I Tried To Burn Down My Shop || This Video Will Save Yours
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- čas přidán 24. 03. 2023
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Theres a very clear line in the comments from before and after AVE made his video
😂
Firefighter here. Powder Fire extinguishers are great for putting out a fire by smothering it. They do not stop the chemical reaction not do they cool down the source of the fire. So if the heat is still there and oxygen gets back in then fire will re ignite. Great video. When I use linseed oil I have a bucket of water and dump my oily rags in there. Then when done throw the wet rags away.
AVE sends his regards.
ave brings up some good points about this video
Isn't it shocking that in all the time wood workers have been on CZcams, you're probably the first person to run a test like this. This was a BADLY NEEDED video.
Respect, my friend✌️
I have seen others including one who wanted to prove it was false and did so by not testing properly.
James Wright did a simpler test a couple years ago and got it to burn. This is the most scientific of the CZcams tests I have seen however.
@@BillHartCooks. It really is a well set up design....maybe safer if someone had been there helping.
Because everyone knows what happens to linseed soaked rags.
@@JediOfTheRepublic Not everyone knows that. A girl that works with my wife burned her family's house down not knowing that you had to let the rags dry out.
This is hands down the most important woodworking video to hit CZcams. I know we’ve all heard the stories, but seeing this cemented the importance of proper disposal. Incredible.
Before watching, I called B.S. on this. I always just assumed a cigarette butt or some other ignition source carelessly placed in with the rags was the cause.
@@rudyschwab7709 When firefighters tell you something starts fires, you should listen to them and not assume things.
@@MAGAMAN The most faked video on youtube was The Jan 6th riot my chief and the election of Trump.
It's fake
Please upload the complete unedited video of the 1st ignition. If it's 7 hours+ I'd be ok with that.
Since I haven't seen anybody else mention this, the fire extinguisher you used should be replaced immediately. Once they're used for the first time, they will slowly lose pressure and become useless.
I learned this the hard way while casting bronze. Crucible broke and spilled molten bronze on the ground. It ignited a nearby piece of plywood and the main extinguisher I had was completely dead, even though I only used it briefly before.
Luckily, this was outdoor in a wide open yard, so it wasn't a major problem. But it could have been under different circumstances.
I teach woodworking at the high-school level, and this is definitely getting shown to my classes!
Please find a good correct fire fighting video of using fire extinguishers around any type of fire and double what you think you need in extinguishers. Fire alarm system and lighted exit signs. I am sure you have already thought of what you need to teach students. Good that you are being proactive.
Was just thinking this should be required viewing in every woodworking and carpentry course.
Our community college wood shop has a huge central vac dust collection system that deposits the dust and small scraps in an outside enclosed bin. It caught fire due to spontaneous combustion. The post event analysis was that it occurred due to wood pitch and high ambient temperature. The shop teachers have always taught students to dry finishing rags outside and dispose of them in the outside sealed metal can.
perfect length for a class as well. this would be a great video to show
Please explain to your class the flaws in this video as well. I was a chemistry teacher and safety is an discussion topic before anything else, as you well know. Lids should have been present to extinguish the cans as well as an extinguisher prepared and ready Outside as well. 😉
I wish my high school had had a shop class. And the lack of a respirator is alarming. Dry chemical extinguisher and plastic smoke 😖
I am glad to see you address this...even more grateful you took it so seriously...my shop is in my basement so I am close to paranoid about oily rags. Thank you for pointing out how easily fire can start...and how unpredictable they can be.
2 things in addition be careful of batteries and be careful of electrical cords.
Regrettably my brother in laws woodshop recently burnt down and the fire Marshall worked with him to determine the cause and it was most likely a table saw cord that had been pinched when he pushed it up against the wall after using it. The saw had not been in use for 2-3 weeks but since it was plugged in it had some kind of flow. Also make sure you have a good fire rider on your home insurance and do yourself the favor of making a list of everything you would want to claim ahead of time if you were in this situation. Finally do not store gasoline, kerosene, diesel or other fuel inside structures you care about because in most cases storing fuel inside will actually nullify your fire insurance.
So a tip from the rc plane community that deals with tons of lithium batteries. Make yourself a battery coffin out of cement board , put your chargers and batteries in the coffin and set it up on a wire rack shelf with a few tubes of sand above so that if a fire starts the heat will melt the plastic and the Sand will stream down dousing the fire. Do not use water on a battery fire they NEED to be doused using a fire extinguisher, fire blanket or similar.
This video may get an unforeseen level of interest and engagement.
Great video this week. Working at a W.C store I always warn people who don't understand oil finishes about this danger. Now I have a good resource to have them watch.
Jason, thank you so much for creating this video. I have to admit, you scared me so much that I literally got up off my recliner at 10:22pm, walked out to my shop barn - where I haven’t done any woodworking for at least a month - and rolled my trash can (which was half filled with wood scraps, old small engine parts, cardboard, etc) outside. Then I filled it with water.
😂 good for you. Safety 1st... not second
😂
Dousing rags with water or soaking them only delays the potential for combustion. When the water evaporates the oil will still be there and restart its own drying process. If you throw them out wet, then you're just passing the risk on to someone else (who likely has no expectation of being on alert for fire).
I would imagine waste disposal companies have some sort of contingencies in place for this, but it would still be best to avoid the problem at all.
The rags need to be laid out on the floor to dry before being disposed of.
Oily rags and polyethalene containers and no smoke? Hmmm. Smells fishy
As a Chief Engineer on big yacht, we are instructed to keep oily rags separate from other rubbish, and in metal containers with sealed lid. I like also to do some woodworking while at home and my rubbish bin are always outside and in metal. Keeping a good fire extinguisher in the area is also a good idea. Keep in mind that others materials mixed can heat up and potentially start a fire. e.g. chlorine and whitened paper or mixed two components resins.
This is another reason I can tell the wife that I need to build a separate building just for finishing. 😁👍
Video evidence now 😅
Dunno if it's a good thing to show her xD she'll maybe think it's a good reason NOT to build something new that could catch fire :D
I’ve always been told since a kid to not keep mineral spirits soaked rags together. Never thought too much about any other oil based stuff. But everyone in my family will have to sit down in a quiet place and watch this video. Your a hero in my book!!!
Thank you bringing this to all your viewers attention! I regularly just dump cloth rags with oil on them in a bin which sits in my garage which is under my house which my wife, daughter and I sleep in!
I’m going to have to change my work practices!
This looks like a similar process to Hooibroei we have in Dutch. It is hard to translate, but it is the phenomenon of hay spontaneously combusting. In the case of hay, this is caused by micro-organisms fermenting the hay, causing a self-sustaining reaction that heats up the hay and produces flamable gasses that can combust as early as 80°C.
Thank you so much for this. I’m 60 years old but new to woodworking and I’ve never heard of this. I’ve been through a fire before when my workshop from a prior screen printing business burned down due to a faulty box fan I regularly left running overnight to dry screens. It hit hard financially but I survived it, barely. I can assure you I no longer leave fans running when I’m not around and now I’ll make sure I don’t leave wet rags in the trash!
Also, thumbs up for Seinfeld, my go to when I have 30 minutes to kill.
We're going to make this video required viewing for all new employees in our shop. Really nicely done. Thank you for putting the time and effort into keeping all of our shops a little bit safer.
czcams.com/video/PybuHB9gc_U/video.html
Hopefully, nobody points out it's fake
@@dluke20 no it's to see who's knowledgeable enough to spot that it's a fake!
@@MAGAMAN Look at your WORDS LMAO and youre voting for one of history's most vicious criminals that lies with every word! The entire country is founded on lies. But maybe that is why you love Trump. Because you know most are being lied to by him and all the other puppets creating "two separate" political parties of their own buddies.
the most common mixture taught in art schools as an oil thinner to replace the good ole turp is a mix of linseed oil and galkyd (or galkyd lite)....all the studios are outfitted with oxygen trapping and self closing metal bins for rags (like the red bin used in the experiment). one of my professors told me to always use at least a galvanized metal bin for rags because he used to keep his oil rags loosely under the sink but they spontaneously combusted once (thankfully his family was out of the house, and the neighbors called the fire dept pretty quick so his home wasn't totally destroyed) but hasn't had a problem with galvanized metal. never even thought to use a plastic bin....ya know...cuz plastic melts easily in heat (RIP your driveway). maybe a bit of a part 2 would be cool testing different material consumer bins and their lids. the big thing about fire is oxygen...so with or without lids can play a pretty big factor.
I also am a retired firefighter and hobbyist woodworker I am glad you're covering this. Maybe a bit of an unconventional method, but good info. I saw a beautiful 2 story custom log home burn to the ground from a bag a oil soaked rags. The rags had been used to re-stain/treat the logs during the day and put into a bag in the back of the pickup in the basement garage. It was truly a sad and epic event.
as he grid lines out enough fire hazrds to give you a coranary
@@Foxtrot_Foxtrot_Lima I love AvE too!😂
AvE released a video that calls this guy out as a Fraud that's using lighter fluid.
For fun we put our oil rags in our outside burn barrel and see how long it takes to combust. Never leave rags in a shop
Crazy stuff man, ya I can't believe that my entire shop didn't burn down, no one was supposed to be there.... angels were watching. But everyone needs to see this video because otherwise they'll see the fire eventually in their own shop and might not come out as lucky as me!
❤
So glad that it didn't go a lot worse. God certainly sent His angels indeed. I'll bet you'll be a lot more careful in the future. This is quite sobering for me too.
@Perry Bailey oh big time. We've been always safe about it.. but there's always that new guy who doesn't take it serious..
Wow your lucky someone stopped by, this video really opened my eyes to the danger. This video is the most valuable video you may of just saved mine because I've never really taken it seriously. I think you have saved multiple shops from your experience. God bless sir
@Robert Messer ya awareness on this subject is definitely important. Jason can bring that better than I
Great video, thanks a lot!
Use foam or water fireextinguishers whenever its possible. Powder will likely damage all electric tools in your shop and leave a big mess. Foam will work too on burning rags, with whatever they are soaked. And it is likely that you can't breathe because of the powder and have to stop fighting the fire. Imagine using this in a smaller kitchen or livingroom.
I use to clean cooking friers for a living using blue commercial cleaning rags. The poor washing machine could never get all of the vegetable oils etc out of the cleaning rags. I had it happen to me twice, where if I put the rags into a bucket to early before the rags had fully dried, they caught on fire. Even though they were cold before going into the bucket. Be careful out there guys! Love this channel, keep up the awesome work!
A much needed video - I can't believe no one else has posted something like this before. I always soak my used rags with water and toss them into my fire pit in the back yard. Once they dry out, I burn them intentionally after a couple of days. Definitely lets me sleep easier at night.
I’m… stunned. I’ve been throwing away oil-soaked rags into a common metal trash bin in my shop for the past 25+ years, and I can only recall one time some years ago when I noticed the trash bin lid was warm as if it had been sitting out in the sun - only it was early in the morning and it’s never stored outdoors.
I’m now wondering if there were other times this had occurred and I simply didn’t notice it. How I inexplicably escaped from burning down the place is beyond me. It’s a terrifying thought and you’ve got my full attention. Holy cow.
Keeping the lid on helped. If anything was to catch on fire it would go out immediately from lack of oxygen.
@@brianlawrence9959 I think you’re right - the lid on that particular trash can has a deep side skirt to it where you have to push down on it with both hands to close it up. I’ve had that trash bin for over twenty years, but I’m certainly changing up my careless practice of what gets tossed into there from now on.
@@JustOneRedSoloCup Glad you are changing up your practices! It could also be that it uses up the oxygen in that can for the most part before it can combust, the curing of BLO is oxidation, I just don't know how much it needs. In Jason's experiment only the open containers caught.
Back in the 80s my family had a restaurant and in the kitchen storage area we keeper a rag bag for used kitchen rags. One thing you use in the business is rags , you use them for everything including cleaning oil around fryers and grills. I came into the kitchen one morning and smelled what I thought was wire so I have an electrician come and check all wiring with no findings. Fast forward two more dsy still finding nothing until there was a very lite smoke that appeared in storage aera , with that I upped the rag bag out onto floor and at the bottom was a rags just smoldering. It's a weird feeling knowing that at anytime your whole life can change because of a little overlooked mistake. Thanks for that info , I hope alot of people took it to heart and learned something from it. 🙂✌️
Thank you for an excellent video.
I was taught to never leave any rag with any substance on it in the shop! I always put them outside in a bucket of water and then hang them on the line to dry in the morning before disposal.
Thank you for producing this video! I remember my dad, a chemist for a global paint company, was sooo obsessed with keeping a clean shop and disposing of things properly that, as kids, we didn't understand the meticulousness he exhibited---now, so many years later thanks to you, I understand. Thank you for opening so many eyes to the danger that is spontaneous combustion. Please share this on all social platforms!
Thank you so much for this video. I am a hobby tool restorer/woodworker and generate a small amount of oily rags doing various projects in my basement. I hate to admit it, but I have been careless with disposal of oily rags. This video shown me just how lucky I have been, not to have had a fire yet. It really opened my eyes to how careless I have been. I will definitely be changing my ways. Thank you again for possibly saving my home, and the lives of my family.
Did you have any fire alarms? I assumed in a woodshop fire alarms would be mandatory!
20+ years ago I was working at a pizza parlor and found my cleaning rags, that I had been throwing in a hamper, smoking! Dug through them and the center of the wad had turned brown/burnt. I learned my lesson early!
Wow! I didn’t realize this could happen! Thanks for doing this! You’ve probably saved multiple peoples shops and houses by demonstrating this risk!
As a firefighter for 50 years I have ran on calls for this very reason. Great job for teaching others, thanks. One question; where is your smoke detector !
Where was the smoke😮
So your friend keeps his camera time stamp and wall clock set at the same exact wrong time?! Weird..
I’ve just learned how closely I have avoided at least one or two fires. I tend to leave rags out anyhow but I have for sure met the conditions of this experiment before
Thank you so much for this. I’ve heard this could happen but honestly disregarded it until now. As a hobbyist woodworker who primarily works out of my home I’m horrified to think that I could have burned down my home and even worse hurt my love ones. Definitely a great reminder to stay vigilant about safety in the shop not only to protect your digits but life and property as well!
If you think about it, why is boiled linseed oil and similar products even for sale to the general public? I'm not sure if you can buy a big jug of nitric acid or some other explosive chemicals at the hardware store? The fact that just applying the product to a cloth, causes spontaneous combustion, should make the product require a full background check and proof of training in order to buy it. In my mind, surely the chemists in 2023 can create a product that does all the same things, without the risk of a fire? I can't believe that with all our modern technology, that "boiled linseed oil" which was invented 200 years ago, is somehow the best we have? This is a case where we need the government to help the people, to help fund a solution.
Thank you Jason on behalf of my little shop, 360 Grace Woodworks! I generally lay my rags out on the ground but this means I'm just going to be even more vigilant in my safety because of all the sawdust that I carelessly leave on the ground too!
I have always followed good rag management but this is a wake up call and reminder!!
My cousin caught a pile of rags on fire in my aunts garage when I was young. Fortunately the rags were in the middle of the garage and only the rags burned. I still remember seeing all the smoke rolling out. It taught me a valuable lesson.
Jason , Thank you so much for making this video have heard of this but did not realize it could happen this easily. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this setting up this experiment and the time you spent watching it to show how much time it takes but how fast it happens. I truly believe you have saved someone’s shop and someone’s life with this video.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 love watching your channel and the amazing work you do can’t wait to see what you do next
I just drove into my workshop on a Sunday to make sure that the rags my wife had used on a cutting board had been disposed of properly like Ive been saying for years. They were in my plastic bin behind my desk. Never seen a video like this before and it brings it back to the front if mind. Good job mate. Hope this goes viral.
I'm not a wood worker and would never work with linseed oils having had worked in a hardware store decades ago and naturally know of linseed oil instability. Rationale tells me a mostly enclosed but not sealed container which will help retain heat but allow "breathing", thus escalating it, and the inclusion of materials that can be thought of as kindling, is the big take way from this. I enjoyed the video. Thanks!
“Video was taken just after midnight” time stamp shows 10:40, clock on the wall upper right corner shows 10:39… 🤔
I’ve always loved your videos but you have brought awareness to something few others are talking about. Thank you for keeping our community safe and keeping it entertaining as always.
I’ve always known this was a thing but also figured I was bordering on obsessive how I lay out every rag completely flat for nearly 24 hrs and then leaving them outside for a day or two before putting them in the garbage. Thanks for validating (or should I say feeding) my obsessiveness.
I had an oily rag fire in an apartment in a 4-unit building I was remodeling. Luckily a tenant smelled the smoke and kicked through the door and extinguished it and called 911 because I was out of town when it ignited. Just ended up with smoke damage. It was from staining a floor with an oil based stain, I believe it was a minwax stain, not sure what oils it's made with. Thanks for taking the time to do this test!
I was told to always be careful with Danish Oil and I would always hang those rags out but I didn't consider linseed oil as that much of a risk. It might be time for a metal bin outside just to be safe.
What an incredible service, Jason, particularly for hobbyist woodworkers like me who don't think big things can happen in my little garage shop. I've always been careful with oily rags but this tells me to be better. You have likely saved someone from a huge heartbreak or worse. Thank you.
A lot more scientific than I thought you were going to get! Great job! It's one of those things where you are warned about it and "know" about it but until it actually happens you kind of don't believe it
also for science - notes on temps in non-freedom units, for anyone who needs them:
55F ≈ 13C
85F ≈ 29C
100F ≈ 38C
112F ≈ 45C
125F ≈ 52C
185F = 85C
200F ≈ 93F
i was kinda hoping grandma was going to be there to operate the fire extinguisher, like she was the first one to walk the gangplank on the gym set outside haha
We were at a project, using Rubio to stain trim. We were throwing our materials outside, into the snow bank, in February. (Think highs in the single digits and well below 0 at night) Anyway, we threw our rags out on a Friday afternoon, making sure that they weren't bunched up and were definitely away from the house. We came back on Monday and found that the rags had gotten warm enough to melt all the snow under it and melted all the way down to the ground. In freezing conditions.
Fortunately no fires though.
Amazing test! Thank you for the in-depth video.
Thank you so much for doing this!! As others pointed out this is probably one of the most important youtube woodworking videos out there. I am in shock of the results you got!!
I've always heard about this but honestly thought it was super rare. But your ability to recreate it three times is...holy freaking crap!
Same here. To see it happen so easily was an eye opener.
A Rubio rag caught fire in my truck. I was washing it and I smelled smoked Rubio (quite delicious smelling). Once I realized that's not good, I opened the door and the microfiber I used from 1-3 hours ago was smoldering and the core of the wadded up rag was ash.
Excellent demonstration. Thank you.
I just want to THANK YOU, specifically because you actually spent time which is valuable and not a small amount of cash too for this video. We often overlook this in our daily lives
My dad had a commercial woodworking shop for decades and he was super strict about laying linseed oil soaked rags in the middle of the concrete floor, then putting them in one of those metal safety cans (that was triangular shaped, that always stuck in my brain). I think he probably told my brother and I about a thousand times that they could spontaneously combust and this is the first time I've actually seen it, scary stuff! Great video, even though it's way different than your usual, I love the methodical approach.
I saw an expose' on the dangers of linseed oil soaked rags and spontaneous combustion on one of those "60 minutes" type programs way back in the early '80s and it stuck with me. I use a metal paint can with lid to throw rags and gloves in when I'm done applying finish. I can get these plain, unmarked, brand new metal cans at my local home center but I like the red metal bin in the video here. I'll have to look for one of those.
Oily rags are an issue so you should keep them in a proper metal bin with a tight lid but I call BS on this video. I've seen spontaneous combustion before in person, it starts smoking long before actual flames are visible.
Now that was over the top incredible Jason! I was really skeptical that any of those would catch on fire. Boy was I wrong! Thanks for the wake up call! Hopefully this will help to prevent anyone from causing a fire in their workshop, or anywhere else for that matter! 👍👍👏👏💥💥
What a great video.
Its common knowledge that this COULD happen, but I did not think you would get that many to ignite.
More people need to see this. This is a life saver for sure.
never heard about it myself
@@LykeArgy not common knowledge mate
@@briansboucherit’s common knowledge for anyone that bothers to read the label.
Common knowledge is not so common. I had no idea about this. Regarding reading labels: in this day and age we often skip the labels and go straight to CZcams for practical demonstrations. In one sense we are more educated, but in another we might be left with gaps in that knowledge. Eye opening stuff for sure.
Good stuff. Thanks for doing this. Def will be paying more attention now!
I greatly appreciate videos like this.
As a noob I would never have thought it.
Thank you
Army
SE Oregon
This is an awesome experiment. I've always heard stories about spontaneous combustion but have never seen any controlled testing to show it happening. As a user of both BLO and Rubio Monocoat it's valuable to know. Also glad that the rags just laying on the floor didn't combust as I usually just spread mine out in an open spot on a concrete floor (or put in a bucket of water if there are a lot).
You had me running out to my shop. That is scary. Thank you for reminding me to be more careful
Wowww. Serious reality check. Many thanks and much love 💕
Great vid. Rember to replace your extinguisher. Dry powder is one use, nitrogen will now leak all out. You should consider having a co2 extinguisher in shop. Dry powder have the best knock down power but in the case of a fire you will be cleaning up dry powder for days, also the powder is corrosive and will wreck your tools and machinery. Co2 has none of the fore mentioned downfalls. Ideally you should have both dry powder and co2. You might already but I thought should share.
Wow! Really great test! As a new woodworker this isn't something I really even thought about. I will be much more diligent about letting rags and such dry out before throwing out. Thank you for doing this test and video.
JUST AWESOME!!! TY for taking the time for this experiment and video! I have worked with wood my whole life (only as a hobbyist) but plan to get more into it soon and this is a complete eye-opener on a very serious scenario we could all so easily overlook :) Hats off my man and GREAT JOB!
I had it happen in my shop years ago…I was so fortunate because I wasn’t home but my shop was very small and very air tight…when I got home all I found is a small portion of the top of the 15gal plastic trash can…all the sanding dust and clean solvent rags were just a small pile of ash on the floor…so the old finish I took off the table was enough to start a smoldering fire…I was beyond lucky…
Thank you very much for this video, the result is edifying.
I'm a hobby woodworker for about ten years and I'm using Rubio Monocoat for four years now.
The Rubio product combines with wood cellulose, it is strongly recommended to immerse used Rubio (cotton) rags (composed mainly of cellulose) in a large bucket of water.
Personally, as an extra precaution, I soak everything that was used to apply Rubio in a bucket of water and leave it outside for a few days.
Please do it too! Always !
I hope this vid makes it to everyone who has a wood working space. Great job Jason.
Awesome video, thanks for doing the test! I've always been careful but figured it was an unlikely thing even if someone got careless once in a while. Good to know I was totally wrong.
We always had a dedicated steel can just for the rags of all types. We took care of it at the end of the day so nothing like that would happen in our shops. We also had a fire extinguisher, a bag of sand and cat litter by each one, just in case one did go up. Had a shop next door and all we heard was cabloom and windows shattered outward and come to find out a new kid started working there in an auto shop and threw an empty can of either in a trash can with their rags and no one seriously got hurt, some just whizzed a little. Anything can happen in an instant. Yeah it caused a heck of a mess in their shop because it threw everything everywhere from a 30 foot radios and it was in between 2 big tool boxes full of tools. The tools is what hit a couple of the workers. So you can just imagine what kind of mess was in there. Made us think about what else can we do to make our place more safe. I thought it was dynamite from the sound and percussion. I worked with that stuff in the military and that was the first thing going through my mind. That was back in 1992 when this happened. Then the following couple years we had grain silos exploding and oil storage batteries going up. So yeah we had some crazy few years there when I lived down in Oklahoma.
I was working as carpenter helper back when I was a kid. He had me staining cedar siding with Minwax stain. I was in the large garage as it was sprinkling and we didn't want to get the siding wet. It was lunch time so I left my rags on the floor of the garage so I could continue later when we got back. Well during the time we were gone the rags caught fire and burnt up. I had a pile of ash on the floor. Could have lost the house and garage because of that. Sawdust burnt my bosses house. He had his floors sanded and the contractor left a bag in the home. Same thing happened the sawdust caught fire and luckily the house was saved but with extensive damage. So watch out for that too.
Great video and experiment. Very enjoyable to watch.
I love all of your work, but this is probably one of the most important videos you've ever done. I certainly will be more aware in my shop. Probably saved some folks some heartache, or worse. Well done!
Great video, I’ve always heard the stories of the rag fire but to see how fast it can happen was eye opening!
My Son used to refinish hardwood floors and had a bag of oily rags spontaneously combust in the bed of his pickup! It's a real thing as your video proves!
The ones with closed lids seemed to be the safest aside from the red fire proof can, but I wouldn't say to blatantly leave oily rags in them either, but the oxygen is probably a big factor.
Awesome job on the experiment! I've always taken some precautions cause I work in an attached garage but I didn't think it would be that easy to have a fire start. Will definitely be more careful now. I'm sure you've just saved a few workshops by creating this content, possibly even a few lives, very well done. 👍
Great video. I was taught this years ago and have always laid the rags out to dry, but I always thought it was a really really low chance of actually happening. This just shows how easy it can happen. I will be extra vigilant from now on!
You have and will save lives with his video, fantastic work!
I am very careful about oily rags and was cleaning up after the trades one cold (-15) night and put some trash and old paint buckets in the back of the pickup about 530. Planning to head home later at about 830 I randomly noticed some odd lighting outside ( it was dark already). Sticking my head out the door the trash in the back of the truck was in flames...and very difficult to put out.
In only two and a half hours! It happens faster than you think, spreads faster than you think and is difficult to extinguish w/o an extinguisher. I was lucky I was passing by the window, lucky it was dark so I would notice it, lucky I had the equipment to put it out! My bedliner melted somewhat, but the 50 odd gallons of diesel in the saddle tanks did not ignite!
Always use a steel can and dispose of trash asap! Thanks for the great testing!
This has happened to me personally. Fortunately for me it was an early day in the shop for me so I caught this happening in my shop at about 4pm. It wasn’t linseed, it was a minwax product. Any oil soaked rag has the potential for spontaneous combustion because as oil dries it becomes exothermic. After I put the fire out I immediately purchased and fireproof rag pin.
The thing about the thermal camera is that it's measuring surface temperature. If there's a well insulated spot in the center of the wad of rags, it could easily get much hotter, which was most likely why the readings you were getting didn't seem to directly correlate with what caught on fire.
also we dont really know what the combustibility is of everything there, just the linseed oil only needs 200*F, so pockets of that temp seem to have occurred somewhere
Actually he was using a thermal heat "gun" everything else you said is true. So yes, it was measuring only surface heat an actual thermal camera would have shown the pockets of heat in the pile and where it was as well. Also, since linseed oil only needs 200⁰ to combust he was close on a couple more as well.
GREAT experiment and a EXCELLENT Public service announcement. I hope this is his most watched video.
@@thaddeustroyer A thermal camera measures temperature the same way a thermal "gun" does (via measuring thermal radiation). So it still wouldn't have picked up the temperature of insulated internal pockets. A thermal camera is just like taking the individual temperature of many thousands of points with a thermal "gun" and arranging that information into a "picture". It doesn't technically scan inside of something. Though sometimes it definitely seems like it can though because you can use a thermal camera to see "through" things that we can't see through with our eyes but this is more a property of thermal radiation travelling through many things that visible light does not travel through. In this case something that is insulated can be considered (roughly) the "same" as something being opaque (not see through) to our eyes. Insulated things block thermal radiation while opaque things block visible light.
Yup, and with these types of fire (similar to bales of hay or cotton) it's the center that gets hot as rags make a good insulator; trapping the heat.
Wife and I were staining and sealing Hemlock soffits for our house build. One Sunday morning, we clear sealed off a few more long strips in the open unfinished garage structure and popped out to get kids breakfast; then just stopped back by the site for some reason before going to the rental home. The rags were smoking in the tub they were in. My wife had thrown her nitrile gloves in with the rags and there was enough exothermic to start the gloves to ignite. I bet they were probably minutes before full on flames. The bin was hotter than hell and smoking when I hauled it out and dumped it out and stomped on everything in the gravel. Heat from rags ignited lower flash point nitrile that was in turn lighting up the entire rag. Scared the heck out of me so very careful with volatiles now.
Chemistry professor and lumber hobbist here. These are in a grouping called thermal runaway reactions. Basically, the reactions start out in slo-mo, making heat. If there isn't ventilation _at the surface of the rags_, the heat stays there. As the rags and oils get hotter, the reaction goes faster. Makes more heat. Goes even faster. Etc. (Runaway) When you spread the rags out, the airflow prevents the heat buildup, so you never get thermal runaway. Also, heads up - the fireproof container can still catch fire inside - it just keeps it all inside so it doesn't spread. So if you go to open it and it's feeling hot, don't open it... I've never been in that boat - I'd probably call the FD or VFD and ask for advice/assistance in that case.
Of all of your videos (and I love them all) I think this one is the most impressive and informative of all. I do this and will change how I work now. Thank you Thank you for saving me from myself.
Wow! I normally watch this channel for the humour and the sort of woodworking projects I'd love to do if I had a huge shop. But this one has changed my life! I'd heard of the risks but have been completely reckless over the years, and I thought this experiment would never result in any actual fire. I am blown away. My small shop is actually in my house, with a grandma living in a flat above! So clearly, I can't thank you enough Jason. Heartfelt appreciation from the UK!
another great video and one reason why I keep 2 fire extinguishers in the shop and a fire blanket as well. better to be prepared than not have one nearby.
My first experience with this phenomenon was when I used a redwood stain on siding of my sister's house. I was putting the used rags in a metal coffee can, in case they caught on fire. Well, they did. It was easily put out by putting water in the can. This happened while I was putting stain on the house.
Long time listeners and first time caller as they say. This is really crucial to all wood workers, what would have been the cherry on the top is if you had brought in your local fire dept or a spokes person from Rubio or a linseed producers to explain why this happens. And to give fail safe advice such as rinsing the rags in water first before throwing them.
Oil finishes don't "Dry" they cure. It is a chemical reaction with the oxygen in air. It is an exothermic reaction, it generates heat. If the rags are wadded up and heat is allowed to build up, it can increase the rate of the reaction, causing it to reach a high enough temperature to start a fire.
Laying them out flat to dry seems to be pretty effective, but I would take it a step further and put them outside on a non-combustable surface.
@@Bikeeast Thanks for that explanation!
All oily rags in my shop go into a small metal trashcan with a 5gal bucket inside of it. Bucket is full of water. Can hold alot of rags. When full, pull em out, put em in trash bag and take them down to dump,hazardous waste section. I tell them what it is and the risk, they put it in a burn proof container. Extra work to keep my shop and the world safer.
New to woodworking, and I had NO idea that this was a thing. Really appreciate you making this video, and love that someone else also shared it to the local makerspace I just joined. Incredibly informative, and one of the best "psa" videos I've seen.
Dude, seriously. Any "drying" oil product for wood is totally unsafe. It's almost not worth having, unless you're a professional wood worker. I had a big can of boiled linseed oil that I had purchased a few years ago, and after some thought, I returned it. The whole back of the can is a long warning label about how it will catch fire. It's like, why would they sell a flammable product that spontaneously combusts, to people to use on wood? It's like a sick joke or something. Using a natural "raw" oil means the oil is just a plain natural oil and it is almost impossible to catch fire, but anything that cures in 24 hours, will create a reaction that can create excessive heat. They sell steel vessels for rags, where it prevents oxygen and smothers any possible fire. Look for stain trash can, with a metal sealing lid.
@@Ritalie Hello mate, im new to this stuff and now im scared. What about paints?
Wow! I had no idea until I watched this. Thank You!
wow, thats just scary and crazy how that can pan out, thanks for the vid, stay safe peeps