If you weld in your garage . . .[Please Read!]

I weld outside whenever I can and have had things catch on fire, but never anything large or expensive. My reason for writing, is because a real experienced welder friend was welding in the area of the gas tank, and he either hit the gas line or there was a leak. There were two guys in the garage with him and the fire was out of control so fast that they couldn't get close to him. He died and the garage burned down. This happened over 10 years ago, and I think about it every time I weld inside or weld on a car.
The other point I wanted to make, is that you must be careful to get out to the fresh air immediately after using a Halon extinguisher. The halon gas is heavier than air, and if used in a confined area, it can make you quite sick. The soda extinguishers have a tendency for the soda to pack if they sit for any period of time, and may be useless when you need it. I was told to shake it up periodically. Our fire department will check any extinguisher for free anytime. It might be worthwhile to see if they will do the same in your area.
Oh yeah, I almost burned up on the Trans Canada highway bringing a car I had just purchased home from the next province ( a one way trip of about 800 miles). The wire to the antenna motor at the back of the car was not fused, and had shorted out caught between the back seat mount and the bare metal under the seat. I was able to save the car by coming to a wild and crazy stop, and me and my two kids packed the back seat area with snow. I was able to find the wire because it was the one with all the plastic melting off. I thought we were toast.
I don't like remembering those things, but I guess I have been around machines too long
Bob

 

I try and do all my welding outside.

 

I always like to have a spray bottle full of water and also a 5 gallon bucket full of water and a few large towels. the wet towels work great on burning under coat, sealant, paint.

 

Bob,besides being both dangerous and the most effective extinguisher available, Halon is actually illegal in a lot of places now.
Some of you here are using water...Never Ever use water on a car fire!.
if it's fuel that's burning,Water will spread a fuel fire so fast you will be caught in it and die.
never use water to put out a car fire.if halon is banned where you live,go to the local fire department and get EXPERT advice.
Years ago,some mates of mine were helping me start a chev that wouldn't fire. We were pushing it up the street,it fired and one of the guys drove it up to the car park. I walked up behind the car to find all my mates standing around a burning engine ...naked! ,they had pulled all their clothes off to smother the fire.Fuel had spilled out and was burning quite well,when some genius grabbed a can of liquid and threw it at the fire...it was a can of Fuel!!. I had a yellow halon extinguisher handy and the fire was out in seconds.

 

We have 6 fire extinguishers in our garage (not counting the ones in each vehicle we own). Dad was a Crash Rescue Fireman in the Air National Guard so he is very conscientious about that (and passed it on). Halon is illegal to produce here, but you can sill buy it (refills if your extinguisher can be) but as I understand it Halotron (one of the 'green' replacements) is supposed to be virtually identical in performance (if somewhat more expensive). An extinguisher on the welding cart is one hell of an idea (we bring one close when we weld, but having it on the cart would be easier).

Now, for my personal best brain fart with welding, or be careful what you wear. I was welding up a tool at work (middle of winter, job was outside, welder was inside the heated shop) wearing Arctic Weight insulated Carhartt Bib Overalls. They were tattered from mid calf down and greasy / oily. You can guess the rest. I was able to put my legs out with my hands in less than a second (thank god I was wearing welding gloves). Fortunately I wasn't wearing anything next to my skin that was synthetic. I still got burned (first degree only) but it was my fault, I should have taken the 20 seconds or so to take off my walking Napalm suit.

 

Another thing to remember.
Do not leave your garage right after any welding or cutting.
Take at least 1/2 hour cleaning up tools, planning the next day or just setting having a beer.
Don't take for granted the sparks and hot metal rolling around in all the nooks and crannys are going to cool off.
They may be smoldering, and some dust, dirt or grease in a corner may catch fire that you haven't noticed.

 

Yep.........and keep one in your newer car also.

 

thankfully the only stuff i usually light on fire is myself

 

Watch your grinder too, have set fire to my own pants whilst going hard on an old AA chassis - VERY close to a Brazilian

 

a torch will do the same also, I was cutting a truck in half to make a trailer and the rubber cab mounts went up and the truck was blazing with me under it, I roll out run to grab the extinguisher 30 feet away, lucky I didn't burn down the shop. keep it close! grinder sparks ignited a flannel work jacket i had covering a fuel tank one time, talk about pucker factor holy*****. last bit of advice while welding upside down on a frame I had weld spatter come in side my helmet and burn my eye but to make it worse i had on safety glasses to boot. take extra care with anything that might cath on fire including your self. The eye doctor loves me by the way. Twice in a year for objects imbedded in my eye while wearing safty glasses .

 

Setting the car on-fire is one thing, setting yourself on fire is another.
Greasy overalls, welding sparks, crutch on fire, my mate beating the fire out with his hands, both of us red faced. Like ..... um I, Um, you know ,like Um, wouldn't have like hit you there, except Um, you were on fire! Yeah Um, thanks, I thought I was getting a little warm there, no offence taken man, but*****! did you have to hit so hard?
Hey lets not tell out our girlfriends about this.

Also a very good idea the the Early Ford V8 Club has, you cannot enter a car for judging without a current (certified) fire extinguisher.

 

I'm adding this before reading the entire thread, so someone else probably mentioned this but I'll do so and edit if needed.

Get a fire blanket and use it. These things are mandatory for welders on construction sites and are a lot cheaper than whatever you torch in your garage/house/shop/car.

 

Got some questions for you guys. Can a fire extinguisher be stored underneath a bench seat? Also will the hot weather we have been having in the southeast impact the performance of the extinguisher if you needed to grab it? Lastly would one from Lowes or Home Depot be effective for a street rod (55 F100). Thanks

 

i had a grease fire in my grill while cooking dinner the other night
my wife tried to put it out with water...???? i knocked the bowl out of her hands as she was going to put it on dinner
i calmly took the food off the grill
took some looooong vise grips and took out the grease tray
i had a fire extinguisher handy (was in the garrage)
and then showed the wife how to use one
i then relit the fire to show her how to use baking soda
so as a lesson actually know how to use the tool
tk

 

Fire extinguisher good, dry powder corrosion, not good. You gotta wash that***** out really, really good, use baking powder to neutralize the acid, heed my advice.

 

I told my wife that I'm buying an oxy/acetylene torch. First comment out of her mouth was, you WILL buy a fire extinguisher. I told her the plan was to buy THREE. One for each side of the garage and one on the cart for the tanks. That way there's always one handy. The one on the cart is immediately at hand. The ones on each side of the garage has one handy so I don't have to run through the fire to get to the extinguisher. Fire extinguishers are cheap and available at every hardware store, Lowe's, Home Depot, Costco, etc. You could probably find one at Walgreen's!

The next search is to find a CO2 extinguisher for the kitchen. Dry extinguisher powder is a****** to clean up and tastes terrible.

That's my nickle's worth. I'm glad no one was hurt in the fire that started this thread.

 

Not recommended, no and maybe.

I can't recommend putting it anywhere you won't have immediate access to.

Any weather you might encounter on this planet should not get hot enough (even with heat factor or heat soak) to effect the extinguisher.

Fire extinguishers are all about ratings. A is for combustible non metallic solids (wood, cloth, etc), B is for liquids (gas, oil, etc) C is for Electrical fires, D is for metal fires (magnesium primarily). An ABC fire extinguisher would be best as you can't plan for what kind of fire you will have (just what kind you may have) and you won't find a D rated extinguisher at Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart. D is kind of a waste in an automotive application as by the time the metal is burning it is unlikely you would have enough extinguishing agent in an extinguisher you would fit inside the car with.

If you live near any sizable airport see if you can get ahold of the aircraft maintenance department of any airlines that operate there, sometimes they have to 'dispose' of extinguishers that don't meet aircraft spec anymore. Most of them are Halon. There may be local laws against it where you are (not here) but Halon is THE best. If you can't use Halon, Halotron (Sp?) is a very close second, it's one of the 'green' replacements for Halon.

I have a 15 Lb CO2 extinguisher behind the front seats in the Anglia (easy to reach even with the seats 'up'). A 15 lb CO2 is pretty big, but there is almost no worse feeling than having a fire almost out and running out of extinguishing agent (ask me how I know).

Oh and any of you that haven't actually used an extinguisher check with your local fire department (or your employer) and see about getting some hands on training. I actually had a job where they would have you put something out with an extinguisher as part of your training. Not quite how you would expect it to work, like the initial flare up, as the extinguishing agent pushes the air in front of it into the fire.

 

I just caught my pants on fire reversing some wheels this week. My work jeans ripped through the knee. Very stylish if I were 45 years younger but the fit well. The loose strings caught on fire while I wasn't looking. It got a little warm on the leg. I was able to beat it out with my hands with no ill affects.

We always keep a spray bottle of water handy when welding in or around the floor board and upholstery area. One spark in the jute carpet padding can smolder for hours before it decides to flare up. When in doubt soak the stuff with water. A fire extinguisher will kill the flames but it can often flare back up after your heart rate has returned to normal.

 

Great advice. Really glad you are allright. That is the most important thing.

Another maybe obvious point when you use an extinguisher, point the head toward the bottom of the fire (if you can see it). This will extinguish the fire better than spraying in the air or just into it.

Unfortunatly, my folks lost their house, and that was a bit of advice that my dad would have liked to know.

 

I like the idea of having the extinguisher attached to the welding cart. I'm going to do that. Also, does anyone make a smoke detector with a remote alarm? My garage is 80 feet from my house and I'd never hear the alarm if I had fire in there and I was in the house. The only ones close to that are part of home alarm systems.
Todd

 

Oh Man!
I really need to clean up my safety act. Thanks for the reality check!

 

slammy,

Sorry about your fire. I have two fire extinguishers in my garage one on each side of it. I have a Halon fire extinguisher in my '49 Caddy right next to the drivers seat, so I can get at real fast. Get a large fire extinguisher or two small ones for the car. *Don't put the fire extinguisher in the trunk, keep it were you can get to it fast.*

CRUISER

 

Here's what I learned the hard way...Mount a large extinguisher on the wall inside of your garage entrance door.....that way you don't have to****** thru a smoke filled room trying to find the other extingushers that were stashed on benches,carts,walls etc....those seconds are VERRY,VERRY precious.....and check the pressure/recharge status on a regular basis...it's a sinking feeling pulling the trigger and finding out there's no charge left
Ask me how I know.....Stan

 

I don't but one of the security companies must, do you have a phone line between your shop and house, or do need it to be wireless?

You could mount the alarm outside pointed towards your house. How you would wire that to a normal smoke detector, I don't know.

 

My car has been set on fire twice. Niether time was by me but we were able to get it out both times. Pretty scary when your walking back to your ride and see flames starting to rise above the dash.

 

You keep a Brazilian in your pants? How the hell do you walk?

 

i keep them on my Christmas list.......i know we hate to flop down $20 on something we think we'll never use

after about 9 years, i have one in every car, one on my welding cart, one by my front door in the garage, one by my chemical shelf, one in the kitchen, one in our bedroom and one in the basement.......

i figure i might have to "fight" my way out of the basement or bedroom, etc...

go buy a couple and then put it on your Christmas list for the next 5 years or so......or just leave it on there......some of my older ones are coming out of the green and getting near red.....i'll play with them with my 30-06 one day and get new ones...

 

I had a mishap while rewelding the spring-perches on a rearaxle once.

Half an hour before this, I had the perches chiseled off and decided to clean the axle of all the old grime build-up.
The rearaxle was on the concrete floor on jackstands.
So I cleaned the complete axle with a steel wirebrush, brakecleaner and a rag. I also had placed a cut open cardboardbox to catch some of the brakecleaner runoff.

Fastforward half an hour, I got ready to tack the relocated springperches again. I figured the brakecleaner-fumes were already evaporated from the place I worked so I put on the weldinggloves, hooked up the ground-clamp, put on my auto-darkening weldinghelmet, pulled the trigger, and next thing I know I hear a 'woof' and immediatly I feel intense heat right in front of me.
Flipped the helmet off and notice the 2 by 1' open box turned into a "garage-heater".

I somehow managed to keep my cool and grabbed an edge of the box and just folded it closed again, which took care of the flames.
Pheww! Talk about a wake-up call.

But I always have a couple of FE's around the garage at all time. You can never be too safe.

 

we set a tractor on fire with a torch, plastic fuel line hidden behind the sheet metal - luckily it was diesel or we wouldn't be here today.

We emptied out a $15 fire extinguisher on it to put it out.

 

I think that most of us have similar stories, it always seems to take a close call to bring home the fact that we are not indestructible.