Oil Quenching - Potential fire hazard or not?

[Schleifstein]

If you're pre-heating your oil, as is common, I would at least remove that heat source from the quench tank or turn it off when you get close to the quench. Or, you could ensure that there is a good distance between the oil surface and the mouth of the tank to prevent spitting, spillage, and overflow.

What do most people here use to pre-heat there quench?

 

[NickWheeler]

You can sure get a flare up, just be prepared.

Here is a video, Its a "promotional" video so excuse the music, its where I work, go to right about 56 seconds. They were filming different things at the plant, the guy was using a radio controlled helicopter and got pretty close LOL

This was a large piece, probably 4140, being quenched. The tank is about 25 feet deep, you can see the open oven in the background, fun to watch, even in person

[video=youtube;zBMNuzArqSk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBMNuzArqSk[/video]

That video is awesome!!!

I guarantee 99.9% of the population doesn't have any idea of the amount of engineering, machining, and fabrication that went into that plastic container their sliced lunch meat came in....!!!

I can just picture the video guy flying his fancy little helicopter near that quench tank, seeing the small flare up and thinking, "Oh, that's nice--- let's get in closer on that--- closer---- closer---- OH $HIT!!! back up! BACK UP!!! BACK UP!!!"

Sorry for the thread drift, but that was a really cool video. Thanks for sharing ANeat!

 

[ANeat]

That video is awesome!!!

Thanks; I should add on the quench in the video, the flashup you see is pretty quick and once the part gets submerged its pretty much over/fire out. There is a fire suppression system in place just in case

 

[ANeat]

What do most people here use to pre-heat there quench?

The few things Ive heat treated (not knives...yet) I dunk a separate piece of steel thats heated up to warm up the oil. Just a piece of whatever, probably some scrap of 1018