From: Joe Ward
Subject: baltwash-burning Re: Propane Flamethrowers?
Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2002 06:17:02 -0000
To: baltwash-burning@yahoogroups.com

Mike,

I work for a honking huge propane company and you should NEVER turn a propane cylinder upside down, nor onto it's side.

The reason is that you have a BBQ cylinder of 5 gallon capicity. The thing is only allowed to be filled to 4 gallons (about 20 Lbs.)
That's the reason for the new valve asembly etc. that was mandated by law this last April.

Why still you ask? Because the plumbing for the outflow of the propane is a stub tube which, when the cylinder is upright, is positioned in the propane vapor, as opposed to the liquid sloshing around at the bottom of the cylinder.

Now, while you can burn the liquid propane in your mini-flamethrower. Doing so w/o modifying it can result in actually spraying the liquid onto an object. (say a fellow PDFer) Since the liquid propane can't burn, (it needs to vaporize and mix with O2 first), you've just saturated someone w/ the equivalent of a fuel-air explosive.

Did you see the movie "Outbreak?" Remember the bomb the dropped in Africa, and then later a simular one which missed the town? That was a fuel-air explosive. The Brits, during Op Desert Storm, thought that a NUKE had been fired off by the Iraqis when US Spec Ops dropped one nearby. They went into full N.B.C. posture and requested nuclear release from London before they calmed down.

Just one (1) of those little one quart bottles that are used by propane stoves or lanterns. They'll blow a house apart. So much so that there will only be a foundation left and very little else.

  <p>     "This would be defined as a bad thing."

I have seen people do this very act you've suggested. Of course they were wearing a full marshmellow suit and overseen by three folks w/ oversized CO2 fire extinguishers, a firetruck at hand w/ crew and hoses deployed, etc. -You can get a jet of fluid up to 40 feet long with one of those 20Lbs cylinders. How safe does that make you feel?

The vehicles at BM were modified w/ a longer mixing barrel, and atmospheric air injection. -The flames were not the typical blue/white flame from propane, but more of a rudy/yellow torch-like color. Remember messing w/ bunsen burners in High school and being able to get the same variances by messing w/ how wide open the barel vents were? These folks are professionals. Most of them did Hollywood stunt set-ups and such.

So, I'll stop lecturing...you're an adult, so do what you wish. Just remember that there are others around who don't want to go "boom."
I'm one of them, and having seen the requisite safety films at work...I'll be very, very far away if you try this.

-JW

Reproduced here with permission of the author.

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