Know anything about spontaneous combustion?
 

I bought a couple too many bags of mulch 2 weeks ago and have sat them out next to the house. I opened one today and the contents were really hot - no s- , it had been sitting in the sun...

Anyhow I was wondering if there is any chance these could spontaneously combust? I'm not a big agriculatural type so I don't know what does/does not do that....grain, I think...what else?

If the wood chips are treated with oil it would be possible, but I would hope that the manufacturer uses a very fire resistant one.

do they play the drums?

Sure, you get it all the time in landfills. Anaerobic decomposition produces methane gas and heat. Underground landfill fires are very common. In a bag in your yard, possible, but not probable. When I read the title of this thread, I thought you were refering to people spontaneously combusting, that must be another thread.

Spontaneous Combustion seems extremely unlikely. If you pour linseed oil all over it you may have a problem, but otherwise I doubt it. I've had mulch sit in bags for a long time and stay hot, but never remotely ready to combust. I don't think a bag of mulch has enough mass/pressure to create enough heat.


I thought this was going to be a spontaneous human combustion thread. I was going to say that they've determined that there's no such thing. It's actually due to wicking and the fat on the body burning.

Steve,
It is possible and it happened to me in Ohio at work. The landscaper just put down some mulch, commercial stuff, really smelly, and that night my maintenance crew called to tell me the plant beds were on fire all over the place!! I examaned them the next morning and yep, little burned spots all over the place. Hard to believe but it happened.

Nostatic, do your amps go to 11?

no, but my last album was mixed in Dobly

It's possible. I used a yard Vaccuum on my lawn a few years ago, and put the clippings in my truck. My neighbor was going to till it into his garden for fertilizer. When I dumped the last bag into the truck, it was smoldering. I thought I was going to lose the truck!

Thanks guys. I guess I hadd better spread it before it gets hotter.
For those mislead by the title, sorry...but at least I got you t read! :)

linseed oil on the old rag should be placed in a sealed metal can.

Iv'e hauled siledge (corn mulch) in the winter when I would help my Father-in-law feed the cattle. In 20F weather, that stuff puts off some serious steam. In the summer, it can smulder.

If it gets wet, the decompostion can occur even quicker and the exothermic reaction from the genration of methane - given the right conditions, I would bet it could go up.

Is there a way to induce that? You know, in somebody else? I mean, not that I'd have any desire to cause anyone I know to inexplicably burst into flames, but I was just curious, see...

There is no such thing as "spontaneous human combustion." It's been determined that what was previously thought to be "shc" is due to 'a "wicking effect," in which the fatty tissues in the body burn much like the wax of a candle, while clothing acts like a wick.'

http://www.facts-1.com/shc.htm

So, yes, you can burn a body the same way, but it's not 'shc'

EX- Wife?