Lit my garage on fire tonight.

[JohnnyEgo]

Sitting in my garage right now with all doors open and the fan blowing full force to clear out the smoke from a trash can fire. I had been using a oil-based gel stain earlier today, and while I thought the rags were dry before I discarded them, they were not. Somewhere around an hour ago, I started noticing a smoke smell in the house. First, I thought it was my neighbor's brick oven, but it kept getting stronger. Went out to the garage 15 minutes, and it was filled with thick white smoke.

I got pretty lucky, I suppose. The fire was confined to the trash can, and had burned itself out by the time I noticed it. I have 3' concrete stem walls in my garage, and keep my trash can by itself in a corner. No soot tracks on the walls or ceilings. Just a lot of white smoke now venting through the neighborhood.

By habit, I leave rags that have been used with oil-based solvents out in the yard for several hours, until they are fairly stiff, before I discard them. This was my first time using a gel stain product. The rags had sat outside for about five hours and seemed fairly stiff, dry, and inert, like the conventional stains I had used previously. But apparently that wasn't enough cure time for the gel stain. I will definitely not do that again. I got very, very lucky tonight. Learn from my poor choices!

[Great-Kazoo]

wowzer. How's the spouse taking it?

I picked up one of these at a garage sale
https://www.amazon.com/Justrite-09100-Galvanized-Steel-Safety/dp/B0023AXSD6/ref=pd_lpo_201_t_1/138-7599404-3146437?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0023AXSD6&pd_rd_r=f0d9069f-707f-4ffe-906d-770d2f5d0c39&pd_rd_w=hnvqZ&pd_rd_wg=VaMyT&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=5F9TQFJ92ZDNMBTYK7QT&psc=1&refRID=5F9TQFJ92ZDNMBTYK7QT

[Irving]

First, glad you didn't burn your house down.
Second, time for an oily rag waste bin!
Last, what was the ignition source?

[Bailey Guns]

Glad it wasn't worse.

My guardian angel has had to work plenty of overtime in the past due to some of the things I've done.

[MrPrena]

I am kinda nervious about the bug zapper catching fire after stuck of moth.
I watching the bug zapper every 3-5 minutes. I put those near the porch window for me to see it.

BTW< glad no one got hurt.

[JohnnyEgo]

wowzer. How's the spouse taking it?

I picked up one of these at a garage sale
https://www.amazon.com/Justrite-09100-Galvanized-Steel-Safety/dp/B0023AXSD6/ref=pd_lpo_201_t_1/138-7599404-3146437?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0023AXSD6&pd_rd_r=f0d9069f-707f-4ffe-906d-770d2f5d0c39&pd_rd_w=hnvqZ&pd_rd_wg=VaMyT&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=5F9TQFJ92ZDNMBTYK7QT&psc=1&refRID=5F9TQFJ92ZDNMBTYK7QT

Pretty well, all things considered. It's not the dumbest thing I've ever done, possibly not even this week, and no actual damage was done, so she was fairly forgiving tonight. When the house still smells like burnt rags tomorrow morning, it may be a different story.


First, glad you didn't burn your house down.
Second, time for an oily rag waste bin!
Last, what was the ignition source?

Googling Just-Rite oily waste cans right now. Will stop by Boomgars or Tractor Supply Corp tomorrow and pick one up.
Appears to be straight spontaneous combustion. This being the first time I've ever used a gel stain product, I didn't really think it through. Unlike the thin stains I usually use, it has a pudding-like consistency. Oil solvents give off heat as they dry. I thought the rags were dry after five hours in the sun, but they definitely weren't. Nice enclosed space to build up all that heat, and poof, real live spontaneous combustion. They weren't kidding with the warning labels on the back of the can.

[JohnnyEgo]

https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/gsfire01.JPG
Probably four or five blue shop towels that went up in flames.

The product:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/gsfire02.JPG

Yep, weren't kidding:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/gsfire5.jpg
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/gsfire03.JPG

There is a sticker on the can that says 'Satisfaction Guaranteed'. Part of me wonders if I'd get a new can for telling them I was not completely satisfied with their product.

[Wulf202]

Usually they end up with smoldering fires that grow into the surrounding areas. You did get lucky

[Irving]

Did you give them a one-star review on Amazon yet?

[JohnnyDrama]

Glad you and your property are ok. A former neighbor had a spontaneous combustion like that. It cost him a shed and could have easily spread to our property. I keep a very close eye on rags that I have used with a mineral product.

[JohnnyEgo]

Did you give them a one-star review on Amazon yet?

Probably three, to be fair. Five stars for a remarkably even, blotch free coat. -1 for much less coverage than conventional stain for the same quantity. -1 more for catching fire in my house.

[Gman]

Glad to hear you're OK. Neighbor 2 doors down had rags spontaneously combust and burned out the garage, destroyed 3 vehicles, and damaged part of the house. There was smoke damage throughout. Took almost a year fighting with insurance and getting repair companies to fix it.

[FoxtArt]

That's nuts. Had no idea spontaneous combustion of rags was a thing. Who reads/follows those labels anyway... Have done a lot of staining, going to have to be more careful in the future.

[JohnnyDrama]

I just gotta ask, what did you build? I'm drawing plans for a spice cabinet. Because this thread is about spontaneous combustion, I seldom use oil based stains.

[SideShow Bob]

I have 3' concrete stem walls in my garage

That?s not a garage, that is a bunker..........

[SideShow Bob]

That's nuts. Had no idea spontaneous combustion of rags was a thing. Who reads/follows those labels anyway... Have done a lot of staining, going to have to be more careful in the future.

Why do you think most shops have covered steel cans for their dirty rag disposal ?

[BladesNBarrels]

I like the warning on the covered steel can -

Empty Every Night

Uh, where?

[Dunno]

[ChickNorris]

I just gotta ask, what did you build? I'm drawing plans for a spice cabinet. Because this thread is about spontaneous combustion, I seldom use oil based stains.

Choosing an oil based or gel finish often depends on the wood used, in my experience.

[buffalobo]

This story is why all of my trash cans in shop are metal 15-30 gal, recycled/cleaned oil drums and sit out from the walls.

I throw paint/solvent/stain rags out on the driveway to evaporate/cure and pick up/place them in steel drum at end of day.

Have had can smoldering following morning when remove lid.

Never know when conditions will cause fire.

[JohnnyEgo]

I just gotta ask, what did you build? I'm drawing plans for a spice cabinet. Because this thread is about spontaneous combustion, I seldom use oil based stains.

Cheap ply cabinet that my wife had asked me to build her forever ago, and I finally decided to knock out this weekend to avoid the more tedious work left to go on the Pokemon Card Cabinet I am building. Not much to it other than a cheap(ish) sheet of Home Depot red oak ply, and a couple of sticks of red oak 1x2. All held together with pocket screws and glue. About four hours of work, until she told me it needed doors after I was done with it, which added another couple hours of work.

Red oak is very porous, and the top layer of ply was very thin. To which I added some sanding which nearly ate through that paper-thin veneer. So I anticipated it to be hard to stain. The conventional Minwax penetrating stain I normally use is very thin, and a lot of it gets absorbed into the wood. Because that top veneer is so inconsistent, I worried that I'd have uneven absorption across the boards, and they'd look blotchy. I probably could have pre-treated it with a thin coat of sealing shellac, but I had heard gel stains were a much better solution. And, other than setting my trash can on fire, it did come out a lot better.

I usually pick a regular penetrating stain based on the color of the can, not what it says it should resemble, and I often find the end result to be much darker than I would have expected. This is the first time the stain really resembles the wood it cites on the can. This really is the color of cherry wood. Very even, no absorption issues or splotchiness. I had actually anticipated it being about three shades darker than it turned out. So this isn't the look I planned for, but I actually quite like it.

Downsides are that gel stain is a lot more expensive than conventional penetrating stain, more messy to apply (although also more forgiving), covers about half as much for the volume, and of course, may light your house on fire.

https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/plycabinet01.JPG

https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/plycabinet02.JPG

https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2020Projects/gelstainfire/plycabinet03.JPG

[Aloha_Shooter]

Good work! Based on your account, I'd say you should give them 4 stars since the whole igniting your garage was a result of either not reading or ignoring the warning on the can. Really shouldn't ding someone for something they took steps to warn you about.

[TFOGGER]

I like the warning on the covered steel can -

Empty Every Night

Uh, where?

[Dunno]

Neighbor's dumpster, near a protest zone...

[JohnnyEgo]

Good work! Based on your account, I'd say you should give them 4 stars since the whole igniting your garage was a result of either not reading or ignoring the warning on the can. Really shouldn't ding someone for something they took steps to warn you about.

Tone doesn't always convey in writing. My inner monologue is the screenplay for 'Office Space' as read aloud by Billy D Williams. Which is to say 95% of what I post comes from the place of Gen X ironic detachment. I hold Rustoleum at no fault whatsoever, and I plan on buying another can of the stuff to finish the job.

Edit: The job of staining the cabinet, not burning my house down.

[Gman]

Neighbor's dumpster, near a protest zone...
Funny, but maybe too soon? [Coffee]

My understanding is that you can put rags in an empty paint can and seal the lid. Keeps the oxygen away and prevents spontaneous combustion.

[BladesNBarrels]

Funny, but maybe too soon? [Coffee]

My understanding is that you can put rags in an empty paint can and seal the lid. Keeps the oxygen away and prevents spontaneous combustion.

Thanks for that response.
My question actually was serious.
The directions say to fill the canister with water and put the rags in the water.
And then empty the canister every night.
So, I guess you would need multiple empty paint cans or some big ones.
I guess burning the rags in the firepit would not be an alternative.