Make me feel better about my overcrowded fire hazard garage

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Ebola Monkey

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OK, I'm getting to the point where the garage will never be clean again. I simply have too many "things". I put my weed whacker in a small room in the garage the other day, and 20 minutes later when I walked back in realized it was full of fumes (direct vented gas cap, leaky carb). It seems like almost everything I own is gas powered, so if there's ever a fire in my garage, it's done. Oh yeah, it's attached.

V-star 1100 3.5 gal
XS650 3 gal
XS400 3 gal
NX125 2 gal
LT80 1.5 gal
Mower 4 gal
weed whacker .25
snow blower .5
power washer .5
Chainsaw .25?

Then there are the gas cans....

Regular 5 gal, 2 gal, 1 gal,
Premium 2 gal
50:1 1 gal
40:1 1 gal
32:1 2 gal

old shitty gas drained from god knows what, 2 gal.

So at any given time there are at least 20 gallons of gas around the garage in either gas tanks or cans. Not to mention things like used oil, endless aerosol cans, propane tank, acetylene tank, butane, etc.

Anyone else gonna take down the neighborhood if there's a garage fire?
 
Yup .. My garage is also attatched and reached by a door from the kitchen .. There is 6 bikes and a chainsaw .. Various fuels right uo to 114 sunco race gas . Selfs groaning under the weight of areosols and thinners etc .. If it goes up it gonna take the house with it for sure .The out of sight on the right hand side of the garage are where the benches and shelves are .. One bike is outside at this point but it gives some idea
DSC00203-1.jpg
 
At one point I had 8 motorcycles, 2 atvs, a snowmobile, 2 scooters, a weed wacker, 2 chain saws, and a lawn mower in the garage. Plus all the gas cans and propane, MAPP, oxy, and acetylene tanks and that kind of stuff. Then you have 10 gallons of solvent in the parts washers and about 100 aerosol cans like spray paint and carb cleaner. Gallons of paint thinner and acetone....

I don't really worry about it too much. I do have 2 10lb fire extinguisher though.
 
I don't have near the flammables as some of you but I do count myself lucky that I have 4 giant, roughly 4' tall industrial CO2 fire extinguishers in steel bottles just like those used to transport and store oxygen and argon for welding shops.

But when one squeezes the handle you'd best be braced for impact or the fall will hurt you just as bad as the fire. I keep one on my cart with my oxygen and acetylene and the other three around the shop.
 
Dredging up an old thread here.
Me too with the attached garage firetrap and praise for our Carbon Monoxide detectors.
The CO detector went off and I did what they said, dialled 911 and got outa there.
The firehall is only a few blocks away and the firetruck was outside in mebbe 5 minutes.
What the firefighter's detector found was not furnace fumes or a natural gas leak, but a first for them, the sniffer detected that my newly replaced Acetylene tank was leaking.
A new acetylene tank should be at ~200psi. Mine was down to ~130psi and I hadn't even used the effin' thing yet!
 
I keep the gas cans, weed whacker,pressure washer, oxy/acetylene bottles, etc. in the shed because the kids bedrooms are right above the garage. Spray cans, etc. go in metal cabinets in the garage so they don't freeze in the shed. Got some flammability with the XS, DL1000, DR650, scooter, minibike but hopefully not too much. I also try to sweep out the sawdust occasionally. +! on CO detector.
 
I installed a detector in my RV in the only place available, about a foot above the floor, near the pet food bowls. It would constantly wail. Found out that it was being triggered by the cat food.

What do they put in that stuff?
 
Only cylinder I've had leak was 100% argon for the TIG. Safe, but still a shame and expensive. I too have a CO alarm in my garage now. Very sensitive to starting engines without good ventilation. I had a smoke detector, but it went off way too much.

I didn't know acetylene would set off a CO alarm. Good to know.
 
Travis said:
- - - I didn't know acetylene would set off a CO alarm. Good to know.
Click to expand...

Hi Travis,
I didn't know either. Nor the firefighter. Nor the gas inspector. But their sniffers went off like a Geiger counter in a budget Science Fiction movie when they got near to the acetylene cylinder.
They were happy to add that fact to their knowledge base.
My only cost was the time and effort to take the leaker back to the supplier.
I told them about the exchange cylinder reading 200psi when I installed it in my Oxy-Acetylene set and being down to 130psi when I turned it on again after the 911 call and they said, "yeah, sometimes the valve don't seal up perfectly after you first crack it open." And gave me a replacement.
 
Interesting thread.
Last week I nearly set fire to my workshop, by molten welding drops landing on a cardboard box. If I'd gone out just after the drops fell, I'd only have known about it too late to do much. As it was, I was greeted by a small conflagration when I raised my welding mask.
Now seriously looking at sprinkler heads for the ceiling - they're cheap and easily plumbed in at this stage.
 
That's why i always use my welder, torches, and grinders outside. The extra effort of moving the hoses or leads is worth not burning the house down.
 
Grimly said:
Interesting thread.
Last week I nearly set fire to my workshop, by molten welding drops landing on a cardboard box. If I'd gone out just after the drops fell, I'd only have known about it too late to do much. As it was, I was greeted by a small conflagration when I raised my welding mask.
Now seriously looking at sprinkler heads for the ceiling - they're cheap and easily plumbed in at this stage.
Click to expand...

I manage a team of industrial mechanics that do a lot of "hot work" (burning, grinding, welding) as part of their job. We have a strict 30 minute fire-watch policy after any hot work and a mandatory person assigned to fire watch for this exact reason. I know the fire watch may not always be a luxury for some of us but hanging out for a few mins after these activities isn't a bad idea.

I have a friend that manages another facility that had a major fire from something smoldering for almost 45 minutes after completion of their hot work. They completed their 30 minute window and a few minutes after they walked away it was engulfed in flames.

Cleanup is a big deal to minimize your risk. The dust in most of our garages isn't flammable but a clean shop/garage is safe.

I know they're kinda pricey but has anyone else considered a flammables cabinet for their garage? I just purchased an Eagle model 1947 because it's cheaper than the deductable on my insurance and most of my stuff can't be replaced.

http://store.interstateproducts.com...yuNhJM9V5EjXNe8LGcI7jjfjNOdidqHMvgaAppn8P8HAQ
 
I have 2 flam cabinets in here somewhere. I keep the floor clean for welding, leaves like to pile up in the corners.
1453398547.jpg
 
Hi James,
OK, I did wonder " WTF is a flam cabinet?" then I read the previous posts.
About unsafe welding habits, where I used to live only had a car port so I kept my Lincoln buzzbox in the basement where I could plug it into the 220V clothes dryer power outlet.
Didja know that it ain't only organic materials that welding sparks will light on fire?
Yes, I'd tidied up all the cardboard, sawdust and wood scraps but you should see how well steel wool burns when you get it going!
Got me a long 220Volt cord after that and moved the welder outside.
 
Last edited:
fredintoon said:
Hi James,
OK, I did wonder " WTF is a flam cabinet?" then I read the previous posts.
About unsafe welding habits, where I used to live only had a car port so I kept my Lincoln buzzbox in the basement where I could plug it into the 220V clothes dryer power outlet.
Didja know that it ain't only organic materials that welding sparks will light on fire?
Yes, I'd tidied up all the cardboard, sawdust and wood scraps but you should see how well steel wool burns when you get it going!
Got me a long 220Volt cord after that and moved the welder outside.
Click to expand...

not to mention dryer lint is almost as flammable as an organic solvent or your favorite hydrocarbon product :)

I keep a tin of compressed dryer lint with my backpacking gear - great fire starter!
 

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