First, to answer a question with a question:

Have you read the the recent reports of serious incidents with petrol and it's vapour?

I think there are no legalities with carrying a generator apart from using one in a generator free zone...There are legalities carrying petrol however, the container has to be "approved" and cannot be in a postion where it could be considered harzadous in the event of an accident. From memory each state has it's own rules on where you can put jerrycans of petrol. I'd suggest that if you had a locker on the motorhome for a gennie then you could legally carry fuel for it there as well. Out of sight - out of legal reach....

Gday
Rolly if you are referring to the fire at Banka Banka Station this is the report posted on Caravanners Forum by the managers of the station .

Hello,

The fire investigation is complete..

In between the car and the van the family's gas fridge was on the ground, the father could not get the jerry can out of the holder on the van drawbar as the warm fuel had expanded, he popped the lid to release the pressure and the fuel came out hit him and the pilot light and started the fire.

The family are recovering well and should be out of hospital now, we are still in contact with them and will let you know if there are any further developments.

After speaking to the fire investigation officer, rules on parking in van parks in the NT is being looked at and there will be a change in jurisdiction to allow him to enforce new guidelines and have strict penalty's.

One rule is that there must be a minimum of 6 meters between each van and clear roads between all vans, some parks will really struggle with this we feel but time will tell.

If we had been full here it could have been much worse so we are going to fully support any new regulations.

http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5054&start=20

yep exactly as I stated happened, I have yet to see a hot genny ignite spilled petrol without an external ignition source, tragic for the family invlolved, I had seen many photos of vans and cars burnt out and a headline stating "generator ignites fumes" they have all been proven wrong, the source is nearly always external I would not carry the generator or fuel inside the motorhome/camper, please place it in an external bin, the fuel container (jerry can) should be mounted on the rear of the vehicle in a "holder" readily available and easily fitted on please dont place fuel in to an enclosed environment with an ignition source , the ignition source proven to be the gas heating flame on the fridge in this case, it could just as easily been a nylon shirt or trousers fuel is very safe when not provoked, but prod it enough and it will bight you

Gday
Dave by my reading of the report the fridge was on the ground between the car and van and the metal jerry can was pressurised and they could not remove it from the jerry can holder (not sure if it was on the a frame of the rear of the vehicle ) so how can you call that a confined space .
I understand waht you saying re fuel in confined space and ignition sources .

ah! Mick thats because it is actually two statements seperated by a comma. I'll number them for you (1) dont put fuel in a confined space with an ignition source (2) the ignition source in this case (Banka Banka) was the heating flame on the little "finch" fridge you see I didnt say it WAS a confined space merely that fuel should NOT BE IN a confined space with any form of an ignition source (the angry dog syndrome, dont corner it or it will bight, leave it alone and it will wander off) I work in a field surrounding and involving fuel, I carry and have carried fuel all over and around this great land, proffesionally and privately, I have come across exactly this scenario whereupon the jerry has become overheated and expanded many times it's original size, to the uninitiated the response is "GET IT OFF QUICK" well no it should be left alone and if possible pour a little water over it, or if you can remove it from the vehicle then stand it in the shade or a creek for a few hours this tragedy has been played out and will be played out many times until people learn that an expanded steel jerry can poses very little risk (the risk of rupture and consequent spillage is almost nil, they are tested to extreme pressures) they have come through many a desert campaign in various wars so the reliability must be there then there is of course the saftey standard that are supposed to be met if the fuel is needed right now then excercise EXTREME caution and get right away from any vehicle/caravan/tent or heat source or ignition source and that means you and your "nylon" shirt or trousers. release the fume as slowly as you possibly can, keep your hand over the opening section of the jerry lid so as to control the "blowoff" and keep your body right away from the spout (dont prod it) "you" in this case being a "collective" term, not you as in you Mick in my travels I would have come across expanding jerry cans (as have many others) hundreds of times, it was a daily occurance in the kimberleys and to the traveller it still is maybe if it is known that extreme temperatures are expected then a "safety" margin of a litre or two less when refilling may help. I was always taught to tilt the jerry back slightly away from the filler neck and push down on the lid of the jerry and release the gas buildup slowly and carefully, but if one is not familiar with the operation of jerrys then this cannot possibly be known knowledge is of course the answer, if I can get one traveller to just read and understand some of my safety tips and to actually put them into practice and be safe on the road then I am a happy chappy, if I upset a couple along the way with my beligerent attitude to do so then that is the price I am willing to pay I was time poor when I wrote my initial response to the banka banka story, I should have stated that I have seen "photographs" of this nature with the same caption of "generator sparks blaze" and of course not that which I did write (hindsight is a marvelous thing) I had not seen these exact photos but many very similar, I meant no disrespect to the people involved merely wanted the facts to come out as quickly as possible so as to not spark mass histeria which happens very quickly in forums now I am sittin in Darwin with a hire car for the weekend and a free weekend up my sleeve, something I am not accustomed to (free time), I find myself actually looking for things to do I am amazed at how all these foreigners allow so few aussies to enjoy their land I can suck on my cuppa and enjoy my pasty and bun outside the bakery in extreme peace and quiet, I have my phone turned off and my deaf ear pointed toward the dragon, enjoying the sun and the short short pants and tops adorning the lovely ladies strolling along the boulavard, ahhhhhhh!!!! I'm a simple man who enjoys simple pleasures, I may just sit and "observe" all day, simply changing my position and beverage to the young players please heed my advice regarding these things, to quote myself "been there, done that" sounds bigheaded and it may very well be but please just listen a little or it will be your turn next, condemn me, absolutely but next time you open a jerry just remember what ole unca Dave said! and you may just survive one more day! and not make the headlines the mistakes you have and are about to make have all been made before by me and or someone else, yours are not the first footprints or tyre treads upon this great southern land, tread carefully for here be dragons!!! so Rolly once again I have rambled on but in this case I do hope you will forgive me!!

dave06 wrote:

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so Rolly once again I have rambled on but in this case I do hope you will forgive me!!

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Nah! Bugga!

Forgive you ??

I applaud you for taking the time and effort to share your not inconsiderable talents and experience.

As they say in the classics: "Yer blud's wurf bottlin'."

 

-- Edited by Rolly on Friday 18th of September 2009 01:08:46 PM

thanks for that, now back to my pasty, I'm that hungry I could munch the backside off a lowflying duck!!!

rolly if you find any of my dribble of any use to any one else on any other forum feel free to use it, I prefer to help and enlighten rather than read about the unnecesary tragedies

-- Edited by dave06 on Friday 18th of September 2009 02:43:20 PM

Basil, just a quick bit of useless information but did you know the origional Cornish pasties had meat at one end and fruit at the other, and obviously they were a lot bigger. The woman used to bake them for their husbands to take to work in the tin mines Keith

kesue wrote:

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Basil, just a quick bit of useless information but did you know the origional Cornish pasties had meat at one end and fruit at the other, and obviously they were a lot bigger. The woman used to bake them for their husbands to take to work in the tin mines Keith

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Yes i did know that, and they threw the pastry away as it was there only to "contain" the meat & fruit and stop the mine dust getting all over their lunch...

 

I was told by an old feller who has cornish ancestory dating back a long way living in Kadina that it was meat at one end (when they had it, when they didnt have any meat it was all vegies) and any vegies that they had growing in the garden the big twisted top of the pasty was disposed of and was merely a handle to eat the thing with, it was originally a montstrous great thing to behold and a meal worthy of sustaining a big man for a 12 hour shift hard times if you didnt grow it youself then you starved, at Burra I have often wandered amongst the river "caves", dwellings carved into the riverbank so as to provide a little shelter for a family of ten or more, incredible stuff I found this after a little bit of "noodling" Cornish Pasties-Fast Food and a culinary delight "In Moonta, South Australia where the Cornish population mined copper last century (19th), are the finest Cornish pasties in the land. Freshly baked and served with home-made relish, I've been known to have very aromatic hand luggage on my flights home." Susan Parsons-Food and Wine Supplement Canberra Times 29 December 1999 You can buy pasties (sometimes Cornish pasties) in most parts of Australia, but are they genuine? Why not make your own and get a taste of the real thing. The recipe for the Moonta Cornish pasty is: Pastry (Ensure that pastry is soft and elastic) 250g self raising flour, 85g fat (1/2 Lard-1/2 Margarine)(All Margarine if on low cholesterol diet) and a pinch of salt Filling Chuck steak cut finely-not minced Small potato, turnip, 1/2 onion, salt and pepper to taste. Vegetables need to chipped not diced or minced Putting it together Roll out the pastry to about 15cm diameter and place ingredients into layers, turnips first then potato, meat, salt and pepper, onion then more potato. Then close pastry over ingredients in the usual pasty shape. Prick a small hole to allow steam to escape and glaze with milk. Place in oven heated to 220 degrees celsius for 10 minutes then turn down to 190 for another 20 minutes. When taken out of oven let them stand for 5 minutes to allow steam to soften ingredients and improve the flavour.