It appears that motor oil soaked rags are not a known culprit in spontaneous combustion of oily rags: Oily Rag Combustion
Spontaneous Combustion of Oily Rags--motor oil?
- Thread starter TallPaul
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The only reason that happens with linseed oil is because the oil oxidizes in air causing an exothermic reaction. Motor oils don't do that rapidly enough to ever cause self ignition.
Fires though? [censored] yes. I wouldn't want someone to accidentally toss a cigarette butt into a drum full of oily rags, possibly soaked in parts cleaner and gas, too...
Fires though? [censored] yes. I wouldn't want someone to accidentally toss a cigarette butt into a drum full of oily rags, possibly soaked in parts cleaner and gas, too...
I've always been pretty skeptical of it happening with motor oil, or other petroleum oils. I've actually had rags soaked with linseed oil get frighteningly hot while *using* them to treat wood, but linseed oil is a "drying oil" which polymerizes on exposure to air. That's an exothermic process, so it releases heat. A rag provides a huge surface area for the oil to start oxidizing, so it heats up much faster than, say, a piece of wood you're treating. Motor oil doesn't polymerize that way, so it shouldn't spontaneously combust.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil
Well, I'm not so sure about MO rags not self combusting. I remember at home we had a 20 or 30 gallon barrel we used to toss dirt, oily rags in. One day the house filled with Smoke and it was smoldering rags in the barrel. That was a long time ago but, because of this, I don't leave oily rags in contact with anything flammable. Ed
When I took wood shop in high school (in preparation to being a computer programmer) they had red cans with a foot operated lid where all the rags from stain & varnish went. I guess it does happen.
I've not been concerned about rags used for motor oil.
All my rags that I use for oil (besides motor oil) go into an ammo can with a locking lid stored in a metal cabinet away from sunlight. If they do combust, the fire isn't going anywhere. As I understand it, placing them under water in a container is acceptable as well, but I never do this.
All my rags that I use for oil (besides motor oil) go into an ammo can with a locking lid stored in a metal cabinet away from sunlight. If they do combust, the fire isn't going anywhere. As I understand it, placing them under water in a container is acceptable as well, but I never do this.
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