Storing flammables Survey

[Douglas Robinson]

Just curious how people store their flammable materials. Do you use a metal cabinet? Is it under lock and Key? Any particular measures? Do you have a fire extinguisher in your shop?

Doug

 

[DaveO]

I have the majority of my flammable stuff in a metal cabinet (just by luck that I have one, I didn't get it especailly for the purpose), it can be locked although it isn't right now, and yes I have a ABC fire extinquisher in my shop as it is beneath the house.
Dave

 

[Travis Porter]

I have the flamables in a separate cabinet above my sink. It is not fire proof. I store miscellaneous flammables in mason jars (paint thinner, extra finishes, etc). They are cheap, wide mouth, and easy to use. I tried glass jars with plastic lids don't hold up (the lids get soft).

I do have 2 fire extinguishers.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Carelessly and just asking for trouble.:roll::roll:

Really, they aren't near excessive heat and I keep the lids on tight, but all my finishing materials and thinners, etc, are just in wooden shop cabinets over and under the sink. I don't have to worry about little ones getting into them.

Now, used rags, that is a different story.

I've been meaning to get a fire extinguisher (for the last 30 years!)

 

[Bernhard]

All flammables are stored in a 'flammable solvent' storage cabinet. BUT, it is not vented to the ourside (yet), so kind of defeats the purpose.
No fire extinquisher, but the hydrant is right outside the shop. Also, my shop is mainly AAC and except for the roof, non-flammable.
I also limit flammable solvents to some airosol cans, some cleaning solvents and some solvent based paint. All in all may 5 gal.
Bernhard

 

[cpowell]

Carelessly and just asking for trouble.:roll::roll:

Really, they aren't near excessive heat and I keep the lids on tight, but all my finishing materials and thinners, etc, are just in wooden shop cabinets over and under the sink. I don't have to worry about little ones getting into them.

Now, used rags, that is a different story.

I've been meaning to get a fire extinguisher (for the last 30 years!)

Alan, thanks for being so honest. It makes it easier for me to admit I do the same thing you do.

Chuck

 

[toolferone]

I have a metal cabinet (not real fire cabinet) and I have always had a abc fire extingisher in the shop. Tha cabinet has a lock but I have no keys. I will before I have little ones around in the shop.

 

[Jim Murphy]

I've been meaning to get a fire extinguisher (for the last 30 years!)

Speaking as one who has used a "right at hand" fire extinguisher to save one cat, two dogs, a half-million dollar house and ME, I suggest that you get in the car RIGHT NOW and get two large fire extinguishers. One goes right beside the door and other goes farthest from the door (if you have only one door).

 

[pcooper]

I have a metal cabinet that is off the floor on the wall, not close to any source of spark or flame and lockable. It is not fire proof by any means, but I figure it is safer in the position it is in than on the floor under the cabinet or just sitting on a shelf. I do have a fire extinguisher, but need to get another big one. I am very fire concious, I don't take chances with leaving things be before leaving for the day, or even while I'm there for that fact. I guess I'm too careful after having a fire in the past (not woodworking related) and almost not getting it out in time.

 

[DaveD]

I don't take any particular precautions to store flammable paints, solvents, gasoline, or gases. Just keep them in their original sealed containers/bottles.I do have 2 good sized ABC fire extinguishers in the garage (my shop) and move the gas cans to the outside of the garage when I'm doing any metal welding/cutting.

However having a welding spark set off 6 quarts of drained oil in a pan can make you a believer in a fire extinguisher in half a heart beat. Luckily I was already a believer in good fire extinguishers.

Just remember that a fire extinguisher that is 300% bigger than you need is better than one that is 90% of what you need.

Maybe I need one of those signs that show what kind of chemicals and flammables you have in the building.

 

[jeff...]

How should they be stored? That's how I'm storing it

 

[sapwood]

Uh, they are in the shop. I don't have a fire extinguisher.

I'm a fool :eusa_sile

But I've always been careful about the oily/flammable rags. And the shop is 100' from the house.

I'm a fool

Roger

 

[McRabbet]

All of my finishes are neatly stacked around the metal cabinet that I have intended to store them in (5 years of intention with ZERO progress!). At least they are in one area and in lidded/capped metal containers... My clean rags are kept on a shelf nearby; all soiled one go outside immediately after use to air dry hung on an old piece of lathe... I keep a 10 # ABC extinguisher in the shop and another upstairs in our kitchen.

Rob

 

[Gofor]

Have fire extinguishers in shop. Flammables are currently stored in a locked waterproof footlocker that sits outside for now (until I get a shed). That said, my riding lawnmower (with its 2 Gals of gas in the tank) is in the shop. When I get a shed, which will not be fireproof, it will reside out in it. Flammable rags go into a metal can, with metal lid, that is full of water. Same for any steel wool that has been used with acidic rust remover.
When the shed is built, I plan to go to the recycle drop-off point, which has an appliance drop-off bin, and rescue someones old freezer. Gutted, (compressor and vanes removed) they make good flammable storage boxes and usually have a lock of sorts on them. Also with the climate here, will protect paint from freezing if kept in an unheated storage area (thats what I used in Fla).
I glued a pipe to the bottom drain hole and ran it out the wall of my shed there to vent the fumes.

Go

 

[gator]

Heres mine, not vented to the outside, not locked.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=495&cat=198

George

 

[Tarhead]

Great solution Gator!
Do you have the light bulb on a thermostat?

 

[NCPete]

right now, all my flamables are in the [STRIKE]garage[/STRIKE] shop, but the more I read this thread, and the more I think on what happened to me the other day, and as I add more lumber from 'Jeff's Steals', I realize just how important an outdoor storage facility is. The lawn tractor has long been relegated to a spot next to the shop (which my mother-in-law hates, all the more reason to leave it there:roll. Perhaps over the summer I will have time to build a large shed/kiln combo...

 

[DavidF]

All finishes on a shelf! I have a fire extinguisher by the door. Finish rags go outside to dry.

 

[gator]

Tarhead -

No thermostat. Just turn it on at the beginning of cold weather and turn it off in the spring.

George

 

[Kyle]

I typically just drink my flammables.

of course they have names like Glen Morangie, Lagavulin.