Linseed oil : Danger of spontaneous combustion, warning

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Kryogen

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We all use linseed oil to refinish stocks.

I am very lucky that my rags did not catch fire, because after applying some oil to my sks stock, I tossed the oily rags in the garbage can in the garage, which also happens to be my reloading room.

The same evening I read some articles about linseed oil. I placed the rags flat on the concrete floor to prevent heat buildup, and tonight I just burned them. I am too paranoid to trash them, so burning seems to be the best option.

Beware if you use linseed oil.

We should sticky that.

From wikipedia:

Spontaneous combustion

Rags soaked with linseed oil stored in a pile are considered a fire hazard because they provide a large surface area for oxidation of the oil, and the oil oxidizes quickly. The oxidation of linseed oil is an exothermic reaction, which accelerates as the temperature of the rags increases. When heat accumulation exceeds the rate of heat dissipation into the environment, the temperature increases and may eventually become hot enough to make the rags spontaneously combust.[33]
In 1991, One Meridian Plaza, a high rise in Philadelphia was severely damaged and three firefighters perished in a fire caused by linseed oil-soaked rags.[34] In 2011, a garage in Sacramento also caught fire due to the spontaneous combustion of linseed oil-soaked rags.[35]
 
You have to be real carefull about leaving used rags around, even leaving them on the garage floor can be dangerous.
 
Its only a problem if they're bunched up. I just hang them on my chain link fence to dry in the sun. The fence is still there. If it was a problem then our stocks would light up too but they don't because any heat generated dissipates too quickly to build up the same as hanging or laying them flat to dry. A guy in my town lost his home when the guy staining the deck with linseed oil based stain left his used rags in a pile. The house is gone and insurance couldn't care less. Lay them flat or hang them up and there is no issue.
 
When I used to do woodworking and worked with linseed oil and similar stains or oils, I'd dump used rags in an old paint can with soapy water in it. When it was full, I'd take it to the Hazardous Waste Depot a short drive from my house. Another option was to spread them out to dry out like on my chainlink fence away from the house. Crumpling them into a pile is asking for trouble.

See this video:

 
We were taught to put them in an old coffee tin with a sealed top. If you really want to keep them from burning buy a can of air disapation from Lee Valley tools and spary that in the can before sealing. No oxygen in the can period.
 
Common sense isn't very common. People are too used to being coddled from cradle to grave to pay any attention to what they are doing anymore. At one time people did not need to be told coffee is hot, every day.

The fact that oily rags will ignite if left in a pile is old news, very old, like since oil was discovered and man used rags with it.
 
They showed us that demonstration in grade 8 shop class.... Geebus that was over 25 years ago.... Still "burnt" in my mind LOL
I always hang em and dry em or toss em in the woodstove and light em up
 
Happened to me years ago when I first bought my house. I refinished my doors and threw the rag on a pile of newspapers while reinstalling the door knobs. Just happened to be walking by, picked it up and it was hot and starting to smoke. Freaked me out. I was pretty young and wet behind the ears. I had to leave for a fishing trip that afternoon and I remember wondering if my doors were going to burst into flames. I ended up throwing the rag in a bucket of water outside and all was ok. Always careful these days when using oily rags and never forget that incident.
 
Our weapons section shut down a government building on Base Wainwright summer 2012 due to this oversight lol. Man, did stink.
 
Does regular gun oil like CLP Break Free or G-96 do this? I don't think so and never had an issue so far, but better safe than sorry.

I guess motor oil or tranny fluid don't either?

What about wheel bearing or lithium grease?

Got me spooked now.
 
Almost all oils can cause this, but most likely with the lighter oils vs the heavy oils.

With ANY oily rags or paper I dispose or store them so this can not happen. Better safe than sorry.
 
I figure squirting some argon into the sealed metal can will work nicely for most oils, but some finishing types I'll torch in the wood stove.

Kind of freaking me out (a good thing in this case), I had a couple of rags I used for wiping my hands after doing some work on the vehicle that I just now stuffed in the wood stove.
 
Marcel B. said:
Does regular gun oil like CLP Break Free or G-96 do this? I don't think so and never had an issue so far, but better safe than sorry.

I guess motor oil or tranny fluid don't either?

What about wheel bearing or lithium grease?

Got me spooked now.
Click to expand...

No, it's the drying oils (linseed, tung, etc) that oxidize very fast in the air. Wood finishing oils.
 
I'm a pro painter and it nearly happened to us.
I linseed oiled a wooden planter for my wife. Carefully spread out rags on said planter to dry. Next day wife takes them down and throws them in front of washing machine while she gathers the rest of the shop stuff (my work clothes) to wash. In that amount of time the pile caught fire. Fortunately I just had to open the porch door and kick them out into the snow.
 
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