Storage in Engine Room

hmason · Jan 28, 2015

Just read an interesting article on engine room safety. Among the tips, it stated that spare lube oil stored in the ER was a fire hazard. I've been storing about 13 -16 gallons of engine oil in the ER. I always keep enough for a complete oil change and a gallon or two of make-up oil. Now I'm concerned that this is a bad/dangerous practice. What do others think? Here's a link to the article:
Engine Room Safety

psneeld · Jan 28, 2015

Fiberglass and wood are fire hazards...that is what my engine room is made out of.

Mt fuel is in poly tanks and diesel is more flammable than oil.

Stored oil in my engine room is the least of my worries.

Too many writers...too few real topics.....how about writing about the beat way to sore it or how to prevent the fire in the first place.....other than dropping your wrench on you battery terminals.

Wxx3 · Jan 28, 2015

Yeah. It would be far better stored under my bed. NOT

No Mast · Jan 28, 2015

Things we keep in the engine room outside of a toolbox:
- Oil 1 Gal
- Coolant 1 Gal
- 2 Racor elements
- 2 paper towel rolls
- 1 garbage bag

If the engine room is going to catch fire, it will so regardless of these things being there or not.

sunchaser · Jan 28, 2015

With our DeFever the ER storage is pretty good. so now we are hearing minimal ER size is less a fire hazard since less stuff we need can be stored there? :facepalm:

waddenkruiser · Jan 28, 2015

We store in the engine room:
~ 30 liters engine oil, ~ 5 liters ATF, ~ 5 liters anti freeze concentrate.
And there are the fuel tanks besides the engines, carrying ~ 1500 liters diesel (flash point at 60 degrees C). So we really don't care about the 30 liters of engine oil ...

Does anyone have any experience (good or bad ones) with automatic fire extinguishers mounted in the engine room?

best regards / med venlig hilsen
wadden

dwhatty · Jan 28, 2015

waddenkruiser said:
Does anyone have any experience (good or bad ones) with automatic fire extinguishers mounted in the engine room?

No experiences (hopefully never) but it seemed like a no brainer good idea so we installed one this year.

No Mast · Jan 28, 2015

waddenkruiser said:
Does anyone have any experience (good or bad ones) with automatic fire extinguishers mounted in the engine room?

We're on our third boat that has an automatic system installed. No experience using it, but I like having it.

Dawdler · Jan 28, 2015

Howard,
I store my spare fluids and parts in the compartment aft of the engine room bulkhead. Not sure if it's any safer, but keeps my engine room less cluttered....

eyschulman · Jan 28, 2015

I do CGAUX boat safety checks and see all kinds of stuff in engine rooms some chock full. Aside from what you put there a more important point might be how you secure it. I would think oil that can spill would be both a safety and ecology issue so if its there please make sure its bomb proof fixed in position(not always the case). The same goes for tools and other things in the pit. Most people don't think about what would happen if their boat took a real significant roll. Sailors by far are less guilty of this fault do to the nature of how steep heel angles are part of the game.

Dawdler · Jan 28, 2015

Agreed--secure tie-down probably more important than location

CPseudonym · Jan 28, 2015

sunchaser said:
With our DeFever the ER storage is pretty good. so now we are hearing minimal ER size is less a fire hazard since less stuff we need can be stored there?

If this article forces a change of heart for you I will volunteer to relieve you of the guilt and swap you boats straight across :flowers:

BryanF · Jan 28, 2015

It would seem to me that who ever wrote the article has never tried to burn engine oil. I tried building several versions of used oil heaters for my land based work shop. If the fire is hot enough to get the engine oil going you have way more problems than the few gallons of engine oil you carry on the boat. Rubber hoses and wire insulation catch fire at much lower temps than oil does.
Plastic tanks will long since be melted and the plastic will burn before the oil actually gets going. Fiberglass- well I never tried to burn any of that so I don't know.

eyschulman · Jan 29, 2015

BryanF said:
It would seem to me that who ever wrote the article has never tried to burn engine oil. I tried building several versions of used oil heaters for my land based work shop. If the fire is hot enough to get the engine oil going you have way more problems than the few gallons of engine oil you carry on the boat. Rubber hoses and wire insulation catch fire at much lower temps than oil does.
Plastic tanks will long since be melted and the plastic will burn before the oil actually gets going. Fiberglass- well I never tried to burn any of that so I don't know.

If your boat burns and nobody is dead or injured you get the insurance money and some would see that as an up side. If five gallons of oil bust loose in your bilge gets pumped overboard and it comes to the attention of the marine police or CG you get to keep your boat and also get a whapping fine which your insurance may or may not pay you also have a really messy bilge and engine room.

waddenkruiser · Jan 29, 2015

eyschulman said:
please make sure its bomb proof fixed in position

Agreed.

Automatic fire extinguisher: What kind of system do you have installed?
I'm thinking about an automatic CO2 extinguisher but I am not sure at which temperature threshold it should start to work. I have got an offer where it's already at 57 degrees C while our engine room temperature goes up to 45 degrees C under full load in hot weather.

best regards / med venlig hilsen
wadden

psneeld · Jan 29, 2015

eyschulman said:
If your boat burns and nobody is dead or injured you get the insurance money and some would see that as an up side. If five gallons of oil bust loose in your bilge gets pumped overboard and it comes to the attention of the marine police or CG you get to keep your boat and also get a whapping fine which your insurance may or may not pay you also have a really messy bilge and engine room.

depends on the spill....
you aren't automatically fined and your insurance will pay unless you were really negligent or careless.

Most cruisers carry oil and there is no "standard" of how to do it so they would be hard pressed to keep from paying.

I am not sure....but if such a big deal..... I would think ABYC would be all over it with retention areas, tied down specs, use of sensor bilge pump switches that refuse all but water...etc...

The good news is many boaters carry spare oil and you rarely see oil spills versus fuel spills.

jleonard · Jan 29, 2015

I did have a one gallon distilled water jug break last summer that was stored in my bilge. Popped a small hole in the bottom corner.
But I do and will continue to store spare oil, and my gallon for diesel for topping off the Racors if needed in the bilge.

psneeld · Jan 29, 2015

jleonard said:
I did have a one gallon distilled water jug break last summer that was stored in my bilge. Popped a small hole in the bottom corner.
But I do and will continue to store spare oil, and my gallon for diesel for topping off the Racors if needed in the bilge.

I too have had water jugs crack, pinhole as the plastic seems way inferior to the Rotella jugs...but still they should be stored to minimize that risk such as in a Tupperware tub that also provides containment and stops movement or a milk carton with pads.

On my boat they are wedged between ribs below floor boards with absorbent pads under and blocking limber holes.

I go through them enough that wear or age pretty probably won't be a problem.

The reality is .....just about anyplace on a boat you have to take the same precautions.....secure storage and keeping it out of the water. I find the engine room the most convenient and before fire makes that oil a hazard....as I posted....the wood and fiberglass will be fully engulfed as will the engine and fuel ststem.

bayview · Jan 29, 2015

In addition to securing it remember that those oil jugs are very thin and easily punctured through vibration. I keep all mine in a plastic box with well secured lid with a boat diaper under them to cushion the bottom. If they leak the mess is contained in the box, hopefully.

Even more vulnerable are aluminum beer and soda cans.. but that it another story.

BlueYonder · Jan 29, 2015

waddenkruiser said:
Agreed.

Automatic fire extinguisher: What kind of system do you have installed?
I'm thinking about an automatic CO2 extinguisher but I am not sure at which temperature threshold it should start to work. I have got an offer where it's already at 57 degrees C while our engine room temperature goes up to 45 degrees C under full load in hot weather.

best regards / med venlig hilsen
wadden

I have a Fireboy/Xintex automatic system. It is not CO2. It is supposed to go off at 175F/79C. One thing you will have to have with an automatic system is an auto engine shutoff. This prevents the motor from sucking up all of the extinguisher agent.

Make sure you sign off the little inspection tag every six months. The Coast Guard told me that while I wasn't required to have the system, if I did, I was required to maintain the inspection log.

Capt.Bill11 · Jan 29, 2015

BlueYonder The Coast Guard told me that while I wasn't required to have the system said:
Are you a commercial boat of some kind?

BlueYonder · Jan 29, 2015

Nope, just a recreational user

FF · Jan 29, 2015

Should an engine be flooded with water , more than one oil change is required.

Plan on 3 , so save the pails or containers to have a place for the bad stuff.

All boats can burn , steel, Fire Retardant resin or the cheap stuff.

Lube oil does not give off fumes like gasoline , so must be lit by a fairly hot fire.

If its a fire danger , so is the paint on the bulkheads.

Northern Spy · Jan 29, 2015

Unfortunately engine-room mishaps often occur when the space is unoccupied, and often the culprit is the improper handling and/or stowage of flammable materials. There are certain things that should never be in an engine room, among them spare lube oil, all solvents, and all rags

Technically lube oil is not flammable as it has typically has a pretty high flash point.

Rotella T 15W-40 has a flashpoint of 435F. Incidentally it has a NFPA rating of 0,1,0 (1 being "slight" for fire hazard).

Combustible yes, flammable no.

Storage in Engine Room

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