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Thread: It Can Happen, Auto Ignition of Stain Rags

  1. #16
    I really did not want to post something telling on myself, but I thought it was good information to get out there for everyone, maybe it will prevent someone from making the same mistake.

    I have the new smoke detector for the garage, and I will be installing it today.

    I can tell you the smoke was bad, I did my best to keep as low as possible so as not to breath the smoke, I don't think it worked too well, it was bad out there.

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Heidrick View Post
    I don't even store stain rags folded or inside. Beauty of living in the country I guess. Mine are spread out on a dirt pile till dried.

    Heck i want to put in a fire cabinet too to store my cans of finish in.

    TG you are safe! Heal soon.
    I have a fire can for that very purpose.

  3. #18
    I really did not want to post something telling on myself, but I thought it was good information to get out there for everyone, maybe it will prevent someone from making the same mistake.

    I have the new smoke detector for the garage, and I will be installing it today.

    I can tell you the smoke was bad, I did my best to keep as low as possible so as not to breath the smoke, I don't think it worked too well, it was bad out there.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Maine
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    381
    Steve, glad it worked out for you. Hopefully someone else in the house called 911? You know, in case you didn't succeed.

    We were called to a fire in a barn workshop several years ago. The barn had a workshop under the main floor. The homeowner had been refinishing some boards and leaned them up against the walls to dry. He had dropped the rags on the floor. In the middle of the night, the rags combusted, lit the new finish on the boards and the flames raced up towards the century old ceiling (main floor of the barn). And the flames then died out just before ignition of the wood itself.! We ran a smoke ejector to clear the air and then asked the owner which church he attended, cause God was sure looking out for him.
    - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    Jim Mackell
    Arundel, ME

  5. #20
    It sounds like that was a very lucky deal.

    My kid is grown and my wife was visiting relatives, so I was all there was at home. I thought the neighbors might have heard the alarm, but nobody ever came and nobody came outside their house. The smoke was incredibly thick, I am lucky I keep a powerful fan in the window, it fits tight and it pulled the smoke out fairly quickly, it was tough getting to the widow with all the smoke, had to hold my breath, but I got it open. I will need to paint the ceiling, it is a much darker color now.

  6. #21
    Join Date
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    Very glad you are OK. Ironically I just bought a smoke detector and fire extinguisher for the shop today as I am remodeling the whole shop.

    A smoke detector saved my life once. My situation was a bit funny. I had filled the bedroom with candles for a romantic evening. Set the doggone bed on fire. :-) That's all I will tell of that story.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
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    Modesto, CA, USA
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    Let us know in six months how the smoke detector works in a woodshop. I have heard that saw dust will set them off and you can only use heat detectors.
    Bill

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Duvall, WA
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    Yeow! Glad to hear no serious damage was done.

    My shop space is in an attached garage and for just that reason (spontaneous combustion) I've been super cautious about the rags I use for stain or oil. After I've finished using them, I wash them in a bucket of warm soapy water, rinse, then hang them on a ladder to dry before finally bagging them up for disposal (come to think of it, the ladder is made of wood...which is probably not the best thing to use for this).

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Central North Carolina
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    I'm a retired fire marshal and have seen too many of these incidents in my life.

    My shop rags used to be hung on my neighbor's chain link fence to dry for 24 hours, but in my present location there is no chain link fence. I now have a small lidded metal 5 or 6 gallon trash can outside and about 10' from my shop and other buildings, with water in it. Now, all used shop rags from finishing or even from working on the car get put in that can and submerged in the water, then the lid placed back on it. The next day or whenever I get the chance, I wring out the rages and put them in the trash, still wet. I once left a rag with linseed oil on it on my work bench for less than an hour while I was moving some things around so as to provide a place for the table that I had just used the linseed oil on. When I picked up the rag off the work bench, it was already almost hot enough to burn me. I now keep a 1 gallon tin can on the workbench to drop the rag into when I want to set it down for any reason, and it is never left there when I finish using it.

    Charley

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lane Hardy View Post
    i hate to disagree but water can spontaneously combust! When it is separated.Hydrogen Dioxide! 😁
    I have seen it explode.
    Ha ha. Good for a chuckle.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Upstate NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    Glad you caught it in time. They make self closing foot opened oily rag trash cans. Any solvent, other then water, can spontaneously combust. So thinner, alcohol, gasoline, oil, etc.
    I think you are wrong about that. Linseed oil, or any finishing oil or oil based paint, produce heat when they cure. If they are bunched up, the heat is retained and eventually gets hot enough to ignite the rags.

    Rags soaked in alcohol or gasoline have no reason to get hot; unless they are stored in a heap long enough for the solvent to start to decompose. Which is not to say they can't catch on fire easily; they just don't spontaneously combust.

    I bought one of those trash cans at a garage sale, but mainly toss rags out the back door to dry.

    After posting this, I googled to make sure I was right.
    This is maybe the clearest...https://content.statefundca.com/safe...?ArticleID=118
    Last edited by Wade Lippman; 01-08-2018 at 5:52 PM.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Highland MI
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    I was surprised to find that some claim that denatured alcohol soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Others say no. Google "can denatured alcohol spontaneously combust". My gut feel is no, same with motor oil soaked rags.
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 01-09-2018 at 8:54 AM.
    NOW you tell me...

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Northeast TN
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    217
    Two years ago, thanksgiving, I smell smoke around 8 a.m. Thinking it must be someone getting ready to smoke a turkey or some other preparation i didn't think much of it. Few minutes later I see smoke drifting across the yard. Looking more closely, huge clouds of smoke rolling through the neighborhood. Then flames rising above the trees. New house, 95% complete, burned to the ground. Homeowner had been sampling various stain finishes and thrown the rags in the corner. Took all night to heat up and combust. Casual behavior led to disaster. As a woodworker you knw the "right" things to do but when you see the effects so poignantly presented you still shiver. Could have happened to any of us in a moment of absent mindedness.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    Atlanta, GA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    Let us know in six months how the smoke detector works in a woodshop. I have heard that saw dust will set them off and you can only use heat detectors.
    Bill
    I have 4 smoke detectors in my basement shop for the last year with no issues. The only time it's beeped on me was when the batteries were low and needed replacing. 3 is a smoke alarm only, the last is smoke and Co2 combo alarm. I was told by my builders that code in my area required a smoke alarm in every room of the house so I ended up with just north of 20 smoke alarms throughout the house.

    OP, I'm glad you caught the fire in time and no harm or extensive damage was done to your home or yourself.

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