Klerksdorp man dies after generator explodes during load shedding

[rvZA]

Besides his three sons, Pieter Redelinghuis was passionate about his vegetable garden.

He meticulously took care of his tomatoes, spinach, peppers and beetroots at his home in Klerksdorp, North West.


But, on Tuesday, tragedy struck. Redelinghuis was in the house with his wife and sister when he heard an unusual sound coming from the generator used for supplying power to his garden.

Klerksdorp man dies after generator explodes during load shedding | News24

A grandfather from Klerksdorp has died after the generator used for supplying power to his garden exploded.

www.news24.com

 

[rvZA]

I wonder what make these generators explode while being on? Just recently I read another article of a woman who also heard a strange noise coming from here generator. Also when she got there it exploded and she died. Also, I wonder what the sound is, so that I know in future, if I hear something similar to just leave it and let it go boom.

 

[soulie]

I wonder what make these generators explode while being on? Just recently I read another article of a woman who also heard a strange noise coming from here generator. Also when she got there it exploded and she died. Also, I wonder what the sound is, so that I know in future, if I hear something similar to just leave it and let it go boom.

maybe an lpg conversion .we wait and see .no standard genie just says hoezit my china and explodes .half of SA would be toast by now if that was the case .

 

[rvZA]

maybe an lpg conversion .we wait and see .no standard genie just says hoezit my china and explodes .half of SA would be toast by now if that was the case .

It happens. Frequently it seems. Could be lpg conversions on them all. I don't know.

Man critical, two cars gutted as generator explodes in Moreletapark

A man was seriously injured, his home damaged and two cars burnt to rubble when his generator exploded during loadshedding in Moreletapark on Saturday.

rekord.co.za

https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/somerset-mall-delivery-yard-building-untouched-as-generators-explode-bd06e0da-3ba7-4dca-96a3-afc912fdbe94

Inquest opened after woman killed when generator exploded during load-shedding

Police have opened an inquest docket after a 41-year-old woman from Welkom in the Free State died after her generator allegedly exploded during loadshedding, provincial police said.

www.timeslive.co.za

Generator causes house fire in Plantation | Boksburg Advertiser

People must be cautious around using generators.

boksburgadvertiser.co.za

 

[soulie]

It happens. Frequently it seems. Could be lpg conversions on them all. I don't know.

Man critical, two cars gutted as generator explodes in Moreletapark

A man was seriously injured, his home damaged and two cars burnt to rubble when his generator exploded during loadshedding in Moreletapark on Saturday.

rekord.co.za

https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/somerset-mall-delivery-yard-building-untouched-as-generators-explode-bd06e0da-3ba7-4dca-96a3-afc912fdbe94

Inquest opened after woman killed when generator exploded during load-shedding

Police have opened an inquest docket after a 41-year-old woman from Welkom in the Free State died after her generator allegedly exploded during loadshedding, provincial police said.

www.timeslive.co.za

Generator causes house fire in Plantation | Boksburg Advertiser

People must be cautious around using generators.

boksburgadvertiser.co.za

thats a disturbing read .

 

[TheChamp]

It happens. Frequently it seems. Could be lpg conversions on them all. I don't know.

Man critical, two cars gutted as generator explodes in Moreletapark

A man was seriously injured, his home damaged and two cars burnt to rubble when his generator exploded during loadshedding in Moreletapark on Saturday.

rekord.co.za

https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/somerset-mall-delivery-yard-building-untouched-as-generators-explode-bd06e0da-3ba7-4dca-96a3-afc912fdbe94

Inquest opened after woman killed when generator exploded during load-shedding

Police have opened an inquest docket after a 41-year-old woman from Welkom in the Free State died after her generator allegedly exploded during loadshedding, provincial police said.

www.timeslive.co.za

Generator causes house fire in Plantation | Boksburg Advertiser

People must be cautious around using generators.

boksburgadvertiser.co.za

I doubt they explode just because you looked at them funny, they still mostly use petrol, which is a very dangerous thing to handle and have around the house, in the wrong hands it's just tragedy waiting to happen.

Add to that lack of maintenance and the general cheapness of how everything is built these days, the fuel pipe on mine went stiff and simply started to go brittle, I saw it because I am a technical person who takes note of such things.

 

[rvZA]

I doubt they explode just because you looked at them funny, they still mostly use petrol, which is a very dangerous thing to handle and have around the house, in the wrong hands it's just tragedy waiting to happen.

Add to that lack of maintenance and the general cheapness of how everything is built these days, the fuel pipe on mine went stiff and simply started go brittle, I saw it because I am a technical person who takes note of such things.

I agree. Even on my generator, the petrol pipe somehow got a small tear and one day I could smell the petrol as the generator is inside an outside room built for it. I was lucky to pick it up quick and got the pipe replaced. Nonetheless, generators seem to be dangerous. These type of explosions seems to happen more frequently these days.

 

[Nithan15]

Should have used 95 instead of 93

 

[kolaval]

Check it, they're all ex employees of Infinite Transport!

 

[Paul_S]

A closed and nearly empty fuel tank with a stoic mix of petrol and air is dangerous. One spark and it can go off like a bomb. If there is still a bit of fuel in it that can get thrown all over when the tank ruptures and I suspect that is what may be happening in the reported cases.
Empty jerry cans also need to be treated with care and not left near a running generator (hot exhaust).

A petrol tank filled to the brim will never explode. You can throw lit matches into it without issues because it's not full of air (oxidizer/oxygen) to combust other than the air immediately around the filler cap.

 

[upup]

Was this genny inside the garage. I am sure it is cheap gennys

 

[ForceFate]

I agree. Even on my generator, the petrol pipe somehow got a small tear and one day I could smell the petrol as the generator is inside an outside room built for it. I was lucky to pick it up quick and got the pipe replaced. Nonetheless, generators seem to be dangerous. These type of explosions seems to happen more frequently these days.

Poor handling and maintenance possibly the cause. Also, what brand and make? Are there any mods?

 

[Pak Fa Fui]

Many cheap generators on the market and people are desperate to buy them
With LS averaging 4-6 hours in a day thats more than an average driver drives their car a day so wear and tear is high on those gennys

 

[Neptuner]

Poor handling and maintenance possibly the cause. Also, what brand and make? Are there any mods?

Ryobi

 

[BuckRogers]

I guess any combustion engine has some risk.
I have seen a number of cars burning on the highway as well.
But as a percentage of the total number of gennies running in SA they still seem safe to me.
I know most accidents are due to people wanting to refuel a hot generator.

 

[Thugscub]

Filling the Genny tank whilst it is running. Boom.

 

[rvZA]

Poor handling and maintenance possibly the cause. Also, what brand and make? Are there any mods?

Could well be the case. But, I have seen some of his friends and/or family commenting on social media that he did not do illegal connections, etc. He was very petty with the maintenance apparently. If this is indeed the case, perhaps generators were never meant to do this type of heavy duty work under current loadshedding conditions and may well be a ticking time bomb.

 

[ForceFate]

Could well be the case. But, I have seen some of his friends and/or family commenting on social media that he did not do illegal connections, etc. He was very petty with the maintenance apparently. If this is indeed the case, perhaps generators were never meant to do this type of heavy duty work under current loadshedding conditions and may well be a ticking time bomb.

I don't know. I never heard of generators exploding until I landed in this thread. I've been inside the controls of a giant (don't recall tech data) gen we used at work. None of the safety warnings on the labels listed explosion as a possibility.

 

[rvZA]

I don't know. I never heard of generators exploding until I landed in this thread. I've been inside the controls of a giant (don't recall tech data) gen we used at work. None of the safety warnings on the labels listed explosion as a possibility.

Yeah, I have not heard about this before either. I remember a couple of weeks ago reading about the woman who died and tonight saw this. I found two more articles after a quick Google search.

 

[rvZA]

Maybe @Jan should do some investigative reporting on this. Are generators really that dangerous that they could become bombs? At least 3 incidents the past couple of months and 4 this year I know of. Not even mentioning those not reported on.