flashpoint and water heater

[bobren4]

I am about to apply epoxy to my floor. My garage is approx 750SF, no windows and there is a gas based water heater inside it. I am afraid to keep my garage door open overnight as some small animal can come inside and ruin the job.

So my questions is, what is considered a safe enough flashpoint? If the epoxy has flash point of >100F will that be safe since there is no way my garage will heat up overnight?

I guess I can always turn of the pilot light in water heater.... my wife is going to hate me for that one

 

[UnSub45]

I would not take a chance with that. Turn off the pilot overnight. In the morning air out the garage, then light the pilot about 30min before your wife needs to shower.

 

[JohnK007]

UnSub's right. Why chance it? In the grand scheme of things one evening without hot water is a minor inconvenience. Even if nothing were to happen, you'll go to bed wondering if you have a bomb brewing in the garage.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

'Flashpoint' is not as definitive as it sounds. First, there are (basically) two different types of flashpoint... Open Cup and Close Cup. In an Open Cup test the liquid is heated up and a flame passed obove it periodically until it flashes.

In a Closed Cup the liquid is heated up and the test is similar except that they system is closed.

If the flashpoint you are speaking of is an 'open cup' test then the actual flashpoint is probably much lower.

Then, there is something else to consider... the amount of vapor. I'm not sure what product you are using but if it contains solvent, you are going to have vapors on your floor even if it's 40 degrees F. The vapors will exit the coating faster if it is warmer. Since the solvent vapors are lighter than the polymer (epoxy) on your floor BUT heavier than air... They want to stay close to the floor. If there is a buildup of vapor on the floor and it travels over to the waterheater... the vapor is going to heat up the closer it gets to the flame. Then, imagine the chain reaction that takes place on a molecular level as the vapor starts to burn. It will ignite in slow motion and could blow up your house. This has happened before... You can probably find a link somewhere in these forums...

Anyway, a flashpoint of 100f tells me that this product contains solvents that have individual flashpoints that could be as low as 20f. An open flame could be disasterous!

 

[Kevin54]

In the morning air out the garage, then light the pilot about 30min before your wife needs to shower.

Keep it interesting. Wait until after she showers then tell her you'll go check the water heater.


I don't know about the vapors of the flooring material, but I do know what happens with vapors of automotive paint. My dad and I was doing some work in the garage one day and all of a sudden there were blue flames coming off of the floor The vapors were close to the floor and ignited by a gas heater. No explosion but made it real interesting.

If I were you, I'd kill the pilot on the heater.