Don't Burn Down Your Shop

[wbarnes]

I usually use the blue shop towels to apply finish and always throw them in the fire pit in my backyard. Haven’t had any catch fire yet but if they do it would be fine.

 

[Gofor]

Although letting rags dry will reduce the spontaneous combustion threat, they still remain easily ignited, especially any masking with powdery overspray on it. Something as little as a static spark can be enough to start them burning. Treat them as combustible waste.

 

[Gotcha6]

And that's another reason to only hire people that have liability insurance to do that sort of thing. Saving a few $$ on a stain and varnish job on your floor or trim isn't worth the heartache of fining out your homeowner's insurance will probably throw YOU under the bus....

 

[Echd]

Interestingly, AvE (an extremely popular YouTuber who is more of a metal and cnc channel who makes up interesting Canadian swear words) just released a video that is fairly compelling.

While he doesn't debate that rags soaked in polymerizing oils can catch fire, he makes a convincing argument that the bourbon moth guy from the original video either can change clothes in 2 seconds, or that he engaged in some shenanigans to make a more interesting youtube video.

There is some harsh language.

 

[Oka]

Yeah- common sense is you do not encapsulate flammables and reactive chemicals, if you do, it is possible to create a fire risk. However, this video lacks a lot of pertinent information and leans on more sensationalism of the video. - To me, videos like this are more about getting clicks than offering a full on science analysis and understanding risk mitigation.

You would be surprised what you can learn by just reading the info supplied by the products we use. I guess we really do live in a different time..... used to be most people had a basic understanding of mechanics, common sense, etc .............. now you open the hood of a car and it says "Don't drink the battery acid" ........

 

[petebucy4638]

Although letting rags dry will reduce the spontaneous combustion threat, they still remain easily ignited, especially any masking with powdery overspray on it. Something as little as a static spark can be enough to start them burning. Treat them as combustible waste.

When I was young, my mother worked as a school lunchroom manager. She used to bring the dirty kitchen towels home and wash and dry them. Even tough the towels had been washed in Tide, we still ended up with a clothes dryer fire. The fire marshal attributed the fire to the towels still having some cooking oil in them, even after being washed. His recommendation was to wash them on a heavy-duty cycle and dry them on a low heat setting.

 

[Gotcha6]

When I was young, my mother worked as a school lunchroom manager. She used to bring the dirty kitchen towels home and wash and dry them. Even tough the towels had been washed in Tide, we still ended up with a clothes dryer fire. The fire marshal attributed the fire to the towels still having some cooking oil in them, even after being washed. His recommendation was to wash them on a heavy-duty cycle and dry them on a low heat setting.

.... and if you spill diesel fuel on your clothes, just throw them away - if you're married. AMHIKT.

 

[Oka]

This video just seemed way to pizaz and weak on reality (see my comments above) - As suspected-another engineer made a debunking video on this

His name is AVE- Canadian, well read and talented engineer. However, his language can be offensive as he uses a fair amount of profanity.

Debunking the bourbon moth's video. - Interesting video makes some very salient points.

 

[Echd]

This video just seemed way to pizaz and weak on reality (see my comments above) - As suspected-another engineer made a debunking video on this

His name is AVE- Canadian, well read and talented engineer. However, his language can be offensive as he uses a fair amount of profanity.

Debunking the bourbon moth's video. - Interesting video makes some very salient points.

Yes, and the response from the original video creator is telling- keeps the faked video up and aggressively deletes comments calling it out instead of addressing it.

When someone fakes a scenario like that to scare viewers in other to sell them a sponsored product, they are no better than a thief IMO.

 

[waitup]

Yes, and the response from the original video creator is telling- keeps the faked video up and aggressively deletes comments calling it out instead of addressing it.

When someone fakes a scenario like that to scare viewers in other to sell them a sponsored product, they are no better than a thief IMO.

I'm not an engineer, so I won't pretend to know the details. I will say Bourbonmoth did address the AVE response video on his podcast. I don't understand what sponsored product he is trying to sell by faking this scenario. He is sponsored by Rubio and that is one of the ones that "caught fire" in his video.

 

[Echd]

I'm not an engineer, so I won't pretend to know the details. I will say Bourbonmoth did address the AVE response video on his podcast. I don't understand what sponsored product he is trying to sell by faking this scenario. He is sponsored by Rubio and that is one of the ones that "caught fire" in his video.

The very first affiliate link and one of the products he kept circling back to show with the product name clearly framed was the "fireproof" trash can.

I'm not begrudging anyone for making a buck and he has good content but about half of his videos are product placement or outright interstitial advertisements for squarespace or policy genius or whatever.

Dishonesty however is very reprehensible, especially when you are advertising products.

 

[zdorsch]

After reading through this post I went looking for a fire extinguisher. After reading through some Amazon reviews, I thought I would come back to NCwoodworker to see if anyone had discussed fire extinguishers and shops—thankfully there was a discussion a couple of years ago that is worth attaching to this thread!

Fire extinguisher in shop w/o climate control

We were looking into putting a fire extinguisher out in the shop but there's no A/C and it will just bake in the sun all summer. We have no idea how hot it will get inside and all of the models we have looked at say not to store àbove 120° F. Any advice or experience in this realm would be...

ncwoodworker.net

 

[waitup]

The very first affiliate link and one of the products he kept circling back to show with the product name clearly framed was the "fireproof" trash can.

I'm not begrudging anyone for making a buck and he has good content but about half of his videos are product placement or outright interstitial advertisements for squarespace or policy genius or whatever.

Dishonesty however is very reprehensible, especially when you are advertising products.

Fair enough. I honestly don't ever look at the links. I do like his content, but agree he has moved away from woodworking into click bait since he has gone full time content creator.

 

[petebucy4638]

Interestingly, AvE (an extremely popular YouTuber who is more of a metal and cnc channel who makes up interesting Canadian swear words) just released a video that is fairly compelling.

While he doesn't debate that rags soaked in polymerizing oils can catch fire, he makes a convincing argument that the bourbon moth guy from the original video either can change clothes in 2 seconds, or that he engaged in some shenanigans to make a more interesting youtube video.

There is some harsh language.

I would not believe either of these guys. But we do know that rags soaked in polymerizing oils can and do spontaneously combust. Whether that happened in the video is unknowable. YouTube has become a haven for deceptive, attention-seeking, snake-oil salesmen. And I don't need a video to convince anyone of that fact.

 

[cpowell]

Always lay your used rags flat to dry. Outside under a rock is best.

This is what I do. I use Danish oil occasionally. Rags placed outside on the grass to dry under a rock for at LEAST a week. Once they are completely dry, I place them in a metal can outside for disposal.

 

[Dee2]

Pete,
Outside of NCWW.net, who can you trust?

 

[Gotcha6]

Back to the issue at hand, when I was involved with a local rescue service 25-30 years ago we were called to a scene where a floor refinisher had left stain and MS soaked rags in his van on evening. Later that night, he noticed it was ablaze and went out to address the issue. When he opened the door a backdraft hit him and he received 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 50% of his body, so it DOES happen, and usually when you least expect it.

 

[petebucy4638]

Pete,
Outside of NCWW.net, who can you trust?

I have seen so many distortions and outright lies, not to mention the just plain dumb stuff, that I am probably more skeptical than I need to be. I like a lot of the woodworking and woodturning videos on YouTube, there are some real craftsmen putting out great videos. However, I tend to avoid anything that is presented like a reality show, where there is just too much drama to attention-seeking behavior for my liking. For real advice, I would turn to NCWW way before I would trust someone that none of us know on YouTube.