Working in the shop this morning, I thought my dust collector sounded a bit louder than usual, so I went downstairs (shop is in the loft of the barn, DC is on main floor) to check on it, sure enough, the 55 gallon plastic barrel was full to the top from planing and thicknessing material.
I pulled it out, and wheeled it outside and I had noticed my wife had a small fire going, burning some dead branches after the fall cleanup.
I stayed some distance from the edge of the fire (5’) and slowly dumped the barrel over, no problem so picked up the bottom end and went to dump it totally out, when a bit of the dust shot out of the barrel across the fire.
Yes, it flared up and burned my left hand, I dropped the barrel, and my wife started screaming. That scared me the most.
Fortunately there is only a lack of hair on my hand, the skin is really red but still intact, and typing really hurts and my hand is burning like its still in the fire.
Moral of my story: You are never far enough away from fire when dumping sawdust…
-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."
Fine sawdust will ignite like gasoline! Ask me how I know. I had a friend who worked in a feed mill while he was in high school. He learned to chew tobacco as they could not smoke in the mill. When I asked him why, he replied that the fine dust is like gas vapors and will ignite/explode in a fraction of a second. He added that could ruin your whole day!
-- Regret- the feeling you get just after you do something really stupid.
Had a similar flare up a few years ago dumping a small trashcan of shorts on a fire, there was a bunch of sawdust on the bottom that I didn’t realize was there.
Luckily for my face there wasn’t more sawdust and the trashcan blocked most of the flame.
Glad to hear your ok, thanks for posting.
-- "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein
I am a bit of a pyromaniac, I love fire. I have been bitten several times and am always amazed at fires lack of consideration for flesh. I am glad you came out of this altercation with no more than a superficial burn. Life with fire is always a learning experience. Thanks for the warning.
-- Made in America, with American made tools....Shopsmith
Sorry to change the subject a little, but I remember a post a month or so ago about grounded dust collection exhausting from a dust collector. The general consensus was that it was not necessary to ground, I should have thrown my 2 cents worth in at the time. This, on a different scale, proves that grounded dust collection is necessary. Anything I have read states that it is a necessary evil. A large grain elevator in Halifax N.S. exploded a few years ago. The elevator was empty, with only dust left. Be careful out there. I’m glad your injuries weren’t worse, Jusfine. Jack
Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind thoughts, I worked through the pain…which is considerably less now and I have only puffy blisters on my hairless fingers.
-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."
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