I have been a silly boy

[Phil Spencer]

I committed an act of gross stupidity yesterday.

I have been making a new desk top for my home office, to finish it I decided to spray the top with Estapol.

What I did that was stupid, and could have blown me to the Bugg$#y is I had the compressor set up in the same room as I was spraying in and as it was a cold day I had inadequate ventilation.:eek:

What could have happened is that the over spray could have ignited in a big way when the compressor started up. Any number components on the compressor could have caused an ignition, the spark of the motors centrifugal switch or the pressure switch contacts sparking when the switch operated.

When I realized how stupid I had been I seriously thought of withdrawing shed privileges from my-self.

On the news we hear of factory fires recently there was a large one in Melbourne where several factories were destroyed, the fire started in a Futon factory and took hold instantly after my near miss I wonder how this fire might have started.

My next project is to house the compressor outside and plumb an air line through the wall.


Be safe

Phil

[Groggy]

Every now and again we surprise ourselves. Luckily nothing happened to you. A few other things to beware of when spraying, lacquering or using cleaning solvents:

• make sure there is no hot water service nearby (pilot light),
• fridge (motor sparks), and
• fans should have safety motors.

Groggy (who's an old hand at blowing things up)

[RufflyRustic]

Geez Phil, That's scary!!! Hope your pulse is back to normal now.

cheers
Wendy

[Zed]

I caught myself thinking recently - there is dust aplenty in my shed (normal right?) anyway... can this floating dust spontaniously combust on sparks generated by the pool filter ? is cellulose combustible enough ? dont some explosives use cellulose in some forms ?

probably a long drawn bow this one....

[masoth]

10 of 10 for recognizing the danger and posting here.
Congratulations on that, and thank you. I too, hope your skin crawling tension is now calm.:eek:

[Groggy]

I caught myself thinking recently - there is dust aplenty in my shed (normal right?) anyway... can this floating dust spontaniously combust on sparks generated by the pool filter ? is cellulose combustible enough ? dont some explosives use cellulose in some forms ?

probably a long drawn bow this one....

No.

However, it is rumoured that a cat (preferably a Burmese) sucked into a 4" dust extractor can cause a dust explosion when the fur rubs the liner of the hose and generates sufficient static.

Depending on the angle of the hose, present density altitude, humidity and cat size/weight, a half neighborhood cat-toss should be achievable. Known in some villages as the Moggy-Mortar.

[Zed]

thinking again - realistically the risk is probably quite small statisitically. I remember a mythbusters ep. where they tried to ignite petrol with a mobile phone and when they couldnt they got silly and did it with naked flame - eventually they managed an explosion but the risk seemed very small especaillly cinsidering they were TRYNG to go boom!, the fire triangle mix is quite a tricky balance between fuel, heat and oxygen...

[Ianab]

Probably not quite as dangerous as you think.
Yes if you get enough fumes (or fine sawdust) in the air you can create an explosive mixture. But the actual amounts needed are usually so high that you would have gassed or axphixiated yourself well before you blow yourself up
You should ensure decent ventilation when spraying for sure, but mostly for your own health, some of those solvents aren't lung friendly.
You can cause a dust explosion too, but the amount of dust that needs to be suspended in the air for that to happen is such that you couldn't see what you were doing anyway. If you want a demo of the dust thing just throw a handfull of sander dust on an open fire (outside). Stand back and protect your eyebrows:eek: If you get a nice thick air/dust mix cloud as it meets the fire it's quite impressive.
But the quantities or dust and the size of any static discharge that we might generate in a home workshop aren't enough to create any decent explosion. Industrial sized systems are another subject and dust explosions are a real possibility there.

Cheers

Ian

[Phil Spencer]

Probably not quite as dangerous as you think.
Yes if you get enough fumes (or fine sawdust) in the air you can create an explosive mixture. But the actual amounts needed are usually so high that you would have gassed or axphixiated yourself well before you blow yourself up
You should ensure decent ventilation when spraying for sure, but mostly for your own health, some of those solvents aren't lung friendly.
You can cause a dust explosion too, but the amount of dust that needs to be suspended in the air for that to happen is such that you couldn't see what you were doing anyway. If you want a demo of the dust thing just throw a handfull of sander dust on an open fire (outside). Stand back and protect your eyebrows:eek: If you get a nice thick air/dust mix cloud as it meets the fire it's quite impressive.
But the quantities or dust and the size of any static discharge that we might generate in a home workshop aren't enough to create any decent explosion. Industrial sized systems are another subject and dust explosions are a real possibility there.

Cheers

Ian

Thing is I should have known better I sell Dust Ignition Proof and EXe, EXn and EXD equipment to industry and I know the risks.

Stupid is as stupid does I suppose.

Phil

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Just a matter of curiosity but are there any other dangers involved in the compressor operating in a fumey(??) atmosphere, besides the ignition problem?

Let's say it's sucking in the estapol vapours or fuel or similarly volatile gases. Would they settle out in the tank under pressure or is there a chance of innocently blowing down something only to discover you have a flame-thrower on your hands?

Also, a badly corroded tank is basically a bomb on a timer anyway... is it any more of a bomb in this situation?

[Iain]

Just a matter of curiosity but are there any other dangers involved in the compressor operating in a fumey(??) atmosphere, besides the ignition problem?

Let's say it's sucking in the estapol vapours or fuel or similarly volatile gases. Would they settle out in the tank under pressure or is there a chance of innocently blowing down something only to discover you have a flame-thrower on your hands?

Also, a badly corroded tank is basically a bomb on a timer anyway... is it any more of a bomb in this situation?

I suspect that the fumes/vapour would just settle in the air cleaner cartridge and set rock hard leaving you wondering why the compressor is now taking so long to fill and overheating in the process.
Apart from that think of the positive aspect, estapol on the inside of the tank providing a waterproof/rustproof layer