Gauteng Smallholder Gauteng Smallholder September 2017 | Page 43

Do you keep your workshop
scrupulously clean of
flammable material such as
sawdust and old rags etc?
From page 40
able that more accidents don't
happen.
It's probably fair to say that
among the liquids stored in
your workshop are: turpen-
tine, lacquer thinners,
lubricating oil, grease, linseed
oil, two stroke mixture, petrol,
diesel, enamel paint, creosote,
and half a dozen tins of spray
paint or other aerosol
compounds, not to mention
some pesticides and herbi-
cides, and possibly some pool
acid and chlorine.
It's probably also fair to say
that you have an angle grinder
with which to cut or smooth
steel, and a grinding wheel
with which to shape steel,
both of which give off sparks
when used.
You probably also use your
ON THE PLOT
workshop for a bit of
woodwork, which will mean
that, over time, a layer of
sawdust builds up upon the
floor.
It doesn't really need spelling
out, does it? Flammable
liquids. Sawdust. Sparks. Do And add an orange canister for two-stroke fuel mix
you have a fire extinguisher?
While on the subject of
flammable liquids, notably
fuels, you probably have
three types of engine on you
plot. A four-stroke petrol
powered lawnmower and/or
water pump, a diesel
generator (say) and a variety
of two-stroke machines
(brushcutter, chainsaw etc).
How do you differentiate the
various fuel mixtures so that
your workers know which to
pour into which?
There is an international
colour convention which
should help you. Red =
petrol, blue = kero-
sene/paraffin, yellow =
diesel, green = oil. And you
can differentiate the petrol
types further by storing pure
petrol in the red container
and using an orange one for
two-stroke mixture.
Mixing the two fuel types up
is one of the leading causes
of engine failure in
lawnmowers, brushcutters
and chainsaws.
37
41
www.sasmallholder.co.za
www.sasmallholder.co.za