Any Bluejackets know the reasoning for this ?

[VO5]

Leafing through the Admiralty Manual of Seamanship Volume 2, and referring to page 250 and the heading Maintenance of Awnings....I quote:~

An awning - or, for that matter, any canvas gear - should never be stowed below wet, because it will not only rot but may easily catch fire from spontaneous combustion. (The danger from spontaneous combustion is much greater in the case of painted canvas, which for this reason is always stowed in a special store.)A wet awning should be temporarily stowed in a sheltered place on deck until an opportunity occurs for drying it; the quickest way of drying it is in good weather.

The instructions go on to explain that an awning should always be lifted and carried, never dragged along the decks....etc.,

One cannot doubt the experience of the Royal Navy and the knowledge and skills acquired, mastered and perfected over centuries....but I am intrigued as to how wet canvas (presumably wet having been in contact with water, either seawater or rain), can be at risk of catching fire from spontaneous combustion ?

Or am I missing something ?

 

[prv]

I believe cargoes of coal in iron windjammers were also more likely to spontaneously combust if wet. I don't know why this should be, but the Admiralty advice doesn't particularly surprise me.

Pete

 

[VO5]

I know about the risk of oily cotton waste subject to spontaneous combustion and the navies, both Merchant and Royal have always been very careful about stowage. Certainly any oily waste was disposed of or stowed in an airtight tin.

Ordinary flour, curiously, is also dangerous. If you have some flour in a tin and you shake it, then remove the lid, and light a cigarette in the proximity of it, the contents will explode with a spectacular flash. Don't try this at home for God's sake. If you really want to experience it, do it in the garden, and away from trees.

 

[pampas]

same thing happens to Hay stacks if the center bales are not dry and bulk fish meal in heasian sacks fish meal heats up sack beings to char and so on. very good sourse at hone is sugar, cotton wool and glycerin stored in the same drawer.

 

[fergie_mac66]

Probably used to be coated with linseed oil for waterproofing .... A big flash point when french polishing using linseed cloths have to be laid flat and due care taken with rubbish disposal. Many fires caused in past . Linseed oil in putty again cleaning cloths fire risk if screwed up

 

[Habebty]

Teak oil has a warning on the label about spontaneous combustion if soaked on a cotton rag. Artificial fibres are not apparently so affected.

 

[fergie_mac66]

Oilskins were also fire risks as made with linseed oil coated linen

 

[sarabande]

the material is natural, not artificial, and bacterial development might progress at such a rate that heat is produced...

 

[Seajet]

Just guessing; as oxygen and grease create fires / explosions when mixed ( which didn't seem all that intuitive to me but was drummed into me in apprenticeship ) maybe that's relevant ?

 

[Ariadne]

Yep, bales of cotton, wool, are notorious for spontaneous combustion, as are iron fillings, coal (coal dust), sugar, flour, etc. Have a google about ship fires, you'll be surprised. Better still have a chat with a fire brigade that still a maritime deployment specialty -they should have some cracking pic's, stories about spontaneous combustion; get them to do a lecture in your local club.

 

[Rock Dodger]

Manual of Seamanship Vol.1 (1937) says on page 109 that No.4 R.N. canvas is used for Ship's awnings, weather screens and gun covers. It is (or was) supplied in white or grey, and, for certain purposes, it may be waterproofed. Dragging a white awning across the deck will make it dirty and possibly threadbare. Storing cotton fabric whilst wet may cause spontaneous combustion (think plant fibres in a compost bin). Waterproofing substances could also be a risk. Also in Volume 1, page 412 comes the dreadful warning, "Potatoes must not be stored between decks or in unventilated store rooms, as they develop poisonous gases."

See.. I bet you'll be more careful next time you eat chips!

 

[seadog30]

Hi

A compost heap generates a lot of heat if damp, its made of organic materials so were the old canvas awnings.

I guess modern synthetic material is ok except for mould.

Regards

 

[VO5]

Manual of Seamanship Vol.1 (1937) says on page 109 that No.4 R.N. canvas is used for Ship's awnings, weather screens and gun covers. It is (or was) supplied in white or grey, and, for certain purposes, it may be waterproofed. Dragging a white awning across the deck will make it dirty and possibly threadbare. Storing cotton fabric whilst wet may cause spontaneous combustion (think plant fibres in a compost bin). Waterproofing substances could also be a risk. Also in Volume 1, page 412 comes the dreadful warning, "Potatoes must not be stored between decks or in unventilated store rooms, as they develop poisonous gases."

See.. I bet you'll be more careful next time you eat chips!

Potatoes ! Crikey! Thanks for the tip. I'll brief SWMBO.

 

[prv]

Potatoes ! Crikey! Thanks for the tip. I'll brief SWMBO.

Probably only applies if you store enough to feed a battleship's company for three months

Pete

 

[Rock Dodger]

When I worked in the marine industry I was involved in a project to install Nitrogen generators on fruit carrying reefer ships. Once loaded they would seal the holds and pump in Nitrogen gas which kept the fruit in good condition. During the technical discussion it was stated that the fruit could be kept unripe for weeks by this method by suppressing the Ethylene gas given off by the fruit. The ship operator said it had the added advantage of killing creepy crawlies and then he added 'and stowaways'. Nobody laughed because they found at least one every month.

 

[Sandyman]

the material is natural, not artificial, and bacterial development might progress at such a rate that heat is produced...

Correct. Go to the top of the class

Manual of Seamanship Vol.1 (1937) says on page 109 that No.4 R.N. canvas is used for Ship's awnings, weather screens and gun covers. It is (or was) supplied in white or grey, and, for certain purposes, it may be waterproofed. Dragging a white awning across the deck will make it dirty and possibly threadbare. Storing cotton fabric whilst wet may cause spontaneous combustion (think plant fibres in a compost bin). Waterproofing substances could also be a risk. Also in Volume 1, page 412 comes the dreadful warning, "Potatoes must not be stored between decks or in unventilated store rooms, as they develop poisonous gases."

Also correct. They are stored on the upper scupper in an open to the air spud locker.

 

[prv]

Also correct. They are stored on the upper scupper in an open to the air spud locker.

That's interesting. On Stavros the potatoes are stored in the forward ventilation plant room, which is in the main deckhouse and always has the door ajar except in very heavy weather. I never really thought about why this might be, I suppose I just assumed there was nowhere else to put them. But in fact there's generally plenty of room in the provisions store down below the accommodation deck, where they would more logically be stowed. So maybe they are where they are because of their noxious emissions (and obviously the original designers didn't think to provide a dedicated spud locker)?

(Or maybe it's just that the vent plant room is just around the corner from the galley door and the cook doesn't want to carry heavy sacks of spuds up two decks )

Pete

 

[Norman_E]

Yep, bales of cotton, wool, are notorious for spontaneous combustion, as are iron fillings, coal (coal dust), sugar, flour, etc. Have a google about ship fires, you'll be surprised. Better still have a chat with a fire brigade that still a maritime deployment specialty -they should have some cracking pic's, stories about spontaneous combustion; get them to do a lecture in your local club.

Cotton can be very dangerous, if the bales are compressed in a ship's hold they can very easily combust. One of the nastiest explosions of WW2 was almost certainly caused by spontaneous combustion of badly loaded cotton on the SS Fort Stikine. Ammunition and explosives were loaded, some of them on top of the cotton. The ship caught fire whilst awaiting unloading in Bombay harbour and the resulting explosions killed around 800 people and flattened quite a bit of Bombay.

 

[Sandyman]

Spud peeling:

Every now & then you would get detailed off to join a certain working party onboard, usually for a 12 week period.
One such was the Galley Party, where your duties included preparing the dining hall (if you had one) dhobying the dishes,
loading the gash gobbler, and quite often peeling spuds when the lecky or steam spud peeler broke down, as they often did.
This was a chore to most people. I used to quite like it, especially out in the tropics sitting on deck in the early morning sun scrape scrape scraping away, smoking ya tickler when ya wanted, supping cha when ya wanted. Days of yore

 

[prv]

quite often peeling spuds when the lecky or steam spud peeler broke down, as they often did.

An electric potato peeler I can understand, especially in a galley catering for hundreds of people. But a steam-driven potato peeler? Sounds like some serious heavy engineering! They ran steam lines up to the galley to power this stuff?

Pete