important to humi builders.

[Humidor Minister]

The other night I was applying Boiled linseed oil to a piece of wood. I set the rag down meaning to dispose of it shortly. I went on to filling my spray gun with lacquer. I dropped the can of lacquer with a full quart in it. Needless to say, I forgot all about the rag I was using for the linseed oil. Now I have set up the scenario for a disaster. Linseed oil will spontaneously ignite. I now have a shop full of fumes from the lacquer and a rag that is going to ignite. Fortunately I had opened all the windows and turned on fans and left the shop open all night this way. Had I closed up the shop I believe the rag would have ignited the fumes and blown my shop up like 10 sticks of dynamite. I know many of you that build your own humi's are hobbyists. Please be aware that many finishes will self ignite when saturated in a rag. I almost lost everything this weekend due to a stupid rag. I wanted to share this with you guys just to make you aware of what can happen when you get distracted and what certain finishes can do. Other than that, have fun with your hobby.

 

[grateful1]

R.I.F. or RIF!

You decide!

 

[Big B]

Wow, that's crazy stuff. I glad this disaster was avoided and thanks for the info. I had no idea that it was capable of doing that.

 

[Humidor Minister]

I really did get lucky. Linseed oil acts like an oxidizer. When it is in a rag it heats up. Problem is, when it heats up it also reacts faster. Now it becomes exponential in its heating.

 

[Pugman1943]

This is great info, even for us that will never make a humi. I do a lot of refinishing, so now I have learned something important thanks to you (The Wood Wizard).

 

[grateful1]

I really did get lucky. Linseed oil acts like an oxidizer. When it is in a rag it heats up. Problem is, when it heats up it also reacts faster. Now it becomes exponential in its heating.

So...are your humidors 'highly flammable'?


FYI...next time use RAW!

It's not the linseed that probably caused the issue...but the solvent used to 'boil' it.
That and maybe even the typ of rag you used.

Now, I'm not a professional, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express at some point in my life!

 

[Humidor Minister]

I really did get lucky. Linseed oil acts like an oxidizer. When it is in a rag it heats up. Problem is, when it heats up it also reacts faster. Now it becomes exponential in its heating.

So...are your humidors 'highly flammable'?


FYI...next time use RAW!

It's not the linseed that probably caused the issue...but the solvent used to 'boil' it.
That and maybe even the typ of rag you used.

Now, I'm not a professional, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express at some point in my life!

Only the cigars inside the humidors are flamible. I apply lacquer over the BLO.
It is actually well known in the wood working world that it will do this. It could be newspaper, a rag or pretty much anything that will absorb it. All it takes it to trap the air around the soaked material. There is even a warning in the first sentence on the can. My problem was the distraction I created with my spill.
The way I learned about this effect was on a crime show. A guy had been put in prison for years for burning down his house with his family inside killing everyone. If I remember correctly, it took about 5 or 6 years to find out that the oily rags self combusted and caused the fire. What a tragedy. I never forgot the story though (Until the other night) I just thank God I didn't loose everything.

 

[Custom Creations]

Yeah..You have to watch rags soaked in stain as well. I typically use Sherwin Williams stain and my local rep told me about a guy who burned down a customers house because of a pile of rags filled with stain the ignited.

 

[LAWDOG]

Thats how reggie Jackson lost his car collection workers left rags in a pail went up burning his warehouse down,,

 

[emoshun]

You should recreate this in a controlled environment to show exactly how long it takes to ignite, I wood!

 

[badhangover]

I know someone who lost their restaurant to a fire caused by a pile of greasy rags spontaneously combusting. Scary stuff.