Dave wrote:
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A friend's shop and house both burned down from what the fire
department said was an exothermal reaction from a pile of dirty shop
rags; I've been kind of paranoid ever since.
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Exactly what we've been taught since childhood: oily rags can do a
"spontaneous combustion" thing causing blazing fires. While visiting with
a local Fire Marshall with about 40 years of experience and education, I
related to him that, at our tractor repair shop, we'd kept our greasy, oily
rags in a wooden nail keg for collection by the rag rental firm . . .
(100 - 150 every two weeks) . . . for around _25 years_ and that we'd
never noticed any tendency to heat, smoke or burn. He did not hesitate but
immediately said that it was not petroleum based oil that had the problem,
he'd never experienced that occurance. The problem came from _organic_ oils
such as vegetable oils, cooking oils etc. Do we have any chemists "on
board" that would care to educate the list on this subject.?
Tony
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