Shop Fire safety

[Doggggboy]

I know this has been discussed before but still thought this was an interesting video.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I know this has been discussed before but still thought this was an interesting video.

This is one of the first things I learned in woodworking. I used to have tons of used flannel rags used with linseed oil to finish wood turnings, they always go into a heavy duty sealed steel can kept outdoors.

Edited to emphasize this point... the can is sealed air tight.

 

[Tom O]

I’m surprised that PA doesn’t sell these containers. The cans I have looked at had a plastic bin inside.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I’m surprised that PA doesn’t sell these containers. The cans I have looked at had a plastic bin inside.

a plastic liner is fine if the lid is heavy and seals tight.

without air there is little oxygen to oxidize the oil which is what causes the exothermic reaction.

 

[Tom O]

All the ones I have seen don’t have a bottom on them which probably wouldn’t change much sitting on concret,I’ll just keep looking.

 

[phaxtris]

https://www.amazon.ca/Justrite-Gallon-11-875-15-875-Galvanized-Steel/dp/B003PGRNC4/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=fireproof+garbage+can&qid=1680396775&sprefix=fireproof+gar%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-6

 

[cuslog]

A little off topic -- but maybe not so much.
Thinking while in my shop just this afternoon -- ya know, I don't have a fire extinguisher in here - I do sometimes weld, heat things with a propane torch -- yeah, I should get one in here.
What's that saying - better to have one and never need it than need one and not have one. - what a sickening feeling that would be !

 

[140mower]

A little off topic -- but maybe not so much.
Thinking while in my shop just this afternoon -- ya know, I don't have a fire extinguisher in here - I do sometimes weld, heat things with a propane torch -- yeah, I should get one in here.
What's that saying - better to have one and never need it than need one and not have one. - what a sickening feeling that would be !

I have three in my little shop........ Fire scares the hell out of me......

 

[DavidR8]

I also have three extinguishers for the same reasons as Don...

 

[whydontu]

In my much younger and much stupider days, I set fire to a bicycle frame. I guess if I had tested it with a magnet prior to striking an arc, I would have known the frame was magnesium alloy and not steel. Next day bought three fire extinguishers.

 

[jcdammeyer]

I also have one and it's by the doorway.

 

[Ironman]

I also have one and it's by the doorway.

I have 3 in the shop and a 5 gallon water bucket. The other thing we should think about is exits and secondary exits. I have a seacan on each side as part of the shop walls and I have thought about...what if I am on the mill and a fire breaks out in a vehicle in the main shop floor? The seacan doors lock from the outside, and unless I change that setup I am trapped on the wrong side of a fire. As my lungs are compromised already, I would not last long in smoke.
So the machine shop doors got changed to lock from the inside.
The other thing I think about is this:
I know in industry and home use, they always advise us to have the extinguisher just inside the door. But if you have ever been in a shop fire, (I have) you will find that opening that door and feeding oxygen to a fire can cause a backflash or explosion, and you still may not get to the extinguisher. I think it is better to have it just outside the door. But that raises the problem of theft and weather damage. I have a 20 lb Ansul with a CO2 cartridge, designed for weather and cold, and it is on the JD 544B loader parked near the door. Ansuls are not at all cheap, but neither is your life.
Just some random Sunday thought...

 

[DavidR8]

I have one by my welders, one in the middle of the shop and on by the entrance door.