Calcium Carbide + Water = Acetylene

[Scott]

Apparently the reaction of Calcium Carbide and water produces acetylene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_carbide#Production_of_acetylene). Acetylene, as you may know, is a highly combustable and colourless gas.

How this translates to launching 44 gallon drums skywards is unclear however the results are alarming to say the least. Russian Space program testing maybe?

Having a Barrel of Fun - YouTube

[A Duke]

I wonder what public liability insurance would cost for a event like that?
Regards

[Mr Brush]

A more benign application

Carbide lamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp)

I've seen these in antique shops from time to time, never tried using one though.

Get it right and you get light, get it wrong and you end up sitting in the bottom of a smoking crater :oo:

[Scott]

Get it right and you get light, get it wrong and you end up sitting in the bottom of a smoking crater :oo:

If you look at the bottom of that Wiki article you'd probably notice "See also: Headlamps (lamps worn affixed to head)".

Surely not? I'm now going to Google "decapitation headlamp calcium carbide water acetylene".

[dabbler]

When I was younger (read: fitter and smaller), I routinely used a carbide lamp for caving. I personally used a helmet mounted unit fed by a hose running to a small belt mounted water/carbide mixing chamber and sometimes used a smaller handheld lamp when in caves that a little or no climbing areas. The amount of carbide was only about half a cup from memory and while we were careful we also weren't too worried. I think most people just kept their small stash sealed in milo tins ready for use.

The club were I was a member in the late '70's and mid 80's were predominantly purists and very few people relied on other power sources inside caves (unless playing with photography). Years later I was in a cave when some used a gas-mantle camping lantern and I was amazed at the difference in illumination. The carbide lamps were pretty weak by comparison.

Carbide was used extensively to ripen bananas (and probably still is). There used to be myths about washing carbide-ripened bananas near flames.

[Mr Brush]

The separate chamber for the water/carbide mix makes sense - presumably there was some kind of regulator to control the amount of gas/light ??

I seem to remember seeing some bright yellow coloured tins of carbide chunks somewhere - the stuff is probably banned now?

[Woodwould]

I used to have a carbide lamp on my bicycle. I also put carbide and water in the old style thick glass Lucozade bottles for blowing fish out of pools. It can be used for all manner of anti-social but good fun activities.

[dabbler]

The separate chamber for the water/carbide mix makes sense - presumably there was some kind of regulator to control the amount of gas/light ??

I seem to remember seeing some bright yellow coloured tins of carbide chunks somewhere - the stuff is probably banned now?

Both of mine had a small screw that controlled the drip rate from water chamber to mixing chamber. I seem to recall the trick was remembering to fill the water chamber last and not to open the tin of carbide with sweaty hands. None of this waa about safety per se but more about not coming back to find the stockpile gone.

They were annoying at times. The wrong mix would give the wrong gas flow and that plus sooty jets would give spluttery flames.

[dabbler]

I used to have a carbide lamp on my bicycle. I also put carbide and water in the old style thick glass Lucozade bottles for blowing fish out of pools. It can be used for all manner of anti-social but good fun activities.

You've just reminded me that I have a small brass and tin bicycle job dating from around 1910 somewhere in a storage cupboard at my Mum's (family heirloom). Will try to find it and post a pic. (If I can sneak it past her. It's officially mine but at 80 she sometimes remembers things a little differently.) No chance of carbide though.

[RETIRED]

Carbide lamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp)

[Cliff Rogers]

.... It can be used for all manner of anti-social but good fun activities.All you need to do is look up the big book of mischief. :wink:

[Brosh]

I have memories of the daily ritual of emptying out the carbide lights for the hous, re-filling them, pricking the jets, and placing them ready for use in the evening. The carbide lights consisted of two very tight fitting containers - one sliding into the other - add water on top of the inside container, and the gas production started - a match to the jets and you had light - would last from 6.30 until about 10 ish, and that was it -lights out.

a sunshine milk tin filled with stones and one small piece of carbide - a small pin-hole punched into the top - dropped into a deep water hole, the resultant shock was good to stun the fish for 3 or 4 minutes - you had to be quick - how you would be shot for that these days


Brosh

[Scott]

All the naughty boys now creep out of the woodwork. Good to hear though, I don't think I've ever grown up. My greatest lament is banning selling fireworks over the counter. They still haven't caught the delinquent who blew the downpipes off the portables at Kingsbury Tech. :rolleyes:

[Bushmiller]

I wonder what public liability insurance would cost for a event like that?
Regards

Hugh

I'm not sure which they would be most concerned about: The initial explosion or the 44 coming back down:oo:.

Regards
Paul

[AlexS]

As a toddler I lived in a small mining town not too far from Cliff. Our lighting was from carbide lamps as described by Brosh, and my father wore one mounted on his helmet in the mine.

[bsrlee]

A large garbage bag full of Oxygen and acetylene on the barbie is very efficient at removing fibro, roofing tiles & window glass. I remember seeing the photos in the Sunday paper when I was a kid - seems the neighbours were having a loud party & the welder next door wanted them to quieten down..........

[Boringgeoff]

Bsrlee, you beauty, got us onto oxy/acetelene bombs. Years ago (1973) I and 3 other fools made one in a big plastic bag. We were in a railway construction camp in the Pilbara and one of us had a car, so we took this monster about a mile away and used a length of rolled up dunny paper for a fuse. After we lit it we stood well back and waited and waited, we decided the fuse wasn't working too good so edged a bit closer then it went off. Did I mention we'd been drinking Fosters or Emu Export 36c a can? I can still see the huge orange fireball. We went back to the camp with our ears ringing and eyebrows singed. There were a lot of guys walking around wondering what they'd just heard.
Ah good old days.

Geoff.

[Scott]

Hilarious Geoff, you're far from boring :D

[Boringgeoff]

Thanks sjt, you'd change your opinion if we got onto the subject of braces and
brace tools.
I seem to recall a market gardener with a bird scarer that worked with carbide. It didn't ignite but used the gas generated to raise a wooden clapper that would drop with a
loud noise thus scaring the birds off his vegies.
Regards,
Geoff.

[bluegum30]

never did it myself, but the old man told me about the time when a few waggs let off 1/2 plug of jelly on top of a stump in the dead of night, just about stuffed the dairy cows and chooks close by.

[jimbur]

I'm not imagining it am I? As soon as I read this thread I could smell the garlic.
Cheers,
Jim