DANGER! Don't ever do this!!!!!

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PenMan1

PenMan1

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
6,380
Location
Eatonton, Georgia
Yesterday afternoon, I was working in my shop. I had a gallon tin of Boiled Linseed Oil on the floor, where I had been transferring some to a small container.

After a couple of phone calls and distractions, I forgot to put the top onto the BLO tightly. I "bumped into" the container tipping it and spilling about a quart onto the floor.

I immediately took a roll of paper towel and blotted up the mess on the rubber floor, before it made a sitcky mess. I took all of the oily paper towels and a couple of soiled microfiber towels and put them into a big trash drum that was lined with a black lawn and leaf bag. The trash can was "mostly" empty.

This morning, I got up and went about my usual routine. As I was getting ready to leave the house to run errands, the smoke detectors started going off.

I went to the shop and it was covered in deep, dense smoke. When I opened the 10 X 10 overhead door, the trash can burst into flames. I was barely able to drag the can outdoors before the heat would have set off the sprinkler system. Sprinklers and high dollar machinery makes a big ole mess, so It was IMPORTANT TO STOP THE SPRINKLERS!

Once I got the can outside, I got the fire put out. I looked and all I could figure is that the little "squares of paper towel" that I rip up and thow on the floor to count the coats of CA, then sweep up and dump in this can had cause a "spontanious" fire. The trash can was just about empty except for these few squares, some plastic water bottles and some used plumbers putty.

I guess the CA squares and the BLO started a slow fire that took nearly 12 hours to ignite.

BE CAREFUL WITH BLO!!!!
 
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Whoa!

Time to make some safety changes in the shop. I have considered a dedicated can for anything with CA. That stuff can get hot. I don't leave my steel wool laying around anymore either. Glad you are ok!!

Regards

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
 
I've heard this can happen, but never seen it. When I took art classes, any studio that used linseed oil based paint had an "oily rag" bin which was treated especially carefully.
 
I don't use much BLO, but I place all of my finish rags on the edge of the trash can in the open air to dry... I throw them into the can only after they are fully dried....
I suspect that the closed and close proximity of the rags in the bottom of the can allowed the heat to build... I've heard of farmers losing hay barns to spontaneous combustion... the heat deep inside the hay stacks generate the heat and as it has no place to dissipate continues to build...
 
larryc said:
Andy

Hope you get your pants cleaned before I see you this weekend!

Larry
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LMAO:biggrin:
You won't see me this weekend, unless you come to the shop! We've have decided that the "Festival of Rain" is not something we will be doing.

Last year, we barely $1,500 and nearly lost all of our "stuff" in a toronado. We checked and out of the 45 years they've been doing that festival, it has rained 43 of them. So, we cut them out of our loop.
 
Did he say "SPRINKLER SYSTEM" ????Hell I thought I was first class with my red bucked of sand... All kidding aside Andy were all happy that all is well now...except the pants.
 
That is a hard feeling to describe! I guess it was opening that huge door that made the can blaze up. Had I just gone down the steps, the can would likely have just continued to smolder.

When you see a fire break out, right in the middle of all of your machinery and raw parts, it makes you sick. All I could think was how can I make a living if all of my tools are gone? It actually made me sick to my stomach....Pants are OK.

And Roy, the reason for the sprinkler system is that it is a building code requirement here for putting a workshop or garage underneath a living area.
 
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Yes it didn't have anything to do with the CA. It strictly is the old spontaneous combustion, Boiled linseed oil has always been good for that. Same reason most of us old farts heard all the time when we were kids about oily rags. With the new paints and all the modern synthetic base oils and now acrylics used in paint. They hardly mention the warning any more!:eek:
Glad you are ok and the shop is safe metal can with lid, and as a added safety placed outside away from the structure.
:clown:
 
I don't DO a bunch of wood in my shop. But I just spoke with a friend who works with woods daily. He says that he won't even bring unopened cans of Tung Oil or BLO into his shop.

I think this is a new policy for me, too. BLO really doesn't "add' to anything I do, so from today forward, it is a banned substance from the shop!
 
Thanks for the reminder. I also drop the small pieces into a plastic can and forget them, not anymore. I am glad that you and your shop was not damaged in any way. Take care.
 
Whew! Glad everything turned out OK. It's been about 20 years but I clearly remember the beautiful high rise building in Center City Philadelphia, near when I worked. There was a wicked fire that broke out and severely damaged about 5 floors, in the center of the building. There was so much structural damage they had to take the entire building down. The Fire Marshall determined it was cause by a maintenance worker who was refinishing some wood trim with BLO, and who carelessly disposed of the rags he was using in a waste basket. That was all the warning I needed.
 
I can't remember who it was, but I know I read that somebody on here eliminates the spontaneous combustion danger by only using BLO on small bits of paper towel, then putting all of the towel bits into a metal trash can. When he finishes with the BLO, he takes the can outside away from all other flammable materials and drops a match into the bucket. They can't catch fire by themselves if you burn them deliberately! All done in a controlled way of course.
 
PenMan1 said:
I think this is a new policy for me, too. BLO really doesn't "add' to anything I do, so from today forward, it is a banned substance from the shop!
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Not sure I would go that far, but I can understand the reaction after experiencing what you did.

I use BLO on a regular basis for all manner of projects and you just have to take precautions. The small strips of paper towel with a little BLO and CA are really something you need to worry about, however steps should be taken to keep the work area safe.

I do not store BLO in the shop area (I have a flammables locker outside) but when I use it in the shop, all rags, towels, etc go into a bucket with water which then goes outside where the rags are hung to air dry.

It can sometimes be a pain, but the advantages of what BLO can do for some projects make it worth it. In the shop I never use BLO from a gallon or large container, I place/pour it into a glue bottle (ketchup/mustard container) with a cap.
 
PenMan1 said:
That is a hard feeling to describe! I guess it was opening that huge door that made the can blaze up. Had I just gone down the steps, the can would likely have just continued to smolder.

When you see a fire break out, right in the middle of all of your machinery and raw parts, it makes you sick. All I could think was how can I make a living if all of my tools are gone? It actually made me sick to my stomach....Pants are OK.

And Roy, the reason for the sprinkler system is that it is a building code requirement here for putting a workshop or garage underneath a living area.
Click to expand...

Probably also a good time to make sure your insurance coverage is in order. Can never be too careful, glad things are ok!!
 
hay

TellicoTurning said:
I don't use much BLO, but I place all of my finish rags on the edge of the trash can in the open air to dry... I throw them into the can only after they are fully dried....
I suspect that the closed and close proximity of the rags in the bottom of the can allowed the heat to build... I've heard of farmers losing hay barns to spontaneous combustion... the heat deep inside the hay stacks generate the heat and as it has no place to dissipate continues to build...
Click to expand...
Hay will smolder and sometimes flame if stacked or baled to tightly when it is not fully dry.
 
I used to do CA/BLO finishes but sometime ago I switched to CA/Walnut Oil and tossed the BLO. The walnut oil works as good as CA and there seems to be no fire danger that I can find mention of.
 
Watco oil was at the center of a lot of news years ago for rag fires. Reggie Jackson lost close to $4 million dollars worth of collector cars and shop space in the late '80s from workman letting Watco soaked rags lay around. I think he sued Watco. A much larger warning label appeared on their cans after that. Lots of fires each year from linseed oil. I hang the rags over something outside to let a lot of air get around the rags. No heat can build when they are hanging in mid air. So glad it was not a disaster for you!
 
These reactions are not limited to BLO. I was taught many years ago about the spontaneous combustion of rags soaked with motor oil. I recently read that a local house burned down from discarded rags soaked with wood stain. The list goes on.

I dry out all rags soaked with any kind of oil or solvent just to be on the safe side.

Smitty, you're absolutely correct about "wet" (green) hay getting hot - and it has been known to burn barns down as a result. Large mulch and sawdust piles that are wet can also get hot and ignite under the right conditions.
 
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