Watco Danish Oil - Danger
David Hoopes
I was flipping through the channels last night, and ran accross a news
program that was discussing Watco Danish Oil. They took rags soaked in
Watco Danish Oil, and through them in to a open metal trash can. Two out
of the three times, the rag burst into flames.
I have used Watco Danish Oil before, and did not remember that it was so
extremily flammable. Thought I would pass on the info.
If you are using Watco Danish Oil (or any flammable product) be sure to
pay careful attention to what you do with the soaked rags or paper. Store
them in a container that will contain the flame, until they have dried.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
David Hoopes Exabyte Corp.
da...@tallgrass.COM 11100 W 82nd St.
Voice: (913) 492-6002 x3323 Lenexa, Ks 66214
Stan Wall
The old adage of "Read the instructions first" still
applies.
Do not store the used Watco rags in a container!
Allow them to dry with as much ventilation as possible,
because, fresh air flow stops the combustion process.
I hang the rags outside for a day or two until there
good and stiff before tossing them out.
Works for me.
Stan
Pete Bellas
> I was flipping through the channels last night, and ran accross a news
> program that was discussing Watco Danish Oil. They took rags soaked in
> Watco Danish Oil, and through them in to a open metal trash can. Two out
> of the three times, the rag burst into flames.
Sounds like a slow news day, or an incompetent news crew (redundant :-).
Yes... This is true of just about any oil or spirit based finishes. I have
had it happen with varathane and minwax stain. The secret is to not confine
the rags, but to hang them out till dry then throw them out. The local FD
recommends immersing in a bucket of water (never tried that one though).
Be careful out there.
-Pete-
* Pete Bellas "Cogito ergo spud" *
* Citicorp/TTI I think therefore I yam. *
* Santa Monica, CA *
* bel...@gamma.tti.com *
KARL HAKMILLER
DH>Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
DH>Subject: Watco Danish Oil - Danger
DH>Date: 29 Dec 93 14:15:24 GMT
DH>I was flipping through the channels last night, and ran accross a news
DH>program that was discussing Watco Danish Oil. They took rags soaked in
DH>Watco Danish Oil, and through them in to a open metal trash can. Two out
DH>of the three times, the rag burst into flames.
DH>I have used Watco Danish Oil before, and did not remember that it was so
DH>extremily flammable. Thought I would pass on the info.
DH>If you are using Watco Danish Oil (or any flammable product) be sure to
DH>pay careful attention to what you do with the soaked rags or paper. Store
DH>them in a container that will contain the flame, until they have dried.
The key ingredient in the WDO is linseed oil - that's the stuff
which bursts into flame spontaneously. But - my point is that
linseed oil is in many things other than WDO and they are all
dangerous if not handled correctly. For example, many tung oil
products also contain linseed oil and boiled linseed oil is sold
in paint stores for a variety of uses.
I was taught to take one of two safety precautions after using any
linseed oil product:
(1)if it's not practical to spread the wipers outside the house to
dry before discarding them, spread each one out flat on the concrete
floor in isolation from everything else until the next morning and
discard after they are completely dry.
(2)keep a galvanized garbage can (I use one about 5-gal size)
complete with lid beside the shop sink, put all LO wipers in it
after use, add a couple of coffee cans of water, and seat the lid
tightly.
Anthony DeBoer
> ...
>If you are using Watco Danish Oil (or any flammable product) be sure to
>pay careful attention to what you do with the soaked rags or paper. Store
>them in a container that will contain the flame, until they have dried.
That's pretty much standard procedure with rags or paper soaked in any
sort of oil or solvent. Rather than try to single out what's more
flammable and what's less so, I treat all such waste with the same
caution. A old metal paint can does the job for me. YMMV.
--
Anthony DeBoer < a...@herboid.uucp | uunet!geac!herboid!adb | a...@geac.com >
Kay McCampbell
able rags lurking around the wood shop. But, I still never toss lighted things
into the rag bin. Why would anyone?
Thanx! Kay
Kerry Slattery
|>
|>
|> program that was discussing Watco Danish Oil. They took rags soaked in
|> Watco Danish Oil, and through them in to a open metal trash can. Two out
|> of the three times, the rag burst into flames.
|>
|> I have used Watco Danish Oil before, and did not remember that it was so
|> extremily flammable. Thought I would pass on the info.
|>
|> If you are using Watco Danish Oil (or any flammable product) be sure to
|> pay careful attention to what you do with the soaked rags or paper. Store
|> them in a container that will contain the flame, until they have dried.
Yep! You're so right. Says so on the container. Left a Watco soaked
rag on my sawhorse overnight, the 9am summer sun caught it on fire -
good thing it was outside on the lawn instead of inside my new house.
This not a Watco specifc problem - any volatile chemical soaked item
can combust. Even wet sawdust, hay, etc. can do it. Keep your shop
clear of this stuff - put it outside in firesafe container - or!
Kerry Slattery
Mark Humphries
>
>
>I was flipping through the channels last night, and ran accross a news
>program that was discussing Watco Danish Oil. They took rags soaked in
>Watco Danish Oil, and through them in to a open metal trash can. Two out
>of the three times, the rag burst into flames.
>
Interesting. Throw a rag moistened with Watco into a garbage can and
presto - FIRE. What caused the flames? Watco on metal? Or maybe it
was Watco on match-in-garbage-can?
Was it the same folks that blew up the Chevy truck (or was it a Ford)??
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Joseph Kral
>
>The key ingredient in the WDO is linseed oil - that's the stuff
>which bursts into flame spontaneously. But - my point is that
>linseed oil is in many things other than WDO and they are all
>dangerous if not handled correctly. For example, many tung oil
>products also contain linseed oil and boiled linseed oil is sold
>in paint stores for a variety of uses.
>
Its not just linseed oil. Any drying type of oil has the potential to
combust. This includes linseed and tung oil. These oils are exothermic when
they are curing. If you wad up the rag and put it in a container, the
temperature in the center of the rag can easily achieve combustion
temperatures. Spread the rags out so they stay cool, and you won't have
any problem. Non-drying oils don't have this problem. These include motor oil,
mineral oil, etc.
BTW, several types of glue are exothermic on curing also. e.g. epoxy. For
that matter, so is cement.......
--
Joseph Kral
kr...@hpljlk.hpl.hp.com
David Thompson
>
>Interesting. Throw a rag moistened with Watco into a garbage can and
>presto - FIRE. What caused the flames? Watco on metal? Or maybe it
>was Watco on match-in-garbage-can?
>
>Was it the same folks that blew up the Chevy truck (or was it a Ford)??
>
the drying of finish oils are EXOTHERMIC (they give off heat). Heating
a chemical reaction tends to speed it up, thus producing more heat... If
you ball up a rag soaked in some oil or other finish which reacts in this
manner, then the heat generated can stay with the rag, accelerating the
reactions and heating up the rag to the point at which it can
spontaneously ignite.
A similar example is a compost pile. Considerable heat is generated
as the vegetable matter decays (generally it is oxidized by bacteria), but
the humidity is usually too high and the compost not flammable enough to
be a problem.
Laying out a oil-wet rag, or soaking it in water, will generally
prevent any heat generated from building up.
Hope this helps!
Dave Thompson \\\|||/// d...@deimos.caltech.edu
\ ^ ^ /
< O O >
-----------VVVV------- V -------VVVV------------------------
One cannot attain the limit of craftsmanship,
And there is no craftsman who acquires his total mastery.
- Ptahhotep, c. 2350 B.C.
But I can try!
- me, 1993
------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Williams
believer in soaking oily rags in water after a garbage can full of them
started smoking on a warm day. No harm done, I saw it start and flooded
the galvanized can with water. I counted my blessings that it was a metal
can away from the house, and that I saw it happen.
On a tangentially related vein, beware of starting a fire in your sander's
dust bag if you sand metal, especially if there is wood dust in the bag.
I remove the bag for sanding metal, rather than risk another smoking dust
bag. I'm so stubborn I find it hard to take advice, but I am becoming much
more safety conscious after two really stupid near miss situations.
Hmmm... Now where is that table saw blade guard I took off three years ago?
John Nicklin, Instructional Resources
> In article <2g9cnm$5...@avdms8.msfc.nasa.gov>, mh...@sparky.pscni.nasa.gov writes...
>>
>>Interesting. Throw a rag moistened with Watco into a garbage can and
>>presto - FIRE. What caused the flames? Watco on metal? Or maybe it
>>was Watco on match-in-garbage-can?
>>
>>Was it the same folks that blew up the Chevy truck (or was it a Ford)??
>>
> Many of the reactions (oxidation or polymerization) involved in
> the drying of finish oils are EXOTHERMIC (they give off heat). Heating
> a chemical reaction tends to speed it up, thus producing more heat... If
> you ball up a rag soaked in some oil or other finish which reacts in this
> manner, then the heat generated can stay with the rag, accelerating the
> reactions and heating up the rag to the point at which it can
> spontaneously ignite.
>
> A similar example is a compost pile. Considerable heat is generated
> as the vegetable matter decays (generally it is oxidized by bacteria), but
> the humidity is usually too high and the compost not flammable enough to
> be a problem.
>
> Laying out a oil-wet rag, or soaking it in water, will generally
> prevent any heat generated from building up.
>
> Hope this helps!
> Dave Thompson \\\|||/// d...@deimos.caltech.edu
snip....
While you are correct in your explanation, I believe that mh...@sparky.pscni
was refering to the implication made in the original post that a rag with
Watco/DO on it would burst into flame almost imediately when thrown into a
metal can. Two out of three times if I recall correctly. Having had experience
with rags soaked in Watco, and with tossing them into metal holding containers
to be disposed of, and having never experienced an immediate spontaneous
combustion episode, I would assume that the original poster (who was refering
to a TV ad) was watching some scam artists at work.
jn