What would happen if you mixed crystal draino with gasoline?
Would it become a poisonous gas, or would it explode?
The Junior Woodchuck Guide is silent on this.
And no, I am not going to try it and find out.:rolleyes:
Chicken.
OOOhhh. I remember this one. Was it the Anarchist’s Cookbook that mentioned that a small prescription bottle full of Drano could be slipped into the gas tank of a car and give you enough time to get away? I forget.
Since I’ve proven myself one of the worst chemists ever, I’ll skip the nuts and bolts and suggest that a gas tank, with Drano carefully introduced, would trade hydrogen for chlorine until you had an All-Star spontaneous combustion, as long as the tank is capped.
Of course, since Regular gasoline receptors have gone the way of the moderate Republican, you’ll need to use perforated crack vials to kill your bookie.
Ummm. Okay. I regret that last paragraph already. Ever write your personal thoughts with the intention of removing them before you post? I’m going to consider that from now on.
I thought it was a good post, but my judgement is in question just now. As I recall, the Anarchist’s Cookbook suggested that the Drano be put in a plastic bag which could contain a whole can and still be worked into the tank.
I may be wrong about the recommendation, but it does work that way.
Make sure you use a type of plastic bag that will dissolve in gasoline, but not too fast.
Friends, DO NOT try this at home or anywhere else. The BATF will be after you in a heartbeat.
What causes the BANG?
If, as you say, it forms hydrogen gas, you might get an explosive mixture, depending on the amount of air in tank, most of which has been displaced by gasoline fumes.
Then you need an ignition source. It might be the heat from the chemical reaction. But Draino is designed to sink through water, so it would certainly sink through gasoline. It would have to heat up all of the gasoline in the tank. Since it is heating the liquid gasoline, and locally, some pure gasoline vapor and hydrogen, there is no BANG. The gasoline vapor, being dense, would displace any hydrogen [tanks are vented]. Are they counting on unvented tanks, where an internal pressure build up could cause the tank to leak?
I have done this. It just makes a green gas which I assume is chlorine. It is even more interesting and intensely green if you set it on fire after you mix them. I never had a problem with it exploding.
FTR, if some household cleaner said not to mix with some other household chemical, I mixed them. They only produced gas. It may have done more had I put it in a sealed container.
HUGS!
Sqrl
It is a violation of federal law to use those products inconsistent with their labelling. It is also immoral, fattening, and will give you big, hairy moles all over your body.
I seem to recall hearing somewhere that you can make napalm by mixing gasoline with orange juice concentrate, but that would probably be illegal as well. Even more so if you tried to pass it off as orange juice.
You can make napalm out of anything that will cause the gasoline to gel.
I was a juvenile delinquent as a child. I don’t think I am any longer… well at least not a juvenile by the strict definition.
HUGS!
Sqrl
polystyrene comes to mind.
A college buddy of mine who was in the reserves (if that makes a difference) once told me that laundry detergent (the powdered kind) and gas make a great napalm mix.
Sorry, but I haven’t experimented with it, I like all my digits and various senses the way they are.
Regarding mixing household chemicals:
IIRC, mixing chlorine bleach and ammonia-based products produces hydrazine gas, which was an early rocket fuel, is toxic, and (obviously) burns quite nicely. It is also, for the record, invisible and heavier than air.
My father’s an ER Physician and he gets a few cases every year wherein a fellow reasons that:
Bleach=cleans good
Ammonia=cleans good
Therefore, Bleach + Ammonia = cleans better
Our hero then proceeds to mix these chemicals in his toilet, hoping to remove stubborn stains. He decides to let them work while he scrubs the floor, gets on his hands and knees and starts scrubbing. Meanwhile, the hydrazine builds up, flows over the edge of the toilet bowl, he inhales it, and his wife ends up calling 911 when she finds him passed out.
Not many deaths, apparently, but not a good idea.
Once source I heard said that napalm was named for the mixture of naptha and palm kernel oil. Talk about dangerous stuff, it’s loaded with cholesterol.
Hydrazine is absolutely nasty stuff; it was used in the McDonnel-Douglas F15 to allow self starts. It’s highly carcinogenic.
Try bleach and brake fluid! lots of smoke.
Vestal Blue, I like you! The pyro side of is just can’t wait to bleach & brake.
IIRC - The Anarchist Cookbook was a font of information on making flame. I think it recommended Knox unflavored gelatin and gasoline for a really good cocktail. The other really nice recipe was a “White Phosphorus” bomb (hot enough to melt the pavement). I never tried that one.
Folks, we’re moving here from the realm of fuels and accidental household poisons into weapons. Please refrain from discussions of how to construct weapons on this website.
Normally, I’d just go look under the sink, but there’s no Draino available at the moment.
So what, exactly, is the active chemical in Draino, and what else is in it that might be significant? I feel sort of bad asking this, being a chemist and all…feel like I should know this. But it’s a long walk to the store.
Anyway, if somebody knows, I might be able to help w/ the mechanism.
It’s sodium hydroxide, ie. lye. About the strongest alkaline substance available for household use. Reacts like hell with anything organic, for instance, the clogs in your pipes.
OK, mister chemist, tell us what happens when it meets petroleum distillates.
I was working at Edwards AFB when there was a hydrazine spill by the F-16 hangars. Several people were exposed. I was in Ridley Mission Control, so I was nowhere near it. I never did find out what happened to the people who were exposed to the hydrazine.
I worked with a guy who had a friend who liked to make nitro glycerine. The friend would mix up the nitro and put it into little glass ampules. He would put the ampules in ice cube trays, add water, put it in the freezer, and wait for a really hot day. When the day arrived, he’d space the ice-encased ampules of nitro along the street and wait for the ice to melt. Apparently, nitro becomes unstable above 56°F and becomes less so as the temperature increases. My co-worker said that they would spontaneously explode on the hot days after the ice melted. (BTW: This friend would also make “salt mazes” and put slugs into them to see if they could find their way out.)