Spontaneous Combustion - A must see video

[Jim Becker]

Jason of Bourbon Moth Woodworking on the 'Tube does a lot of interesting projects and injects a lot of humor...I really enjoy his channel. This new video from him is a lot more serious and I agree with him that it's a "must see" because it illustrates very clearly why the woodworking community (and anyone else using oily finishing products) need to pay attention to proper disposal of oily rags. He did this as a very organized experiment and was surprised himself at the results. Please watch this in your copious free time. It could help prevent a disaster that doesn't need to happen.

[Patty Hann]

"...copious free time...."
Copious free time? I'd settle for just free time.

Couple observations:
1) He would have had his hands rather full if several trash cans/bags combusted at the same time.
2) In all of those containers he was NOT taking the temperature deep inside the pile of debris.
The one that combusted [first] was pretty dang hot deep inside, else it would not have combusted.
It would have been a much more "true to life" experiment if he had used a temperature probe.

Still, it was an impressive display and an always timely warning.
Thanks for posting it.

[Mel Fulks]

Patty, It’s called “copious esthetic”

[Patty Hann]

patty, it’s called “copious esthetic”

xxxx xxxxx

[glenn bradley]

Hopefully most of us on here have been at it long enough to know that this is a thing. I have a lidded pail that I half fill with water and throw oily rags into during a process. Later I lay them out to dry and a few days later I toss them. Heat during curing is real folks. Ignore it at your own peril.

[Ken Combs]

Had that talk with my 10th grade shop teacher.

then several years back I was fixing up an old building for my wife and I to open an antique mall. 4900 sqft of mostly old growth pine floor. Mostly as it was built in 1917, but had several repairs from later to to plumbing, hot water heating work. Anyway, way too much for a real refinish so I cleaned and repaired it and was applying a mix of linseed oil, paint thinner and spar varnish. Mopping on with a string mop, then picking up the excess with a dry(er) mop.

Looking good when we broke for lunch. In less than an hour we returned to smoke and smells. A longer lunch and we would have returned to flames.

I knew but just never thought it would happen that fast.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Hopefully most of us on here have been at it long enough to know that this is a thing. I have a lidded pail that I half fill with water and throw oily rags into during a process. Later I lay them out to dry and a few days later I toss them. Heat during curing is real folks. Ignore it at your own peril.

Yes, every time this comes up I am always shocked at how few times it’s mentioned to just put the spent rags fully submerged in a pail of water for a few days or more to neutralize them. Then they can be disposed of like anything else.

There is no need to lay rags out to dry, chancing them falling/blowing away if outside, accidentally forgetting about them, having to deal with the smells off gassing...

I did not watch the video to see if submerging in water was recommended, but in commercial shop environments I have worked in, this was the standard operating procedure and you got seriously chewed out if you did not follow it.

[Rick Potter]

As a retired fireman, the one thing that bothered me was the plastic trash cans. I was waiting to see if more than one would light at one time and start melting down and burning before he could get to it. That burning plastic smell would have stuck around for a long time in the shop. Other than that, it was a great learning experience.

Also glad when he removed them all at the end of the test. Well done.

[Frank Pratt]

Nothing wrong with just laying them out flat to air dry. The water bucket works, but is messy. As long as the oil has finished polymerizing, the fire danger is gone. That will happen quite quickly if the rags are laid out or hung out to dry.

[Jim Becker]

As a retired fireman, the one thing that bothered me was the plastic trash cans. I was waiting to see if more than one would light at one time and start melting down and burning before he could get to it. That burning plastic smell would have stuck around for a long time in the shop. Other than that, it was a great learning experience.

Also glad when he removed them all at the end of the test. Well done.

He specifically mentioned that he used those because they were what is very commonly used in folks' shops. My shop has two of them, as a matter of fact. (but I don't put finishing rags in them...they get hung on a repurposed bird feeder "crook" away from the building to dry fully before disposal)
----

I'm kinda disappointed in some of the responses including those that make fun of a guy making a serious effort to warn/remind folks that the risks of oily rags are real. You're better than that folks. There certainly were things not done the "best" way for sure in the testing/video and I might have done some of them differently given some thought. One of them would have been to have his shop assistant/camera operator there for the entire exercise so there two sets of eyes available or to do the entire test out on the driveway. But regardless. I applaud him for calling attention to something that way too many people...and not just beginners...can and do get into trouble with.

[Kevin Jenness]

I'm kinda disappointed in some of the responses including those that make fun of a guy making a serious effort to warn/remind folks that the risks of oily rags are real. You're better than that folks. There certainly were things not done the "best" way for sure in the testing/video and I might have done some of them differently given some thought. One of them would have been to have his shop assistant/camera operator there for the entire exercise so there two sets of eyes available or to do the entire test out on the driveway. But regardless. I applaud him for calling attention to something that way too many people...and not just beginners...can and do get into trouble with.

I guess I'm not better than that, sorry. He could have started and stopped with the security cam footage from his friend's shop. Great idea to do some testing with real world conditions, but he's damned lucky he didn't burn down his shop or involve neighboring properties. He could have easily had several simultaneous fires going on with a couple of 10# extinguishers, a pail of water and a very sick feeling. I can imagine the reaction of the firefighters had that little experiment gone out of control.

[Kevin Jenness]

Yes, every time this comes up I am always shocked at how few times it’s mentioned to just put the spent rags fully submerged in a pail of water for a few days or more to neutralize them. Then they can be disposed of like anything else.

There is no need to lay rags out to dry, chancing them falling/blowing away if outside, accidentally forgetting about them, having to deal with the smells off gassing...

I did not watch the video to see if submerging in water was recommended, but in commercial shop environments I have worked in, this was the standard operating procedure and you got seriously chewed out if you did not follow it.

What happens to the contaminated water?

[Phillip Mitchell]

What happens to the contaminated water?

Pour it into old gallon jugs, or whatever and take it to the landfill at the same time as the old paint, solvents, motor oil, etc, etc

[Cameron Wood]

Pour it into old gallon jugs, or whatever and take it to the landfill at the same time as the old paint, solvents, motor oil, etc, etc

That's gross, & I believe illegal in my state.

[Phillip Mitchell]

That's gross, & I believe illegal in my state.

? What do you do with old / used solvent, paint, etc? Does your local landfill not have designated days and areas that they collect such things to prevent people from just mixing them in the normal household trash, or worse, just pouring them out outside or in septic/sewer systems?

This is what is legally required in my state and area and what I was taught from a couple different commercial shops in this area. Oily water leftover from soaking finished rags is very similar to old solvent/paint/other finishing supplies. Not sure what is gross about that compared to any other finishing supplies that need to be disposed of accordingly.