So my helper loaded out oily rags into a bucket to bring down to the shop to air out. After sitting in the back of the truck for less than an hour the center started to smoke and was probably only a few minutes from a fire.
I have always considered myself careful with stain covered rags but this was a good lesson for both of us.
Question is……how long do they need to air out and dry before they are safe to throw in the dump trailer? I left them out hanging on a ladder for a long weekend so they of course feel dry but now i am paranoid!
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Linseed oil cures by oxidation. This process is exothermic, that is, produces heat. Heat accelerates the reaction (ever 10C=18F roughly doubles the rate). The faster the reaction, the more heat is produced until the ignition point is reached.
Once the reaction is complete (or nearly complete) the amount of heat is reduced. How long does this take? Depends on the ambient temperature and air supply.
I have never had a problem with letting them cure until hard (a couple of days) and then pitching them in the bin.
I'm not sure, but I would think that once they are completely dry with no stickiness, they would be fine.
For peace of mind, and to be sure, after they are dry, you could stuff them into an old container filled with water and throw the container away.
I have some friends who set their bed and breakfast on fire (no guests were there) with oily rags. Close call.
they are rags, one shot, then get soaked in a bucket of water, no questions asked.
Woods favorite carpenter
If you're talking about linseed oil, I generally wait until the rags are stiff, and then a bit more. Then I'm still careful to not wad them together but instead I leave them loose, so air can get around them.
Since you often can't tell what finishes and oils contain linseed oil (or some other reactive oil), I generally treat all rags with any sort of finish product on them the same way -- they sit out on our old picnic table for 2-3 days before I toss them in the trash.
Sometimes (when I don't want to bother with drying them several days) I just soak the rags in water, put them in a plastic bag (to keep them wet), and toss them in the trash that way (but only a day or two before the trash is picked up).
one use tossed in bucket of water.thats it
Toss 'em in a wood stove, winter or summer.
What do you have a rag shortage? Do you love your rags?Why fuss with them get them out side and get new rags,
I have a picture in a finishing lecture (don't seem to have it on this computer though).....shows some drums outside a finishing shop, and the shop exterior..... they got careless, let the water in the drums dry, disposed of their rags at the end of the day.....the picture shows the burned out drums and scorch marks on the shop, which is quite a ways away. Came close to losing the shop.
Our procedure is, for oily or stain rags, into a commercial fireproof waste bucket temporarily....at the end of the day into a bucket of water, then before disposal we spread them out flat to dry.....you mostly get the combustion when the oily rags are all balled up....if they are spread out, you don't get the concentration of heat.
Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Lots of good suggestions already posted.
When I was working in a shop with concrete floors, I'd just toss them on the floor. Seems untidy, but it's fast -- pick 'em up next day.
The main thing is to be conscious of the risks, which are very real:
An old partner of mine walked into the restaurant we were re-doing at about 7:00 AM and smelled something hot -- our night-shift helper had neatly folded his rags and set them on the bar.
My partner unfolded them, found the center red hot, tossed them in the sink, turned on the exhaust fans, and proceeded to backtrack, destroying all of the evidence.
That was back in the early 90s, and this post marks the first public breech of Omerta, the Law of Silence -- I hope the restaurant owners aren't monitoring BT.
*************
My point here is that there is no need for overkill, although overkill is great.
Be conscious!
Be conscious!
AitchKay
Be conscious!
Speaking of commercial kitchens, sometimes linseed oil is used for treating wood cutting boards or sharpening knives. So there are hazards there even before you come in to paint.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
had a storage shed burn down last saturday. the fire investigater found the source of the fire. could say the exact cause but something like rags with linseed oil. this was a storage shed. ive never finished anything in there,don't store any finishing supplies in it. didn't keep old rags there either. there was a plastic tote filled with winter clothes and next to that another tote filled with the wifes craft supplies.the investigater said what ever oil caused it could have been on whatever cloth started the fire for years. so i have always been very careful with all my finishing rags but from know on in a bucket of water.