Rag fires

Centralia, PA *LINK*

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>Underground coal fire, forty-five years and going strong...


Centralia, PA

Re: Rag fires

Paul M.

>I don't generate a lot of rags as my projects are usually small. I've found that there's no danger of fire if the rags are spread out flat on the concrete floor of my garage. The contact with concrete prevents heat build-up since the rags are completely flat on a gigantic heat sink. When they get dry and crispy, then they go to the trash since it is safe to dispose once all the reactive chemicals have stabilized.

Hard to squeeze air out of a rag

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>As Moses has said, it's the drying oil that causes the problem. As I understand it, the chemical reaction we refer to as "drying," which is essentially an oxidation reaction, has heat as a byproduct (true of many other chemical reactions, and I can vaguely remember my high school chem class in which the chemistry and physics of this was discussed, though I more vividly remember the [female] student who sat in the next row). Non-drying oils just sit there.

And the very nature of rags means that you'd have to pull a vacuum to get the air out of the spaces in the rags.

I spread mine out on something in the yard and let them get stiff and dry-feeling before tossing in the trash. Fortunately, my finishing sessions have never coincided with the really windy days we occasionally get here on the north coast, but I suppose I'd feel safe enough putting a brick on top of a flat rag if that happened.

Re: Speaking of Myth Busters....

ThomD

>That is what I assumed the issue was with those cans. Thanks for the elaboration. I still feel better just staking the odd cloth out flat on the lawn till it dries or the garbage pick-up comes by.

Re: Rag fires

ThomD

>"Are we as woodworkers contributing significantly to what is being referred to as "Global Warming"?"

Yes we are, but on the other hand Since Global Warming is a hoax we should just pay into the carbon tas system and sleep soundly.

Re: Rag fires

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>I don't really get the idea that filling land is somehow damaging to the land. Perhaps someone could take the time to explain that to me; I doubt they would be able to convince me, so they might as well not waste their time. I think it is a shame to be wasteful but there is no shame in using our resources wisely for necessity, beauty, and comfort.

Testimonial

Jerry Huey

>Some years back (I think I described it here, can't find the post) my son and I were working on a project. My usual plan was to lay the oil rags out until they dry and get hard then dispose of them. This time it was Sunday, the day before Monday (trash day). I got up in the morning and put them out in the trash. About 11 am someone knocked on the door and asked if I knew we had a fire. Our mailbox and post was engulfed. The trash can (plastic) was completely gone, except for the axle for the plastic wheels. The mailbox was gone and the post was down to about 3 inches from the ground. I did find some mail on the ground barely readable and learned my lesson...or I mean I taught my son a lesson that day. I now have a new plan!

Jerry