Remember to check your nitrous bottles fellas
04-28-2010, 10:32 AM
#21
The difference is if you put your car into the wall, only you are getting hurt. Maybe also the guy in the lane next to you, who is well aware of the risks of racing. Have a bottle blow in the staging lanes where there are spectators and often kids walking around, and it's a different story. I get the bottle up to temp ahead of time, and with an insulating blanket it doesn't cool down that much sitting. By the time I get from the staging lane to the tree, the bottle is fully back to temp using a 12V warming blanket. If it's really a problem, buy a 110V warmer for the pits and it'll be at temp within a couple minutes. Being cheap or lazy is no excuse for risking the life of the guy standing next to you. I work in the compressed gas industry and have seen what a cylinder explosion does because of carelessness.
04-28-2010, 02:02 PM
#23
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Hmmmm. from the article above it would seem that it is more dangerous to cause an impact to the bottle than heating it. I always have mine bolted into the car and always keep the torch moving while heating them but I never beat them with a hammer and I cant remember ever dropping one in my 27 years of racing. Is heating with a torch the best way? Not by a long shot. But racing a 3600 lb car isnt the best way to go fast either. But I will continue to do it when the situation calls for it. Now...........i have to go repaint my bottles ..........the paint on them looks like crap for some reason.
04-29-2010, 10:22 AM
#24
Either is equally dangerous. One can cause a rupture and explosion, the other a heavy weight projectile. That is why the DOT and CGA (Compressed Gas Association) require all cylinders be secured, typically with a strap, and any cylinder exposed to heat be removed from service. Or do we really need to start pulling up pictures of the damage caused when a nitrous fails?
All I can hope for is that if or when your bottle lets go due to fatigue of the aluminum or steel from the repeated thermal cycling past the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve, that no innocent bystanders get taken out thanks to you ignoring basic safety pracitices. Because of course no one has ever died from cutting corners before, and you're clearly more qualified on the subject of cylinder gas safety than myself or a consortium of industry experts. Let me guess, you also ignore the hydro date stamped on the cylinder too? Because if it hasn't blown up yet, it probably never will.
All I can hope for is that if or when your bottle lets go due to fatigue of the aluminum or steel from the repeated thermal cycling past the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve, that no innocent bystanders get taken out thanks to you ignoring basic safety pracitices. Because of course no one has ever died from cutting corners before, and you're clearly more qualified on the subject of cylinder gas safety than myself or a consortium of industry experts. Let me guess, you also ignore the hydro date stamped on the cylinder too? Because if it hasn't blown up yet, it probably never will.
04-29-2010, 06:57 PM
#26
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Either is equally dangerous. One can cause a rupture and explosion, the other a heavy weight projectile. That is why the DOT and CGA (Compressed Gas Association) require all cylinders be secured, typically with a strap, and any cylinder exposed to heat be removed from service. Or do we really need to start pulling up pictures of the damage caused when a nitrous fails?
All I can hope for is that if or when your bottle lets go due to fatigue of the aluminum or steel from the repeated thermal cycling past the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve, that no innocent bystanders get taken out thanks to you ignoring basic safety pracitices. Because of course no one has ever died from cutting corners before, and you're clearly more qualified on the subject of cylinder gas safety than myself or a consortium of industry experts. Let me guess, you also ignore the hydro date stamped on the cylinder too? Because if it hasn't blown up yet, it probably never will.
All I can hope for is that if or when your bottle lets go due to fatigue of the aluminum or steel from the repeated thermal cycling past the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve, that no innocent bystanders get taken out thanks to you ignoring basic safety pracitices. Because of course no one has ever died from cutting corners before, and you're clearly more qualified on the subject of cylinder gas safety than myself or a consortium of industry experts. Let me guess, you also ignore the hydro date stamped on the cylinder too? Because if it hasn't blown up yet, it probably never will.
04-29-2010, 07:04 PM
#27
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I remember (1992 I think) at atlanta dragway standing on the old spectator side of the track waiting to urinate when the Blue thunder funny car came down the track and exploded the motor. That drunk chick in the bleachers never saw the blower coming but it just about killed her ***. Then at work this week we find out that a western division employee was working on an oven and was laying in the floor. The chicken fryer next to him had a caster that was unstable and broke off while he was laying there. It dumped 12 gallons of 350* vegetable oil all over him. He died 3 days later. LIFE IS NOT SAFE! If you want ultimate safety go home to your mommy and take up knitting. Life is not for everyone.
04-29-2010, 07:22 PM
#28
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as i said. I will be upgrading to Nano as soon as the funds allow but I will not hesitate to do it. i would be willing to bet that nitrous system manufacturers over the years have told people to do it this way. ANYWAY- everyone be careful and have fun .
04-29-2010, 09:20 PM
#29
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I remember (1992 I think) at atlanta dragway standing on the old spectator side of the track waiting to urinate when the Blue thunder funny car came down the track and exploded the motor. That drunk chick in the bleachers never saw the blower coming but it just about killed her ***. Then at work this week we find out that a western division employee was working on an oven and was laying in the floor. The chicken fryer next to him had a caster that was unstable and broke off while he was laying there. It dumped 12 gallons of 350* vegetable oil all over him. He died 3 days later. LIFE IS NOT SAFE! If you want ultimate safety go home to your mommy and take up knitting. Life is not for everyone.
04-29-2010, 11:09 PM
#30
Hmmmm. from the article above it would seem that it is more dangerous to cause an impact to the bottle than heating it. I always have mine bolted into the car and always keep the torch moving while heating them but I never beat them with a hammer and I cant remember ever dropping one in my 27 years of racing. Is heating with a torch the best way? Not by a long shot. But racing a 3600 lb car isnt the best way to go fast either. But I will continue to do it when the situation calls for it. Now...........i have to go repaint my bottles ..........the paint on them looks like crap for some reason.
A year ago a friend of mine almost lost his life do to a used bottle that was years out of certification blowing up. It was a bottle he took out of a car he purchased and never used. It still had the nice brilliant blue powder coat and showed no sign of torching. He was simply moving it from one spot of the shop out of the way and turned to walk away when it exploded. DOT found micro fiber cracks in the bottle which they say was from excessive heating. Best they can explain is that someone had a non thermostatic or pressure controlled heater on the bottle and it had been extremely over heated several of times.
While blake may have been spared his life he lost his leg as a result. he has had numerous surgerys and in the mean time the bills are pouring in and he is bound to a wheel chair..
His tragedy was a huge eye opener for me. After seeing what happen to him I will no longer feel bottles other than my own and personal friends that I know treat the bottles fairly that they bought new.
I refuse to let someone elses neglect to take me away from my family or cause harm to me.
Not trying to come across the wrong way.. Just wanting to share my experiences with you.
Check out www.awalkwithblake.com
My thought process is this. If I were killed my wife would be left with a buisness and a large amount of my responsibility. If I were disabled she would be forced to take care of me and it would greatly change her life for the bad. End result is the buisness would more than likely go in the ground because no one cares more about a buisness than the owner. The bills would stack high and she would have a world of mess. My fear is not of what I could do to my self but as to what I could due that affected others.
Accidents happen. But some can be avoided. Blake suffers for someone elses careless mistake. Wrong place at the wrong time. Only thing he could have done different was not buy the car with a used nitrous bottle in it.
I now cut any torched bottle I see in half and scrap them.
Dave
04-30-2010, 09:28 AM
#31
I remember (1992 I think) at atlanta dragway standing on the old spectator side of the track waiting to urinate when the Blue thunder funny car came down the track and exploded the motor. That drunk chick in the bleachers never saw the blower coming but it just about killed her ***. Then at work this week we find out that a western division employee was working on an oven and was laying in the floor. The chicken fryer next to him had a caster that was unstable and broke off while he was laying there. It dumped 12 gallons of 350* vegetable oil all over him. He died 3 days later. LIFE IS NOT SAFE! If you want ultimate safety go home to your mommy and take up knitting. Life is not for everyone.
Life isn't safe, but there's a difference between an unfortunate and unavoidable accident (such as what started this thread), and an accident due to negligence. Blow up a bottle in the staging lanes from torching and kill someone's kid, and see what 12 of your peers end up thinking...
04-28-2015, 04:30 PM
#33
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YOu should actually do your self a favor and disregard the bottles. Way back in the past I torched some bottles as well. I think alot of us old racers have done that at some point. Knowing what I know now I was a complete idiot doing that. I also thought I was doing ok keeping the flame moving but as time progressed and my knowledge grew wiser the bottle manufacture explained things to me and how my thought process was not as safe as I thought.
A year ago a friend of mine almost lost his life do to a used bottle that was years out of certification blowing up. It was a bottle he took out of a car he purchased and never used. It still had the nice brilliant blue powder coat and showed no sign of torching. He was simply moving it from one spot of the shop out of the way and turned to walk away when it exploded. DOT found micro fiber cracks in the bottle which they say was from excessive heating. Best they can explain is that someone had a non thermostatic or pressure controlled heater on the bottle and it had been extremely over heated several of times.
While blake may have been spared his life he lost his leg as a result. he has had numerous surgerys and in the mean time the bills are pouring in and he is bound to a wheel chair..
His tragedy was a huge eye opener for me. After seeing what happen to him I will no longer feel bottles other than my own and personal friends that I know treat the bottles fairly that they bought new.
I refuse to let someone elses neglect to take me away from my family or cause harm to me.
Not trying to come across the wrong way.. Just wanting to share my experiences with you.
Check out www.awalkwithblake.com
My thought process is this. If I were killed my wife would be left with a buisness and a large amount of my responsibility. If I were disabled she would be forced to take care of me and it would greatly change her life for the bad. End result is the buisness would more than likely go in the ground because no one cares more about a buisness than the owner. The bills would stack high and she would have a world of mess. My fear is not of what I could do to my self but as to what I could due that affected others.
Accidents happen. But some can be avoided. Blake suffers for someone elses careless mistake. Wrong place at the wrong time. Only thing he could have done different was not buy the car with a used nitrous bottle in it.
I now cut any torched bottle I see in half and scrap them.
Dave
A year ago a friend of mine almost lost his life do to a used bottle that was years out of certification blowing up. It was a bottle he took out of a car he purchased and never used. It still had the nice brilliant blue powder coat and showed no sign of torching. He was simply moving it from one spot of the shop out of the way and turned to walk away when it exploded. DOT found micro fiber cracks in the bottle which they say was from excessive heating. Best they can explain is that someone had a non thermostatic or pressure controlled heater on the bottle and it had been extremely over heated several of times.
While blake may have been spared his life he lost his leg as a result. he has had numerous surgerys and in the mean time the bills are pouring in and he is bound to a wheel chair..
His tragedy was a huge eye opener for me. After seeing what happen to him I will no longer feel bottles other than my own and personal friends that I know treat the bottles fairly that they bought new.
I refuse to let someone elses neglect to take me away from my family or cause harm to me.
Not trying to come across the wrong way.. Just wanting to share my experiences with you.
Check out www.awalkwithblake.com
My thought process is this. If I were killed my wife would be left with a buisness and a large amount of my responsibility. If I were disabled she would be forced to take care of me and it would greatly change her life for the bad. End result is the buisness would more than likely go in the ground because no one cares more about a buisness than the owner. The bills would stack high and she would have a world of mess. My fear is not of what I could do to my self but as to what I could due that affected others.
Accidents happen. But some can be avoided. Blake suffers for someone elses careless mistake. Wrong place at the wrong time. Only thing he could have done different was not buy the car with a used nitrous bottle in it.
I now cut any torched bottle I see in half and scrap them.
Dave
DO NOT USE A TORCH on a bottle no matter how safe u think ur moving it or how old school u are. I have an old buddy from HS who almost died and lost his leg. Crazy part about everything we know now is i still see people heating bottles with a torch all the time. Im not sure why people never learn.
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/gen...rage-explosion
Also regarding the carbon fiber tanks.... I have a 8 year old CF paintball tank that is as good as new and takes a beating (active player lol). But when it comes to paintball theyre super strict and always checking the hydro date on it everywhere u go. Lifespan is 15 years but i'll probably be changing it after this season. So i wouldnt worry too much when it comes to a carbon fiber tank everyone.
sorry for bringing up an old thread but this one was a good and informative read for everyone
