Need advice... Fire in shop!!!!

[Johnny A]

Hey guys,
I was in the shop friday late night & noticed my rag pile start smoking. At first I thought it was my eyes. It actually was smoking (very little ). I NEVER had this happen. I did some tractor/snowblower work & used the rags to wipe down the machines & clean up some 80w90.

I want/need a rag bucket. Any advice? should I make something or buy a rag metal pail mad for this issue....


What do you guys use??? Look at link below... This is very common...I HAD NEVER AN ISSUE



https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...lice-museum/bFRccEGOO6fUrj6YplM8AK/story.html

 

[911TES]

Vented metal garbage with lid can available on-line.
Well worth it

 

[pcmeiners]

Oily rags/sawdust go out doors in a covered metal pail. As a note, just after the smoke, the fire erupts extremely fast, like in a flash.

 

[LXCam]

Time to buy a rated rag bucket. Damn lucky you caught it in time. You might want to see Ryan (s) recent thread about this exact same situation, except he didn't catch it in time but fortunately he was very luck.

I've had what is hopefully my one and only fire in the shop. In a situation like yours I now take any potential rags and lite them off myself on the fire pit.

 

[dave89iroc]

https://www.google.com/search?q=oil...3.69i57j0l5.4907j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[ard]

I had a close call years ago as well.

Now oily, refinishing rags go in a metal pail OUTSIDE on a concrete or gravel area far from any combustibles at the end of each work session.

 

[B.S.A. (ret.)]

As mentioned above, either a rated rag disposal container or a metal 5 gallon pail with a metal lid. Put rags in, cover and take outside to a safe area.

 

[kwschumm]

I always hang up flammable rags to let the air circulate and let 'em dry out. Seems to me that piling them up anywhere is asking for trouble. Am I wrong?

 

[pancho400cid]

It's scary.

Some previous posts.....

http://www.garagejournal.com/2017/04/surviving-my-own-stupidity/

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358879

 

[Orionrising]

hmm I should probably get one of those... it would be easier then my current method of if theres snow through em in the snow... iff not take them to the fire pit and burn em.

 

[rburke65]

I have even taken rags and tossed them out side, onto the grass over night just to be safe. Got to take precautions and be aware. Our garages are full of chemicals and sometimes they don't "play well together".

 

[The Cobbler]

I learned first hand of spontaneous combustion in my 20's. ( knew about it from school, but saw it in action in real life)
Place I was working at we were using linseed oil for something. over the weekend there was a fire on the lunch room counter, burned thru the formica top , into a drawer. Fire dept came and figured it out real fast . that was an eye opener . second time I saw it in action was 10plus yrs ago, painter at a complex I work at put mineral spirit soaked rags into a gallon can & sealed it up, put it in trash. overnight it blew & started the bin on fire.
I am careful with oily /solvent rags.

 

[Johnny A]

Guys, Thank you for taking the time n a Sunday to reply. Iwill be buying a rated bucket from Zoro tools.com tonight.

I can't believe I never thought/encountered this before... Geezzzz.....

 

[kwschumm]

Guys, Thank you for taking the time n a Sunday to reply. Iwill be buying a rated bucket from Zoro tools.com tonight.

I can't believe I never thought/encountered this before... Geezzzz.....

Consider it a lesson learned, and it shows that time in the shop is never wasted!

 

[Mustang1167]

Ryan's post made me throw oil all the old rags and start fresh. Maybe it's time to buy a safety can. Glad you caught it in time.

 

[Boilerhouse]

I always hang up flammable rags to let the air circulate and let 'em dry out. Seems to me that piling them up anywhere is asking for trouble. Am I wrong?

This is what I do as well. Spread the rags out individually and let the air circulate around them. I also have an outdoor boiler which heats the shop, so in the winter, oily rags go onto the fire.

 

[Thumper68]

As an aside, A good thing to do is after any welding/grinding etc. spend at least 30 minutes in the shop cleaning up or something to make sure no stray embers are hiding.

 

[RWorth]

Fire be bad, I've set fires in my shops many times, although never with old rags, I generally throw them away. I'm more of a hands on pyro, I have 7 or 8 fire extinguishers around my shop. If you catch them quick there is no damage.

 

[22george]

X2 on the fire extinguishers. One by each way out of the shop.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Been lucky, I do have a oily rag can, rearly use it, most of the time I just hang the rag over the handle of my floor jack and let it dry out.

 

[kelpaso1]

Did you have any rags in the pile that you used for staining/painting? I have never heard of oily/greasy automotive rags ever combusting. I keep mine in a cardboard box against the wall. Maybe I should not do that?

 

[Jlbc212]

As a general rule oils derived from animal or vegetation (turpentine, paint thinners, etc.) can spontaneously heat and ignite, but oils derived from mineral (think earth - like crude oil) will not.

 

[Motown]

Last year a local tv station did a couple of stories on people bruning their houses, with rags soaked in linseed oil. The spontaniously combust quite easlily.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

I had a close call years ago as well.

Now oily, refinishing rags go in a metal pail OUTSIDE on a concrete or gravel area far from any combustibles at the end of each work session.

I do the same thing.

 

[Radix2]

I don't see why anyone uses linseed oil for anything these days.

If you want a nice and easy and durable "oil finish" take some polyurethane varnish and cut it with some mineral spirits. Wipe it on your project with some cheesecloth. Several coats gives a beautiful finish, no brushes, no brush marks, no drips. It is a great way to go.

I fill one of those squirt bottles with the thinned varnish, apply from there very neat and easy and no clean up. Set the cheesecloth bit out to dry safely.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The majority of what I use are blue paper towels and they go into the wood burner.

Linseed oil has caused many fires through ignorance. I know that stuff is good but you have to be extremely careful with it.

 

[Norcal]

Here is Ryan's thread as a refresher.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358438

 

[Olafur]

Did you have any rags in the pile that you used for staining/painting? I have never heard of oily/greasy automotive rags ever combusting. I keep mine in a cardboard box against the wall. Maybe I should not do that?

Neither have I.

 

[Gerald O]

I don't see why anyone uses linseed oil for anything these days.

If you want a nice and easy and durable "oil finish" take some polyurethane varnish and cut it with some mineral spirits. Wipe it on your project with some cheesecloth. Several coats gives a beautiful finish, no brushes, no brush marks, no drips. It is a great way to go.

I fill one of those squirt bottles with the thinned varnish, apply from there very neat and easy and no clean up. Set the cheesecloth bit out to dry safely.

You may be surprised to learn that polyurethane finishes can also cause spontaneous combustion.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I always hang up flammable rags to let the air circulate and let 'em dry out. Seems to me that piling them up anywhere is asking for trouble.

This is my thinking as well.

 

[glentre]

Also be careful of a product sold at the big box stores called Watco. It is a furniture finish that is wiped on wood and leaves a soft luster which then can be waxed to a nice sheen. Unless they have changed the formulation in the last several years, the rags used to apply this finish must be properly discarded or soaked in a bucket of water or they will self ignite.

Glen

 

[eddieK]

I always hang up flammable rags to let the air circulate and let 'em dry out. Seems to me that piling them up anywhere is asking for trouble. Am I wrong?

this is exactly what I have done ever since I had a very close call

 

[MoonRise]

Also be careful of a product sold at the big box stores called Watco. It is a furniture finish that is wiped on wood and leaves a soft luster which then can be waxed to a nice sheen. Unless they have changed the formulation in the last several years, the rags used to apply this finish must be properly discarded or soaked in a bucket of water or they will self ignite.

Glen

Because of the linseed oil in Watco.

And yes, polyurethane varnishes can also spontaneously combustion. BTDT, melted my RO sander because I sanded some 'dry' after 12 hours but not completely "cured" oil-based polyurethane varnish.

 

[Dr Stan]

Guys, Thank you for taking the time n a Sunday to reply. Iwill be buying a rated bucket from Zoro tools.com tonight.

I can't believe I never thought/encountered this before... Geezzzz.....

Good, very good.

BTW, there was a product (Neverdull sp?)for polishing brass we used extensively in the Navy that was linked to a number of fires. I think it was cheese cloth soaked with some sort of petroleum product. Banned by the Navy not long after I was discharged. Brasso on the other hand is typically considered safe.

 

[TacoRunner]

I'm a firefighter, and see this on a semi regular basis.Sad part is how often we are told by people we are full of ****, because they have been doing it the same way for "20 years" and never had a problem...but every fire I've been to where rags was a cause, it was always "this has never happened before"....But it only takes one time. Glad you caught it, and kudos for learning from it.

 

[nh_yota]

I'll just leave this here:

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2017/02/fire_at_the_massachusetts_stat.html

 

[driftpin]

Yes, by all-means, store your used rags and paper towels w/oily residue properly! A fire-rated storage container is a minimum for safety in the shop. I do not store oily rags or towels in the shop, they go outside and away from anything combustible. As my shop is CBS construction, it's less-likely to catch on-fire (though contents burn nicely), but I don't want to see if it is going-to. As others have mentioned, spreading them out to dry is one way to allow the solvents to evaporate, but all that really does is to provide more surface area and oxygen to possibly combust.

As a career firefighter who began my career over 40 years ago, current certified fire inspector, plans examiner, and fire service instructor, I've encountered much damage and loss of life due to fire events. The old adage, "an ounce of prevention" certainly applies here. Read your insurance policy to see what it says about your hobby work. You may prevent yourself an unpleasant surprise when you have a shop fire, and discover your homeowner's policy doesn't cover your home for the scope of work you perform. The private insurance fire investigators will be very diligent in their investigation of your fireground.

Here is an NFPA report that has some sobering statistics about spontaneous combustion fires, where residential occupancies are the largest source of fires, and garages are the #1 location. Can you guess the material most-often ignited? An excerpt: In home structure fires (homes are defined as one- and two-family homes, apartments, and manufactured housing), the garage was the most common area of origin (20% of fires) and oily rags were the most common item first ignited (35%). Abandoned materials were cited as a factor in 34% of home fires, and improper containers or storage was a factor in 33%. http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-resear...s/spontaneous-combustion-or-chemical-reaction

 

[Charlie51]

Returning to work after a rainy weekend, I notice the paint burnt off of the garbage dumpster. It turned out that the sawdust we dumped in it spontaneously combusticated. We had a simple dust collector at the saw and would dump the barrel of very fine powdery sawdust in that outside dumpster. Sawdust + moisture + summer heat=fire.

 

[bcradio]

Any advice?

Put it out!!!

 

[Lou N]

When I was in the fire department, we had a house fire caused by linseed soaked rags left in a garage. Had another one caused by someone leaving what they though was cold fireplace ashes in a cardboard box in the garage.

I always leave any oil soaked rags in a vented rag pail as mentioned or for linseed oil rags, in a bucket with water outside. Glad you caught it in time...