Canned air is extremely explosive...

[JAndrew]

Hello HMEM,

This isn't exactly a machining blunder but there's still several lessons to be learned here.

Tonight was the wife and I's wedding anniversary. After a long day at the plant a good crockpot meal of chicken was just the ticket to lift my spirits. The wining and dining over...it was time to clean-up. And that's when the chicken gravy went down into the burner knobs on our gas stove range with electric ignition.

"Tick,tick,tick,tick,tick...."

Anyone who's had a gas stove long enough knows that wretched sound. The gravy was shorting out the ignitors for multiple burners and the ticking could carry on for days while the ignitors dry out. :wall:

Being the brilliant handyman I am (yeah right), I set to work removing the stove top to dry out the mess. It's, of course, that one size of torx screw that didnt come with your bit set but a small flathead will do. I got popped by the ignitors once which isn't pleasant but won't kill you.

BTW several of you probably already know the right answer and are asking the computer screen right now, "Why didn't you just go open the breaker for the ignitor?"

Thank you but I didnt think of that until later. A lesson hard learned.

I wiped out the majority of the gravy and it continued to tick away in mockery of my efforts. Somehow I needed to cleanout the plastic box switches that house the ignitor wires...

Ah! "Hey baby where's that canned air?"

Canned air is not air but is actually a very volatile tetrahexacarbinaloibillyatylenolibuprofen (or something close to that).

I managed to blow them out for quite a while filling up that low void with flammable gas before the ignitor caught...

And that's where the 1st and 2nd degree burns came on my index and middle fingers, thumb and wrist. Lost a lot of hair too. And the stove continued to tick. And the wife began to sob...

Ugh. Smartened up a bit. Opened the breaker. Cleaned then out and now they'll dry until tomorrow. Hand is throbbing and I have to be up for work at 4am but figured I'd go to sleep mad unless I write it down to turn it into a "humorous story from the past."

The TakeAway Lessons: (things I should have already known)
1.Canned air is extremely flammable/explosive! Don't use it except in a well-ventilated area AWAY from flames/sparks.
2. De-Energize before commencing work!
3. Do the dishes for your wife! She's tired and deserves it!

Hope this saves someone from a fate like mine. I'll post burnt hand pictures tomorrow to help drive the point home (maybe not).

-J.Andrew

 

[Tinkerer58]

I feel your pain, hope your hand heals soon. That reminds me when I was a young bloke on my honey moon, being a smoker, (yeah I know it stunts your growth) my lighter ran out of gas and I thought yeah I'll use the gas stove, cigarette in mouth, bent down to the burner pushed and turned the switch while you suck at the end of the smoke and bang. It suddenly lit with a big whooos of flame taking of all my eyebrows and some of my hair and what ever other facial hair I had. Man that scared me but luckily no serious burns. They do say smoking is bad for your health, in more ways than one. DUM DUM DUM still smoking so I have learnt nothing.

 

[Tin Falcon]

I feel your pain . I singed a few hairs off the back of my hand a couple week ago . Home made gas forge .Just started using it. stick lit long fireplace lighter in turn on gas. no go pull out lighter flame is out . re light liter stick in forge poof.

proper procedure . turn off gas . wait.... relight ligter then turn gas back on.

Tin

 

[steamboat willie]

Thanks for the warning - I did not know what was in those cans and now I do - something that goes Boom.
Many thanks for the advice.
I hope that your hand recovers completely and quickly and that the lesson and your discomfort has not been lost on others.
Bill.

 

[JAndrew]

Thanks all. Fingers are a bit crispy but at least they aren't throbbing anymore.

-J.Andrew

 

[Brian Rupnow]

My uncle Jimmy had no electricity in his house. He had a stove that ran on Naptha gas, with a pressure tank you pumped up by hand. His lantern ran on Naptha gas. His wife's iron ran on Naptha gas---and he used Naptha gas in his cigarette lighter!! It was always a thrilling experience to see uncle Jimmy light up a smoke. He would roll a smoke, stick it in his mouth, reach into his pocket and get out his trusty Zippo and flick the flint. About half the time his head would be enveloped by blue flames, and he would be shaking his lighter hand back and forth to put out the blue tendrils of flame running up and down his wrist. This was very exciting stuff to a 10 year old nephew. A few years later, I was inspired to write the following story---

​

"Aunt Betty’s Iron"
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]The part of Ontario that I grew up in had no Hydro electric power until I was about 10 years old, and then when it did come through, a lot of people couldn't afford it until I was about 15 years old.
This lead to a lot of strange and wonderful memories of when I was a kid. One of the more awe inspiring memories is of my aunt Betty's Naptha gas powered clothes iron. (And yes, she was married to the ill fated uncle who put the Naptha in grandpa's oilcan).
Now I'm sure that not too many of you knew that there was such a thing as a Naptha powered clothes iron.
It kinda looked like an electric clothes iron, but it had a round blue globe about 3" diameter on one end. This globe had a screw on lid and a pressure pump just like a gas lantern.
The procedure to use this thing was to fill the globe with Naptha gas, pump up the internal pressure, then light it with a kitchen match and let it preheat.--And that was the fun part. My aunt Betty was deathly afraid of the damn thing, because when you lit it, blue flames would shoot in all directions, totally enveloping the iron and the hand of whoever lit it, and it would hiss like a ruptured dragon until the burners inside the iron heated up---then it would settle into a rather contented hiss and you would be ready to iron the days washing with it.
She would make my uncle take it outside to light it and get it warmed up to operating temperature. My uncle knew no fear!! (Hell, he even used Naptha in his Zippo cigarette lighter, because it was cheaper than lighter fluid.).
I always loved it if I happened to be at Grandpa's house on ironing day. My uncle never worked too steady---it interfered with his whiskey drinking and fiddle playing too much. As a consequence, him and my aunt lived in a little house on a piece of my grandpa's land.
He wasn't big on working, but he was great with all of us various nephews and nieces, and could be depended on for some great pyrotechnic displays!!!
Brian Rupnow----
[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[ShopShoe]

Brian,

I remember trips to my grandmother's house in the 1950's. She had a "regular" iron and a steam iron that was used for the black art of "pressing" that also involved black felt cloths and changing the ironing board cover. Occasionally neither iron would work right and she'd get out the "gas iron." whenever this happened we kids would be banned from the house and told we couldn't come back until given the all clear. I later came to understand that several of our family's relatives had been hurt when those gas irons caught fire or exploded. I have also heard that when REA came through housewives were so happy they were able to get electric irons and that was a bigger deal for them than lightbulbs and radios.

--ShopShoe

 

[JAndrew]

Mr. Rupnow and ShopShoe,

I havent seen gas irons before but it does make me think of those old gasoline powered torches. Same configuration with the pressure pump and they would compete easily with Oxy-Acetylene torches. Very unsafe though! You can still find them for sale on Ebay every now and again.

Thanks,
-J.Andrew

 

[tornitore45]

I hope the can was not really labeled CANNED AIR. Doing so would be criminal because after reading "canned air" is reasonable to expect that the user is confident to know how to handle it without reading the fine prints saying do not use near open flames (or sparks).
Live and learn!

 

[Tin Falcon]

It is usually labeled compressed gas duster.
Tin

 

[Tin Falcon]

Dustoff MSDS

1,1-Difluoroethane 100%


Spill or Leak: Although the chances of a large spill or leak are unlikely in aerosol containers. If a spill can cause
a concentration in excess of 1,000 ppm, stop flow and remove ignition sources. Evacuate area.
Ventilate area, especially low places where heavy vapors might collect

 

[Art K]

While you all are checking your can of air I'm having visions of the "Lock out Tag out" video I watched for a previous job. Need I say more?
Art

 

[Wizard69]

One suggestion, read the label! Even these so called canned air sources come with a variety of chemical make ups.

 

[Kwtaylor]

Fond memories of being terrified. Dear Dad, cheap as he was, put naphtha in the camp stove. Wouldn't light, pumped it up some more, 5 or 6 more matches, lit slow. As it warmed up, it did better, and the coffe pot was set on.

Then the stove decided we would cook coffee like right now. Flames every where. Flaring, Billowing, towering flames in the morning dew.

The image of my Dad launching the fuel tank out into the lake before it exploded is one of many fond memories of camping in my youth. Fortunately, I cannot give my kids the same nightmares!

 

[mcostello]

Your lucky My Wife would laugh. This post makes Me wonder if a source of Model engine propellant was just found.

 

[Foozer]

When kids were young - Gave them the lesson about pressured containers and the burn pile - Would toss a spray can into the pile and wait - Never explicitly told them not to do such a thing - Was enough to set the impression of knowing your surroundings and be aware of what could go wrong . .

 

[mcostello]

Neighbor was welding and wanted to give the just welded part a "hot coat" of paint so it would dry quickly. He set the hot electrode down touching the aerosol can and it blew up,with a piece of the can taking out an eye ball permanently.

 

[Lykle]

A lot of those cans are actually Propane.
It is stupid that it is not clearly marked on those cans. I use it for my 3D printing and went over the whole can looking for the content. It simply was not on it.
But boy, did it produce a flame!!

Now I am using a different brand, Super Duster by AF and I cannot get that stuff to ignite. Happy with that, as the printer does have hot surfaces and might have a spark here and there.

Lykle

 

[valentin]

Thanks for share this lesson painfully learned. Just once in my life I used canned air, for an airbrush, many years ago. I will take in mind your experience for if the case. Hope you´ll be better soon.

 

[erik8ruth]

Hello HMEM,

This isn't exactly a machining blunder but there's still several lessons to be learned here.

Tonight was the wife and I's wedding anniversary. After a long day at the plant a good crockpot meal of chicken was just the ticket to lift my spirits. The wining and dining over...it was time to clean-up. And that's when the chicken gravy went down into the burner knobs on our gas stove range with electric ignition.

"Tick,tick,tick,tick,tick...."

Anyone who's had a gas stove long enough knows that wretched sound. The gravy was shorting out the ignitors for multiple burners and the ticking could carry on for days while the ignitors dry out. :wall:

Being the brilliant handyman I am (yeah right), I set to work removing the stove top to dry out the mess. It's, of course, that one size of torx screw that didnt come with your bit set but a small flathead will do. I got popped by the ignitors once which isn't pleasant but won't kill you.

BTW several of you probably already know the right answer and are asking the computer screen right now, "Why didn't you just go open the breaker for the ignitor?"

Thank you but I didnt think of that until later. A lesson hard learned.

I wiped out the majority of the gravy and it continued to tick away in mockery of my efforts. Somehow I needed to cleanout the plastic box switches that house the ignitor wires...

Ah! "Hey baby where's that canned air?"

Canned air is not air but is actually a very volatile tetrahexacarbinaloibillyatylenolibuprofen (or something close to that).

I managed to blow them out for quite a while filling up that low void with flammable gas before the ignitor caught...

And that's where the 1st and 2nd degree burns came on my index and middle fingers, thumb and wrist. Lost a lot of hair too. And the stove continued to tick. And the wife began to sob...

Ugh. Smartened up a bit. Opened the breaker. Cleaned then out and now they'll dry until tomorrow. Hand is throbbing and I have to be up for work at 4am but figured I'd go to sleep mad unless I write it down to turn it into a "humorous story from the past."

The TakeAway Lessons: (things I should have already known)
1.Canned air is extremely flammable/explosive! Don't use it except in a well-ventilated area AWAY from flames/sparks.
2. De-Energize before commencing work!
3. Do the dishes for your wife! She's tired and deserves it!

Hope this saves someone from a fate like mine. I'll post burnt hand pictures tomorrow to help drive the point home (maybe not).

-J.Andrew

butane , if administered right away, will freeze the burn, kill the pain and usually eliminates blistering. ive done it a few times and it worked wonderfully. also dont smoke while using it and make sure you are grounded out and no cats around. also, ANY powdered metal is explosive