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.

[Doug Garson]

Wow, thanks for posting.

[Patrick Varley]

Interesting video, and hopefully leads to people adopting safer practices.

That being said, I find the "need" for these videos somewhat irritating. And his comments in the beginning underscore part of the problem. "I've never seen it happen, so I didn't necessarily believe it could."

[Bernie Kopfer]

Thank you Jim for posting this!

[Mel Fulks]

Not the best way to become a nationally known beloved figure and break into show-business.

[Kevin Jenness]

Hey guys, watch this! Hold my beer...

I wonder if this joker's landlord or neighbors have seen this.

[Cameron Wood]

"a lot more serious"

yet I'm not sure if I'm left smarter or more dumb from watching this...

[Patty Hann]

Interesting video, and hopefully leads to people adopting safer practices.

That being said, I find the "need" for these videos somewhat irritating. And his comments in the beginning underscore part of the problem."I've never seen it happen, so I didn't necessarily believe it could."

Ol' Jason might be great woodworker, but he must have failed high school chemistry (or never took it) ...exothermic reactions.

[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.

[Warren Lake]

thats learned in the first half an hour in a shop or in a finishing class.

Ive made a point not to put grass clippings that are in the paper bags into the garage. Ive measured them before and photoed the heat gauge just forgot the numbers but at least three times had smoke coming out of them.

[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.