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Sun Jul 01, 2012 3:40 pm

I started to weld on my buss and i stared to smell a bit of smoke
so i got my fire extinguisher and by the time i got back my buss was
on fire . The culpret was the foam insulation has this happend to anyone elce or do i have worst luck ever.

Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:00 pm

Look up at the bus fire sticky. You aren't alone. Even I've had a welding fire.

Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:06 pm

:shock:

Maybe learn a bit more about welding before you hit that power switch again. Just sayin' :roll: Maybe keep a fire extinguisher a little closer next time too. Don't want to burn that bus down!

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/mig/

Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:30 pm

Good to have a bucket of water, a bucket of kitty litter, and a fire extinguisher all at hand when welding.

Find a hunk of aluminium or copper to back up your weld. It will suck the heat out and lessen burn through.

Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:55 pm

yepper these are lessons learned the hard way..

I have a couple shop extinguishers. but I keep 2 soda 2ltr bottles of water with a 1/4" hole drilled in the cap handy for common welding fires..
as I hate cleaning up the halon for just a simple mistake..

and like cliff diving.. always make sure your dive zone is clear.
you should have been aware and cleared the foam on the inside before you plugged that welder & panel in.

Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:56 am

Where was your fire watch person ???

Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:33 am

mschiffel wrote: Where was your fire watch person ??? Exactly. Professional welders always have someone on fire watch, especially if they cannot see the back side of the work. It's not bad luck -- it's merely inexperience. Now you are experienced. :wink:

Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:57 am

jtauxe wrote: mschiffel wrote: Where was your fire watch person ??? Exactly. Professional welders always have someone on fire watch, especially if they cannot see the back side of the work. It's not bad luck -- it's merely inexperience. Now you are experienced. :wink:

Wow, come on guys lets get practical here. Are you really going to have someone watch you the whole time you're working? If you take your bus to a shop to be welded on are you willing to pay twice the rate to have someone supervise the whole time? Don't be a retard and use common sense

Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:43 pm

Seems a little harsh...

Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:10 pm

If it hadn't caught on fire that would have been because your welds wern't hot enough to be good welds.

Heat causes things to burn. Get the combustables out of the way of your welding.

And don't use the light from the flame of your cigarette lighter to look down the fill neck on your gas tank.

Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:35 pm

Desertbusman wrote:
And don't use the light from the flame of your cigarette lighter to look down the fill neck on your gas tank.

Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:23 pm

Hey guys im starting a new rebuild thred about the 71 .
It will be a budget build and everything will be built with quality in mind. What i can say is the interior will be good because im a journyman carpenter . In my life nothing is ever easy but it could be a comedy of erors anyways let the fun begin. :D

Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:39 pm

VWsArent4Hippies wrote: jtauxe wrote: mschiffel wrote: Where was your fire watch person ??? Exactly. Professional welders always have someone on fire watch, especially if they cannot see the back side of the work. It's not bad luck -- it's merely inexperience. Now you are experienced. :wink:

Wow, come on guys lets get practical here. Are you really going to have someone watch you the whole time you're working? If you take your bus to a shop to be welded on are you willing to pay twice the rate to have someone supervise the whole time? Don't be a retard and use common sense

:roll:

Yes, I do have someone on fire watch when I'm welding or even grinding (metal sparks will light a fire as well)

And when going to a shop you are not paying "twice" the rate, you are paying to get the job done properly, you'd be right pissed if your bus burnt down due to somebody not following procedure, right? Typically fire watch is done by the low paid hourly guys that are looking to get a foot in the business.

Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:47 pm

wow guys as pro trades guy I use to weld garbage trucks together for waste management
that being said while trying to weld sheet metal together is a different beast when using a cheap flux core welder .My prep skils will have to improve so im not trying to weld a 1/8 gap together in sheet metal. The lesson is like the boy scouts allways be prepaired thats why I had a fire extinguiser!Anyways learn from my misstakes and take it easy you only live once! 8)

Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:19 am

Only some of the above is true.

When welding thin sheet have an open bucket full of water next to you with a rag in it.

The process is tack, swab, tack, swab, tack....etc

The water makes a mess of things but keeps the panel cool and prevents fires.

There should be so many stops top check and cool the work that there won't be a need for an extinguisher.

Halon is an oxygen displacing gas that should never be used in confined places, this does not contain powder.

Extinguishers labeled abcd have powder in them they make a huge mess but thats a tradeoff for being able to put most any type of fire.

You may have an abcd extinguisher that uses halon as a propellant, if so never us this indoors. You could put out a fire and asphyxiate at the same time.

Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:12 am

VWsArent4Hippies wrote: jtauxe wrote: mschiffel wrote: Where was your fire watch person ??? Exactly. Professional welders always have someone on fire watch, especially if they cannot see the back side of the work. It's not bad luck -- it's merely inexperience. Now you are experienced. :wink:

Wow, come on guys lets get practical here. Are you really going to have someone watch you the whole time you're working? If you take your bus to a shop to be welded on are you willing to pay twice the rate to have someone supervise the whole time? Don't be a retard and use common sense .....The welding shop that I worked in always required a "fire watch" while welding anywhere in the field except in the shop....This was a strictly enforced rule by the company for safety reasons....All fire safety personnel had to keep a fire extinguisher no more than 50 feet from the welding area....We had no welding related fires in 18 years.....it's just common sense.

Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:20 am

VWsArent4Hippies wrote: jtauxe wrote: mschiffel wrote: Where was your fire watch person ??? Exactly. Professional welders always have someone on fire watch, especially if they cannot see the back side of the work. It's not bad luck -- it's merely inexperience. Now you are experienced. :wink:

Wow, come on guys lets get practical here. Are you really going to have someone watch you the whole time you're working? If you take your bus to a shop to be welded on are you willing to pay twice the rate to have someone supervise the whole time? Don't be a retard and use common sense .....Listen, genious...you will not be paying "double" to have someone standing by to ensure that your bus doesn't go up in flames...the guy welding without any safety man is the "retard" especially if he can't see where the fire has already started....and yes, being safe IS being practical...especially if it keeps anything from being destroyed by fire....you do what you want, but I'll do it safe.

Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:08 am

Whenever I click on the baywindow forum I feel like I'm entering a place where most people have no sense of reality

Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:15 am

VWsArent4Hippies wrote: Whenever I click on the baywindow forum I feel like I'm entering a place where most people have no sense of reality

correct.

It makes no sense to have someone stand there waiting for you to start a fire.

just pay attention and don't start a fire in the first place.

Body work isn't production welding. You make a few tacks and cool the work to prevent warpage. You are constantly flipping up the hood to check your work and for fire... if youre doing it right you have a bucket of water and wet rags (some use wet newspaper) right next to you! No need to strike fear into peoples hearts on this subject.

Where's skills at! I've seen a bunch of his progress pics with no sign of a watchmen or even a camera man! That dude does nice work as a one man show, with practice you can too.

Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:45 am

chazz79 wrote: Only some of the above is true.

When welding thin sheet have an open bucket full of water next to you with a rag in it.

The process is tack, swab, tack, swab, tack....etc

The water makes a mess of things but keeps the panel cool and prevents fires.

There should be so many stops top check and cool the work that there won't be a need for an extinguisher.

Halon is an oxygen displacing gas that should never be used in confined places, this does not contain powder.

Extinguishers labeled abcd have powder in them they make a huge mess but thats a tradeoff for being able to put most any type of fire.

You may have an abcd extinguisher that uses halon as a propellant, if so never us this indoors. You could put out a fire and asphyxiate at the same time.

I wouldn't quench your welds like that. By cooling them so quickly you're weakening the metal, making it hard and brittle, more difficult to work and causing stress in that it's creating tension. Also, the metal will move, bumping out toward the side that you're quenching.

Mig welders make a lot of sparks - should have shielded the foam.