Another spontaneous fire

[maxpower_hd]

This fire was around the corner from me. The house was a recently purchased forclosure someone was fixing to flip. It was later determined that the floors were refinished and the materials were left in bags outside the back of the garage which spontaneously combusted.

Just another reminder.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...hZzAUlhnEL7eYkHqA&sig2=DrWqK_bZkVHkGUlhOUFUgQ

 

[zeeway]

I was finishing a wood project with a first coat of boiled linseed oil, and left the rags in a pile. Bad idea. But I was lucky to be there when the smoke started...

 

[M-technik-3]

Happened to a co-worker, they were having their kitchen redone and contractor left rags in a barrel in garage. They were both gone n business trips. Got phone calls saying hey this is your neighbor your house had a major fire. They had just bought the place too.

Insurance covered the damages but took over a year to fix.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I had an acquaintance, many years back, that nearly lost his motor launch boat, after touching up the woodwork with linseed oil, then stowing the rags in a hold somewhere on the boat.

Afterward he and his wife went for a cruise and stopped for a dockside dinner. During their dinner there was a lot of commotion down the dock. Turns out his boat was on fire ******* at the dock.

The boat wasn't a total loss but heavily damaged.

The determination was the linseed oil soaked rags had spontaneously combusted.

This was the first time both he and I had ever heard about this linseed oil hazard.

 

[airsanford]

Tung oil is as bad or worse. We lost a 10 unit townhouse block on the ocean in Delaware 20 years ago on a windy winter night. Burned to the sand. One of the owners had been refinishing his floors with tung oil and left the rags in the unit.

 

[billspit]

The times I have used linseed oil that past few years, I left the rags outside and stretched out over something.

 

[dutchgray]

This was the first time both he and I had ever heard about this linseed oil hazard.

Warnings on every can of this stuff I have used for years, all the natural drying oils do this to some extent.

 

[rlitman]

Tung oil is as bad or worse. We lost a 10 unit townhouse block on the ocean in Delaware 20 years ago on a windy winter night. Burned to the sand. One of the owners had been refinishing his floors with tung oil and left the rags in the unit.

Tung oil is much worse. The faster the oil dries, the more likely it is to spontaneously combust.

Anyway, "tung oil" floor finishes are generally a wiping varnish with metal based drying accelerants that has a tiny hint of tung oil in it. This also happily self combusts.

 

[Angelfire]

Warnings on every can of this stuff I have used for years, all the natural drying oils do this to some extent.

Yep. But few actually read the cans unfortunately.

Been using BLO/Tung Oil finishes for years and was fortunate enough to read the can the first time I used the stuff. Now, when I'm done with a rag, it goes outside and spread out on the ground to dry. Never had a problem.

 

[rburke65]

I'm wondering how many fires this causes over a year? Read them instructions and warnings!

 

[larry4406]

I'm 54 and in shop class this was instilled in everyone starting at 7th grade. To this day not one soiled rag stays indoors in my garage. All are outside laid out to air out before disposal. Call me paranoid but those videos from shop class back then stuck with me.

Today we delete shop class, produce clueless idiots, and wonder why we have the issues we do.

 

[rayra]

I'm 54 and in shop class this was instilled in everyone starting at 7th grade. To this day not one soiled rag stays indoors in my garage. All are outside laid out to air out before disposal. Call me paranoid but those videos from shop class back then stuck with me.

Today we delete shop class, produce clueless idiots, and wonder why we have the issues we do.

All of this.

Lot of stains produce the same trouble. I treat pretty much ANY solvent / oiled rag as a potential fire source, spread them out to dry / evaporate, away from anything combustible.
If you'll have such rags often, buy and use the proper metal can to put them in.

 

[nehog]

If nothing else, get some empty 1 gallon metal paint cans (IIRC Home Depot sells these?) and store rags in them, with the cover firmly attached.

 

[seanc_mt]

Curious George here. What makes them dangerous. I always leave mine out to dry. I'm just curious on what exactly happens...

 

[GDM]

Putting them in a bucket of water works too.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Spontaneous combustion. Rags soaked with linseed oil stored in a pile are considered a fire hazard because they provide a large surface area for oxidation of the oil, and the oil oxidises quickly. The oxidation of linseed oil is an exothermic reaction, which accelerates as the temperature of the rags increases.

 

[thertel]

Putting them in a bucket of water works too.

This, I grew up in a family of woodworkers, there was always a water filled steel bucket for any solvent, stain, BLO, Tung, Danish, etc oil rags.

 

[maxpower_hd]

The times I have used linseed oil that past few years, I left the rags outside and stretched out over something.

These were left outside but in bags against the house. I suppose in the middle of the yard might have been ok.