Disappointing Day

[milner351]

BigDad I really feel for your friend - we had a friend nearly loose their house - due to a fire started in the attached garage by a remote control car battery charger.

Insurance is one of those necessary evils most of the time, you hope you never need it but when you do - you hope you have more than you need, if that's even possible.

The house we just got has me worried already - found two 220 connections wire nutted and shoved between cabinets - for range and oven, no junction boxes.

[BigDad]

This car no longer exists ..very sad

[BigDad]

Nor does this car

[BigDad]

[BigDad]

Fire inspector won't let them on site until weather warms and they can pinpoint cause ..

[DanStokes]

That goes way beyond "sucks". Sorry for your buddy and I hope the insurance pays off adequately.

I'm not opposed to inspections and permits. I REALLY don't want the result that your friend had. I AM opposed to their right hand not knowing what their left hand is doing. When they give you direction it ought to be gospel and not changed on site by the next guy from the same department.

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

My dad builds kitchen equipment for commercial restaurants - and I did that for him and other for decades before I changed careers. With that said, I really wish you'd put a flex line (stainless) between your heater and your gas line. It's required in Oregon - but for a different reason - they have to make it flexible and removeable so that equipment can be moved and the area cleaned...
It's also required on HVAC and stoves for earthquakes...

Why I think it'd be a good idea in your area - the pipe moves, as does the heater as it heat cycles. It'd really suck in, after 10 years of cycling, you had a battery charger and a slight leak from the line cracking.... grainger, IIRC, carries those lines.

just my

[Huskinhano]

Any garage where cars are stored or repaired are what's called a division 1, class 2 location. It means combustable are not there normally but can be. Any source of ignition must be 48" above grade level. So all your switches, outlets and pilot lights have to be above. I had to question a vendor of coal and wood stoves how they could sell them for garages?

Not many people realize with explosion proof wiring there is constantly explosions going on inside the boxes. As the hot burning gases escape, they are cooled by the machined mating surfaces. If care isn't given during painting and the exposed machined surfaces are painted, it'll seal the box and turn it into a
bomb!

How many of you guys have at least 1 fire exstinquisher in your garage? Think about the next time you weld something on the floor with the doors shut. Could be what happened to big dad's friend. Having been through a house fire I would highly recomend every one to keep important papers in a safety deposit box...I do!

[milner351]

Agreed Tom - I keep an extinguisher on my welding cart - and at least two others in the shop. Whenever you fire up the torch - know where the closest extinguisher is - I have scars on both hands from dripping rubber falling down from a wheel well after welding - I smothered it quickly - but the stuff burned through the back of my mechanics gloves - should have been wearing welding gloves.

Tom - so I understand - all outlets, and switches in garage should be at or above 48"?

in the old shop I put the waste oil furnace (essentially a torch firing into a metal drum) up on top of the pallet racks at 8ft.
Is 4ft the minimum height for a furnace? or is 8ft best?

sorry to hijack Dan.

[Huskinhano]

John, above 48" is fine. Even at gas station pumps outside there is a zone for ignition with the fumes I don't think you're hijacking. How many people think about garage safety?

[STINEY]

I'll shamelessly hijack.......

I notice you mentioned safe deposit box instead of firesafe?

While obviously important papers would survive better in a safe deposit box, any input on fire-safes?

I recently asked a professional firefighter relative of ours where in our 2 story wood framed house would be the best place for a fire-safe, as in basement/2nd floor/etc.

He instantly, while laughing, replied "where you live, it doesn't really matter."

His point was that if the local fire department takes even 10 minutes to respond, its too late.

Got my attention, that's for sure.

[DanStokes]

No hijack in my mind guys.

One of the reasons I went with the hanging furnace was to get it WAY above the kaboom zone - the bottom of the furnace is just shy of 8' with the gas connections above 8'. All my plugs are 48" for a couple of reasons - they're above the danger zone AND they are easier to use. Don't have to bend over and try to find a plug and they're less likely to have stuff put in front of them. Works like a charm.

My shop in MI had a separate back room with the compressor and furnace. The furnace was up on 3 cinder blocks so it was well off the floor even though it was separated from the "danger" area by a wall and door. I replaced a furnace in a friend's basement and did the same trick.

Shop safety is ALWAYS a good topic in my book.

Dan

[milner351]

I'll have to check the height of the outlets in the new shop - it's drywalled, I'm not used to that.

The outlets in the house are stupid low - like 8" off the floor maybe less - don't understand that - but not going to change it, the trim carpenters ran the baseboards around them!

[DanStokes]

When I made the attached garage into ME's music studio I put all the plugs at 48" (maybe 42" - up there anyway). We did that because she was teaching toddlers for awhile and we didn't want little fingers finding the power. Again it's worked out well. I think I'll put them all up high from now on - how many times have you crawled behind your dresser to plug in a clock or some such.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

Stiney... Our old farm house was 2 storied, heated with wood stoves the majority of it's life.. Wood cook stove part of it too..
When we had the fire dept burn it down for practice, I was AMAZED how fast and hot it went up.. Lath/plaster walls and tongue/groove walls and floors .. The 8ft basement and beam foundation stayed hot a week afterwards... Even with them holding the flames down on 4 sides and 6 grass fire watchers.. It still was so hot!
So do all you can to not let a fire get started...
If I remember right.. From starting the fire, with dampening it , it took like 30 min for the roof to start collapsing... An hour it was just a pile out the basement.. Fire dept was packed up and gone in 4 hrs