Fire hazard from MIG welding?

[Steve333]

Hi All

My welder lives in my 10'x12' garage, along with 4 motorbikes (it's a bit tight).

I need to pull the two biggest bikes out to make room for my workbench, and so far I've also been pulling the two smaller bikes out as well, figuring that petrol tanks = ignition risk.

I'm new to this MIG welding lark, and wondered if I am being appropriately safety-conscious, or overly paranoid.

It would be nice if I could get on with some welding without doing the motorbike shuffle before and after each small job.

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Steve

 

[bawjaws]

its not really the welder sparks to worry about, its the ones from the grinder!
2 metres away from the bikes should be plenty imo

 

[Landynut]

Yeah move the bikes! Even if they don't go on fire you will destroy the paint work and other parts with sparks from welding.

 

[Tino]

A little paranoia is a good thing!

I don't think you are being over paranoid. As there are sparks there is always a risk of fire. Anything you can do to minimise the risk is worthwhile. I check everything is out of the way before I start, keep an eye out constantly for fire or something smouldering while I work, check every where (corners, under workbench etc) when I'm done and then do the same again (when at home) an hour or two later. I don't want to find out if the insurance would pay out or not. I have to motor bike shuffle at home, it is a pain, but nothing to the pain I'd feel if I was standing looking at two blazing Suzuki's.!
Oh yes and keep a fire extinguisher handy!

 

[john224]

danger

I Agree Move the bikes,,
Petrol fumes and sparks dont mix +sparks on paint work dont mix ether,,,

 

[scott0031]

As Tino said you an never be to safety aware, There is no such thing as being to aware in my book. Especially with fire It takes no prisoners and i can tell you for free it hurts. A LOT.

I say this from hard learnt personal experience of being caught smack bang in the middle very big petrol fire. If it wasnt for the clothing i was wearing and quick thinking there is no doubt i would not be here to tell the tale and bring double awareness to people that pose the question you have.


If you have petrol present its a real bonus to understand how petrol actually burns. Petrol itself will not burn, but the fumes do. The more scary thing is you are often are not aware of the risk at the time. Petrol fumes i would take a guess are heavier than air. I dont need to go read up to find out. I actually watched the fumes burning up on the floor in a fire ball until they eventually reached me and boom. So be aware you wont always smell the risk thats present.

The fumes are the thing you have to be very aware of, so any source of those fumes should be right away in fresh air where they can be dispersed. even then there is still a risk from any source of ignition such as grinding sparks. The chances are remote but it can happen and i promise you prevention is a lot better than cure.

You should keep your bikes or any fuel cans right away from any work you are doing. I mean right away the 2 meters quoted is not enough no where near enough. As you know fuel expands and contracts with heat. All bike tanks have breathers and that is the source of the fumes. Plus any risk of grinding sparks or welding gemlins landing on the bikes could sit there and fester with old oil, wires or anything that might take up a slow burn.

Second to this, grinding any material can travel a very large distance indeed which will plaster your bikes and anything in the near locality. The sparks might be cool when they reach them but contained in those sparks will be deposits of what you are grinding and will sit on your bikes until it gets damp and then will rust ruining everything it touches. If they are still hot even worse as it will melt into the paint before it rusts. It Just adds a bit of insult to injury.


Hope you find this helpful and informative.



Kind regards,


Scott (ward eng)

 

[Steve333]

Thanks for the reassurance.

I figured it was worth doing - especially as the two bikes in question are my wife's, not mine.

 

[Robotstar5]

I figured it was worth doing - especially as the two bikes in question are my wife's, not mine.

Tell her she really ought keep her bikes in her own (new) garage next to your's, then ask nicely if you can keep your bikes there as well

 

[deandave]

I got a 5m x 1.5m welding blanket for £25 incl P&P on Ebay. Might be enough to put a screen up between you and 2 bikes or just cover them up. Im not a fire man but it sounds like you just need to vent the garage and cover the engine, tanks and other paintwork from the spatter.

 

[series2]

Last night I was happily welding away at my new winch mount, I had taken extra care to move all possible fire risks and was working at the clear end of the garage, with the welding screen up just to make shure. I made a bit of a mess of one of the welds, so I got the grinder out and cleaned up the weld.

I continued welding, and after a couple more runs noticed an acrid smell.... The plastic case for the grinder was nicely ablaze, filling the garage with smoke, I had left it on the floor near where I was working!. thankfully the bucket was nearby, and no lasting damage was done barring a melted & wet lump of plastic stuck to the garage floor.

It just goes to show that even if you are careful, accidents can (and will) happen.

My advice is this. Don't weld near anything Valuable, flammable or irreplaceble and have a fire extinguisher AND a bucket of water to hand, and if possible a fire watcher. Also you can't see flames through a No.9 shade!

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

One egg cup full of petrol was the max we were ever allowed to use for cleaning in our heavy repair shop . If welding of any sort or grinding was taking place or in the offing it was not allowed .

Where I used to work a major fire was started by petrol fumes seeping to the floor during a replacement fuel pump being fitted and running along a wall then down a slight incline to a guy using oxyacetelene some 40 mtrs away ..Resulting in a bloody big bang, a massive sheet of flame and lots of very very singed people as well as three trucks incinerated along with the workshops.

The workshop was some 150 feetlong by 60 feet and 5 mtrs high

Get your bikes out for your own safety and piece of mind.

 

[Alistair]

sparks from mig welder can go as far as 10 metres.. so the instruction manual for my welder stated. im sure most of us in here keep fire extinguishers handy when welding. if your in any doubt there is a thread on the forum somewhere about "what have you burnt down" read those storys.. after that you will park your bikes 100 metres away im sure!!!

 

[Bsmith]

its not really the welder sparks to worry about, its the ones from the grinder!
2 metres away from the bikes should be plenty imo

The bike I set fire to was more than 2 meters away from where I was grinding , 2 fire extinguishers did'nt put it out, had to be the hose from outside the workshop.

 

[Chipper]

Move the bikes for sure. You never know, cracked fuel hose, tap leak+float valve probs, whatever. Battery vent tubes (mate blew up a batt via this when welding).

As above, solvents, and things like oily or solvent'd rags in open bins

 

[Steve333]

My boss recently found out that wire wool ignites very easily from grinder sparks.

 

[Alistair]

dam i cant remember the name of it but there was a programme on tv not long ago saying how flamable wire wool is!! something on discovery or something..