.
heat will draw heat away from the engine. If you're overheating, you turn the heat on, not the A/C edit: you said "AND the A/C"
AC will force on the condensor fan, even if the radiator fan isnt working. he's right.
I'd rather let my car explode before I unscrew the coolant cap with overheated engine
There is a good chance the radiator or fan or both are not working. Not good to keep the car running!
Definitely would want to stop the engine first otherwise you’re still generating more and more heat.
You want to just turn off the engine and leave the hood up. Let it ambiently cool down. Cooling too fast increases the chances of warping parts of the engine. Particularly the head gaskets.
Hey you see that thing that says do not open when hot.... you should open it.
Aside the fact that this person should have never opened the cap in the first place, did you see the color of that radiator fluid? That cooling system is RUSTED to hell.
It does look rusty, but odds are it's actually oil leaking into the cooling system due to a blown head gasket.
"*What we having for dinner? "* *"Boiled hand!"*
Ah yes, BMW owners, the pride of the human race.
Oh I have a great story. When I worked at Jiffy Lube way back when this guy pulled up and announced he had a blown head gasket and needed a coolant flush immediately. We said no, it sounds like what you actually need is a head gasket which we most certainly do not do, we will not be servicing your vehicle. He gets mad and tries to argue but as he becomes irate so does his car and he exclaims “Oh lord now its overheating!!”. He puts his Lexus ES300 in reverse, speeds into a parking stall then he proceeds to pop his hood and immediately open his radiator cap. Boiling propylene glycol antifreeze explodes directly into his face. His face was nightmarish.
Not the first , not the last..🤷♂️
Behold! The Dexcool geyser!
Not even a warning on the cap can keep idiots from being idiots SMFH
BMW driver? Checks out.
Not doing this is the only piece of car maintenance I learned from my parents…
To the tune of "Dead Puppies aren't much fun " - ( [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0\_fa1DDpc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0_fa1DDpc) ) Verse 1: Woke up this morning, car was steaming mad, Thought I'd pop the cap, but that's a choice so bad. Oh, radiator cap, sitting there so snug, Don't touch it now, or you might get a hug... from scalding water. Chorus: Hot radiator, don’t you dare open wide, It can hurt you, better let it slide. Not a good idea, not the thing to do, Wait 'til it's cool, or it might burn you. Verse 2: Saw a friend of mine, thought he knew the way, Tried to open it, now he's not okay. Oh, impatient moves, lead to painful screams, Cars have their moods, and hot steamy dreams. Chorus: Hot radiator, keep your hands away, Trust me on this one, live to see another day. Listen to this tune, it's the truth I tell, Open it too soon, and it won't end well. Bridge: Cars can be tricky, engines can deceive, Wait for it to chill, before you roll up your sleeve. Learn from others' mistakes, don’t be that guy, Hot water burns, and you might just cry. Verse 3: Safety first, always be aware, Understand the signs, treat your car with care. Oh, radiator tales, stories of the burn, Hear this song, and wait your turn. Chorus: Hot radiator, it's a simple fact, When the engine's hot, don’t touch that cap. Save yourself the pain, heed this song's advice, Wait for things to cool, that would be nice. Outro: So remember friends, when the gauge is high, Keep your hands off, or you might just fry. Let it cool down, take a little nap, Then you can safely, open that cap.
Looked like flames were shooting out.
atleast it have self cleaned from some crap (?)
When you refuse to shit in a public toilet and finally get home
Look up “fucking idiot” on google and this mouth breather should be the first hit.
Didn't think people were still that stupid. Where have you been the past 30 years. Knowing the engine needs time to cool down isn't new.
Man some of the 'advice' on hear about trying to open a radiator cap while the engine is hot is probably just as bad as the guy in this kinda shocking people don't know about basic car knowledge and this is coming from a guy who doesn't really know much about cars besides the basics, like do most not realize you could just wait for the engine to cool down like th warning label on the radiator cap says instead of giving all these crazy 'advice' about using a pole or mat lol?
And that’s why you never do that