I believe that linseed oil is another oil capable of creating some heat if
enough of them are piled up long enough, but not my greasy rags from working on
vehicles. I have never actually heard of a fire being started by oily rags, and
I wonder if the whole thing wasn't cooked up by someone's mother/spouse who was
dismayed at the mess in a mechanic's shop. I guess it worked, because the
industrial supply catalogs always have expensive steel bins with spring loaded
lids for the sole purpose of containing those explosive rags. :-)
Just for an experiment, I threw a dozen really nasty rags into a bucket a while
back and checked them daily for heat. After several months it was still the
same
cold greasy mess that it began as, so I threw them out.
Mike
Donald H Locker wrote:
> YOW! You don't suppose the nail keg had some special heat-dissipation
> or fire suppresion characteristics, do you? Well, I feel better about
> the oily rags. Though I will contiune to try to work safely.
>
> Thanks,
> Donald.
>
>
>>From: "Elton Clark" <lotus.tony@airmail.net>
>>Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 20:37:46 -0500
>>
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: Donald H Locker <dhl@chelseamsl.com>
>>
>>>I've been cursed with very corrosive perspiration. I've been wiping
>>>
>>things down with an oily rag, and that helps, but I'm concerned about
>>keeping an oily rag about.<
>>
>>Don . . not to worry 'bout oily rags . . I asked a professional, a career
>>trained fireman and fire marshall why we've always been told that oily rags
>>created spontaneous combustion. I knew it wasn't true 'cause for 30 years,
>>the shop I ran collected our rental red rags in a wooden nail-keg
>>ferGawd'ssake. He quickly said that petro-oily was not the problem . . it
>>was organic oils such as cooking related oils that can, under weird
>>circomstances, heat as a product of oxidation. Check it out with someone
>>you trust but not to worry.
>>
>>Tony
>>
--
________________________________________________________________
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
(msloane@att.net)
<http://home.att.net/~msloane>
<http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=204428>
One's age should be tranquil, as childhood should be playful. Hard work at
either extremity of life seems out of place. At midday the sun may burn,
and men labor under it; but the morning and evening should be alike calm
and cheerful. -Thomas Arnold, educator (1795-1842)
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