Nonstop overheating

[ChasUGC]

Pressurized radiators are a modern invention. Unpressurized radiators were the norm for a long time, but people got tired of having to refill with water or alcohol all the time, or forgot to refill and grashed the motor.

Unpressurized cooling systems were a lot safer. Pressurized cooling systems going bang have injurered and killed a lot of people. Don't ask me how I know.

Reincarnation?

 

[cpwolf]

Ok. First, how many of those people are there due to steam burns? Then how many of those are there due to depressurizing radiaters?

According to Grok AI, seems to be very, very low. Just saying, not sure where the burn unit scenario and pressurized radiator info was coming from, but seems very implausible.

From Grok:
Exact numbers for injuries or burns specifically from exploding car radiators are hard to pin down, as most data aggregates vehicle-related burn injuries without isolating radiator-specific incidents. However, a retrospective study from February 2007 to August 2015 at a regional burns service in England reported 68 cases of motor vehicle radiator-related scald burns. These had a mean total burn surface area of 2.1% (ranging from 0.5% to 11%), mostly superficial partial thickness, with 66.2% caused by actively removing the radiator cap on an overheated vehicle. The male-to-female ratio was 65:3, and the mean age was 35.1 (range 9–71). Most incidents (32.4%) occurred in summer. No fatalities were noted in this study, but severe burns often required hospitalization.


Broader data from the American Burn Association (2021) estimates 398,000 fire or burn-related injuries and 252,000 injuries from hot objects/substances in the U.S., with motor vehicle fires (including radiators) contributing to 680 deaths annually. However, these figures don’t break out radiator-specific injuries. Given radiators don’t typically “explode” but rather burst or crack under pressure, releasing hot coolant or steam, the injury rate is likely a small fraction of vehicle fire-related injuries (210,000 fires, 1,672 injuries in 2020).


Without precise global or recent statistics, I’d estimate annual U.S. injuries from radiator bursts in the low hundreds, based on the rarity of reported cases and the subset of vehicle fire injuries. For a more precise number, I’d need access to specific emergency room or burn center data, which isn’t publicly detailed for this exact cause. If you want, I can dig deeper into X posts or web reports for anecdotal trends—let me know.

 

[Harold&Cat]

I can say that with over forty years of working on automobiles , this is the first radiator explosion I have encountered personally and it is the first time that I have received serious 2nd degree burns from a radiator . If I hadn't had the necessary training , supplies and support , I would have ended up in a burn unit . It was a true blessing from God that I wasn't more severely injured and I am happy to report that the burns are healing nicely .

 

[jjvw]

According to Grok AI, seems to be very, very low. Just saying, not sure where the burn unit scenario and pressurized radiator info was coming from, but seems very implausible.

...

It is an odd position to take. If this was a serious safety issue, the insurance companies would have dealt with it a long time ago to bring the claims down to an acceptable level of payouts. And perhaps they did, and this is why injuries from exploding radiators are as rare as they are

 

[cpwolf]

I can say that with over forty years of working on automobiles , this is the first radiator explosion I have encountered personally and it is the first time that I have received serious 2nd degree burns from a radiator . If I hadn't had the necessary training , supplies and support , I would have ended up in a burn unit . It was a true blessing from God that I wasn't more severely injured and I am happy to report that the burns are healing nicely .

That sucks, and glad you are healing well.