Thread: Fire in the cyclone !!!

Ironwood sounds like you caught it in time before it became a bigger problem, You could hook up some fancy fire suppression system but I think being vigilant "as you were" is the key as there is always a risk.

Originally Posted by Al B

Ironwood sounds like you caught it in time before it became a bigger problem, You could hook up some fancy fire suppression system but I think being vigilant "as you were" is the key as there is always a risk.

Hi Al, there were a few anxious moments there while figuring out what was the best way to handle it.

Yeah, I suppose a fire suppression system could be fitted to the ducting before the cyclone, but from experience with them when I used to work as a Diesel Fitter, it would be more trouble than what its worth.
Lost count of how many I saw set off accidently, and the ones that didnt go off when there was a fire .
I wont mention the problems we had with the infa-red detectors on the diggers where I last worked . ( They could even pick up a glow from a cigarette, let alone sparks from an angle grinder )

I think I'll just be mindful when using the cyclone, and if it ever happens again, hopefully I'll catch it early before it gets out of hand.

Well after finishing that last post, I went for a walk down to the shed, about 80 metres from the house.
I could smell smoke as I approached, went around the back where I dump my sawdust, and the pile was smoldering away. It had burnt about half the pile.

When I emptied the drum yesterday it was raining, the contents of the drum had about 15 litres of water tipped in on top of it when I dropped it off the cyclone, and we had 11mm of rain last night, so I would have thought everything was OK.

Luckily there is no chance of a bushfire here at the moment, with the amount of rain we have had lately.
But there has been a lesson learnt for me , next time it will get a thorough drenching before I walk away. If it had happened in the drier months I would have started a bushfire, the neighours would be after my blood.

Might need to install a flap into the top part of the waste container so you can poke your fire extinguisher hose in there without opening it up. As always it's just a thought

Hi,
Thatch roofs, hay bales and heaps of saw dust can not be extinguished by spraying water on them they just flare up again in 30 minuets to an hour. saw dust has to be made into a slurry and a thatch roof or hay bale has to be striped into individual blades of grass and extinguished because the water just runs off and does not penetrate and also all start to compost and produce heat when damp.
It's all rather scary.
Regards

Originally Posted by FXST01

Might need to install a flap into the top part of the waste container so you can poke your fire extinguisher hose in there without opening it up. As always it's just a thought

That's a thought, I'll save that idea, if it happens again might look into it.

Originally Posted by A Duke

Hi,
Thatch roofs, hay bales and heaps of saw dust can not be extinguished by spraying water on them they just flare up again in 30 minuets to an hour. saw dust has to be made into a slurry and a thatch roof or hay bale has to be striped into individual blades of grass and extinguished because the water just runs off and does not penetrate and also all start to compost and produce heat when damp.
It's all rather scary.
Regards

Certainly something to keep in mind, things could easily get out of hand.

Hole moley Brad! When I mentioned setting my bandsaw on fire twice in one night a couple of years ago, I didn't realise the connection - I was also cutting Dead-Finish - quite possibly from the same tree . The piece I was cutting came from beside Lochington school yard which is on a gravelly hill - maybe there's some flint or something in the dirt there

Hi Ironwood,

You were lucky with that one and got a top result. For the benefit of other readers of the post I suggest when such an event happens you call or get someone else to call the fire brigade if there is one in your locality BEFORE starting to deal with the problem yourself unless it is absolutely clear that you will be able to handle it. The release of a contained fire in a wood working shop could see the entire shop alight in seconds if there is poor dust hygiene.

At a school where I used to teach wood turning part time I was once treated to the sight on entering the machine shop of a person grinding plane irons on the Big Boy edge sander, using it as a linishing machine, with the cyclone running. It was the teacher!!.

Cheers Old Pete Volunteer Firerie

Originally Posted by TTIT

Hole moley Brad! When I mentioned setting my bandsaw on fire twice in one night a couple of years ago, I didn't realise the connection - I was also cutting Dead-Finish - quite possibly from the same tree . The piece I was cutting came from beside Lochington school yard which is on a gravelly hill - maybe there's some flint or something in the dirt there

Could be onto something there Vern. If it is from the same tree, it's a bit too much of a coincidence isnt it.
I'll have to be carefull when I'm turning the pieces, as I always have the cyclone running with the 150mm hose behind the work catching the dust and shavings.
Never seen any sparks coming off my turnings yet, even with the Ironwood .

Originally Posted by old pete

Hi Ironwood,

You were lucky with that one and got a top result. For the benefit of other readers of the post I suggest when such an event happens you call or get someone else to call the fire brigade if there is one in your locality BEFORE starting to deal with the problem yourself unless it is absolutely clear that you will be able to handle it. The release of a contained fire in a wood working shop could see the entire shop alight in seconds if there is poor dust hygiene.

At a school where I used to teach wood turning part time I was once treated to the sight on entering the machine shop of a person grinding plane irons on the Big Boy edge sander, using it as a linishing machine, with the cyclone running. It was the teacher!!.

Cheers Old Pete Volunteer Firerie

Good advise there Pete

I,m about 40 minutes from the nearest fire station though, so I dont have much choise but to take things into my own hands

Originally Posted by TTIT

. The piece I was cutting came from beside Lochington school yard which is on a gravelly hill - maybe there's some flint or something in the dirt there

I wonder if Cliff's tree had a bit of the good stuff in it too ?
In the 2nd pic I think he's hit solid flint.

That one was very dry.
The soil is fine sand.
The rocks in the area are all sedimentary.

After I cut that one up, I cut up a fresh one less than 100M away, same saw, same chain, same oil, & it didn't smoke at all.

Glad you were able to get the upper hand...with both of the fires.

As to the suggestion of a door for a fire extinguisher etcetera. Instead consider a fitting in the lid attached to a water supply so that all you need to do is open a valve to flood the bin. If there isn't running water in the shop you could still have some kind of quick connect fitting that the house hose could be hooked up to in a hurry. Come to think of it you could have a tank of water up on the wall that you just open the valve to and let gravity do the rest.

I'll add that you have a great dust collection system.

Pete

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Glad you were able to get the upper hand...with both of the fires.

As to the suggestion of a door for a fire extinguisher etcetera. Instead consider a fitting in the lid attached to a water supply so that all you need to do is open a valve to flood the bin. If there isn't running water in the shop you could still have some kind of quick connect fitting that the house hose could be hooked up to in a hurry. Come to think of it you could have a tank of water up on the wall that you just open the valve to and let gravity do the rest.

I'll add that you have a great dust collection system.

Pete

Thanks for that tip Pete, I might consider the fitting in the top with the hose hooked up. It would be a fairly simple mod.

I'm wondering if it will be a once off though, if its as suspected with the 'Dead Finish", I will probably never have a problem again, as I've cut up all I've got now.

I'm pretty happy with my DC system, its made a huge difference to working in the shed.
The shed still gets dirty and dusty, but nothing like it was before when I just had the 2HP bag dusty.

Here is a link to my Cyclone build if you want to have a look -- https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/new-cylone-35734/

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Glad you were able to get the upper hand...with both of the fires.

As to the suggestion of a door for a fire extinguisher etcetera. Instead consider a fitting in the lid attached to a water supply so that all you need to do is open a valve to flood the bin. If there isn't running water in the shop you could still have some kind of quick connect fitting that the house hose could be hooked up to in a hurry. Come to think of it you could have a tank of water up on the wall that you just open the valve to and let gravity do the rest.

I'll add that you have a great dust collection system.

Pete

that is a great idea! i woulg use thoes industrial brass sprinkler fittings in the top and have a one inch ball valve cumming ub from the bottem so cover everything as the water rises. what you could also do is a length of mrtal pipe tith heeps of holes drilled in it running up the centes of thr drum.