Spontaneous oily rag combustion, hood grease fires

The unsaturated linkages are probably oxidized while the oil is a hot vapor or aerosol.

This is the only byproduct whose I can remember, to search for:

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jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins
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I'll keep that in mind. Frankly, the fertilizer that goes into the compost pile is whatever was left over from other things. My friends at the Rutgers Master Gardener program disapprove of my use of chemical fertilizer in compost.

I don't use much -- just enough to get the pile going on its own. We have a very small yard but a lot of old maples and oaks around, so I get more leaves than I need for compost. And the grass clippings usually are enough to warm up the pile.

But not this year. Too many leaves, too little grass.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

They make commercial products for just such occasions; they're called handcuffs. I saw some at my local HF store - I think they were $7.95 (I didn't buy them because I already have an ample supply)*.

When the family moved out, my son made over $38 taking soda bottles back to the store for deposit refunds. But here's the one that'll cause you to drop your donuts: I discarded 98 empty, giant-sized Cheer laundry detergent boxes. They were using TWO giant boxes of soap per week!

-------

  • At a crowded gun show some years back, I picked up a pair, held them aloft, and called to my then-current squeeze some distance down the aisle: "Hey, Rose! Wanna have some fun?"

Several people turned.

She called back: "Don't be silly. We already HAVE handcuffs!"

Many people grinned.

I got a look of "Oh, yeah. Right!" and put them back.

I was so proud.

Reply to
HeyBub

Did you check the white powdery residue inside?

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

One of the things that happened at several fast food restaurants was that a deep fryer would ignite and before the hood system protection could trip someone would apply an ABC Ammonium Phosphate dry chemical extinguisher to the fire. The ammonium phosphate would react with the deep fat and cause a boil over that would spread the fire beyond the area protected by the hood system. Unless the restaurant was sprinklered it would burn to the ground. That is how we came to have class k fire extinguishers. They contain a wet chemical foam that smothers the fire and cools the adjacent heated metal thus preventing a re-flash.

-- Tom Horne

Reply to
Tom Horne

As a former vol FF, I'd sure enjoy reading of your experience. Mine were rather boring. Most of my FF experience was pumping cellars after rain storms, and things like that. Not being a 150 year old exempt, and not being in the department 20 years, they didn't issue me a belt pager. I found about the fire calls by reading the small town news paper.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Wish to God that it were.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Probably lack of maintenance for the fire system.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

That's amazing lot of soap. Were they into bubble baths, or did all the kids mess the bed every night? Or did the use the Bobby Brady formula for using the soap?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

You da man! And she was quick with the reply.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Thanks, didn't know that. Do you have a link to a class K extinguisher? I've not researched those. Are they the 2 1/2 gal water units with the funky aerator nozzle?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

HeyBub wrote: (snip)

One with a sense of humor like that, and you let her get away?

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

I don't use any chemical fertilizer for "other things". After its composted there is not much difference (if any) nutrients from natural sources. The fertilizer is far more effective in that form than in its original form.

The compost needs to get nitrogen from somewhere. Wood and straw have very little on there own.

-jim

Reply to
jim

: Only spontaneous combustion I ever saw with my own eyeballs was a big : mound of bagged grass clippings, that were cut a hair on the damp side. : A day of Indiana sun cooking them, then around 10 pm that night, a : neighbor pounding on the door....

Sure it was 10 pm at NIGHT? :-)

Reply to
Joe

Yeppur. Remember, this was midsummer, and Indiana is on western edge of eastern time zone. late June, early July, the western sky still has a visible glow at 10 pm. I was out there for an hour busting up the bags with a rake, soaking it with a garden hose. Stunk pretty bad.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

On Dec 9, 10:07=A0pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:

True story. My first year at college I was lucky to find a place on the student support program, i.e., 3 hours a day and more on weekends doing janitorial chores on campus. My regular assignment was the top two floors of Old Main, a venerable limestone fortress (still standing and in use) with oak plank subfloors covered with heavy industrial brown linoleum. I usually finished around 8 PM and the last chore was to put away the cleaning tools in a special basement area. The downstairs crew had finished early, leaving a big wide cloth pushbroom and related oily rags stacked against the wall instead of in their metal storage closet. There was a lot of smoke in the area and a small fire had started in the pushbroom. Luckily, in this janitorial area there were mop buckets, so I had the fire out in a few minutes, and carried the sopping residue outside in an open area. After cleaning up the mess, there was still a nasty burnt area in the linoleum so I contacted the superintendent and told him what had transpired. Next day he had a crew replace the burnt spot, but the new linoleum never did quite match even years later. It was explained to me that they had always used some oily sweeping compound on the floors for dust control and that was what had triggered the fire. It may have been just a coincidence, but a while later I was handed a much better $$ student assistantship to the drama department where the main work was resurrecting some really decrepit stage lighting gear and operating the lighting panel during plays. And building sets. And subbing for missing performers. Neat Sometimes you're in the right place at the right time, I guess.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

: > : Only spontaneous combustion I ever saw with my own eyeballs was a big : > : mound of bagged grass clippings, that were cut a hair on the damp side. : > : A day of Indiana sun cooking them, then around 10 pm that night, a : > : neighbor pounding on the door.... : >

: > Sure it was 10 pm at NIGHT? :-) : >

: >

: Yeppur.

I was pulling your leg. There's only one 10 pm, and it's not in the morning.

Reply to
Joe

Duh. Okay. Well, it made it clear that it wasn't 10 pm the following night.....

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

What about hangovers, and wicked colds?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Yeah...

She joined an "awareness group" and I was undone.

In my view, there should be a law prohibiting two or more women meeting without a chaperone.

Reply to
HeyBub

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