Back when I was a field service engineer, Jim our department head ask me to make a demonstration device we could give to our major wholesalers to demonstrate our pumps performance. Well, I went to work and designed a small device which consisted of a fuel tank which held about two pints of fuel oil, a shaded pole motor, a pump, and associated plumbing to show the nozzle performance. It had a handle for ease of carrying and a short power cord. You could turn the switch on and the spray coming out of a fuel oil nozzle was beautifully displayed in a clear plastic tube which had a drain back to the little tank. Turning the switch off and you could visually see the sharp stoppage of spry with no drip. It worked exactually as was requested.
Jim decided we should take the first one of these to our wholesaler in Philadelphia. We flew out of here during the afternoon and checked in to a hotel for the evening. Sometime after dinner Jim called my room and ask me to bring the device down to his room. I did, wondering why. He said he wanted to make sure it still worked. He took it into his bathroom and plugged it in. The unit performed just as designed. He then started pulling on the fuel lines, apparently seeing if they were tight. He should have turned it off first. He pulled one line loose, which proceeded to spray fuel oil all over him and the bathroom.
We spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the place.
Subsequent trips, he took my word that the unit was working OK.
