# What can I make out of 200 spent NO2 canisters? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758 "2020-03-01T22:01:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/1 "2020-03-01T22:01:56Z")
So the kids are all doing ‘whip-its’ - that is, inhaling Nitrous Oxide for recreational purposes (decanting first into a balloon from small metal canisters intended to fit whipped cream dispensers) Someone dumped a box of empty canisters on the side of the road near my house (they look like this [https://www.alamy.com/stock-image-discarded-nitrous-oxide-canisters-with-a-cream-chargers-box-on-the-163555603.html](https://www.alamy.com/stock-image-discarded-nitrous-oxide-canisters-with-a-cream-chargers-box-on-the-163555603.html) ) - I picked them up because it was a hazard to traffic. They are made of steel, bright zinc plated, about 3 inches long. I could just take them for recycling, but I can’t help feeling there is something I could make out of them - there must be 200 of them in this box. The zinc plating makes them problematic to weld (metal fume fever is a risk). What can I make from these? ---
**Author:** ![Acierocolotl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acierocolotl/32/6241_2.png) [@Acierocolotl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acierocolotl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/2 "2020-03-01T23:09:54Z")
With resin, or other materials, cast a flat bottom with a socket to accomodate the bottle, so you can stand them upright. Find a large ball bearing (25mm?) or small metal sphere. Congratulations, you now have most of a mini bowling alley! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/3 "2020-03-01T23:31:39Z")
Send them to Rockiteer, see how he incorporates them into models. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/4 "2020-03-01T23:45:45Z")
Make a Home Alone-esque booby trap that bungling burglars and slip on and hilariously fall down the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/5 "2020-03-02T00:36:45Z")
SCUBA tanks for a GI Joe ‘action figure’? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/6 "2020-03-02T00:46:17Z")
Use them to make a bandolier of really big bullets for Cable cosplay. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/7 "2020-03-02T00:55:15Z")
If you have some sort of disposable base or box to contain them upright, could you solder or glue them together to make a base or pedestal to support warm or hot objects that you don’t want touching your floor or wooden workbench? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/8 "2020-03-02T01:56:48Z")
If there was some way to remove the lids, you could store seeds in them. We’ll need plenty of seed storage banks to survive the Apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/9 "2020-03-02T03:28:02Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Send them to Rockiteer, see how he incorporates them into models. That was my first thought! Rocket fuel tanks for models. GMTA. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/10 "2020-03-02T05:53:59Z")
What are a cannister’s dimensions, its diameter and cylindrical length (not counting tapered ends)? An electric 'ukulele builder uses a .50 caliber M60 cartridge as the bridge on their instruments. (Now they make sure the slug is gone and no powder remains inside - that was after an early surprise. :eek:) A right-sized cannister would make a kewl bridge on a cigar-box bass or Hawai’ian guitar. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/11 "2020-03-02T08:19:29Z")
Cast them in resin into a tabletop. It would be fun to play around to find the most interesting pattern. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/12 "2020-03-02T09:30:29Z")
Okay, I’ve got the winner. Build a model robot Giant Water Bug. Use the cylinders for [eggs](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnature.mdc.mo.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fcentered_full%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F2012%2F11%2Fgiant_water_bug_eggs_11-13-12.jpg%3Fitok%3Dn_3RqyDD&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnature.mdc.mo.gov%2Fdiscover-nature%2Ffield-guide%2Fgiant-water-bugs&docid=-dXj3204ien_2M&tbnid=z_8lW4bWBbRoxM%3A&vet=1&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/13 "2020-03-02T13:38:18Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > What are a cannister’s dimensions, its diameter and cylindrical length (not counting tapered ends)? An electric 'ukulele builder uses a .50 caliber M60 cartridge as the bridge on their instruments. (Now they make sure the slug is gone and no powder remains inside - that was after an early surprise. :eek:) A right-sized cannister would make a kewl bridge on a cigar-box bass or Hawai’ian guitar. The typical dimensions are here: [Whipped-cream charger - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipped-cream_charger#Description) There’s just something about these things that feels too finely engineered for them to be thrown away, and yet, everything I can think of to do with them would only use one or two ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/14 "2020-03-02T17:15:28Z")
Many recyclers will not take the NOS cartridges to recycle, because they have to be crushed to be recycled and if there is a non-empty cartridge in the bunch, the crushing will create an explosion. So they typically push the cartridges to the landfill.] > **[Your Nang Habit Is Trashing the Earth](https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwaxyz/your-nos-habit-is-trashing-the-earth)** > > Here's why they're unrecyclable. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/15 "2020-03-02T17:55:47Z")
I’m gonna chew on this one. I love MacGyver-ing things to solve a problem with the materials at hand … this is the reverse, a potential solution that is simply in need of a problem to address! Let’s see. Packed tightly, there would be some insulating properties. Combined with the shiny surface, which reflects sunlight … they be used as a surface lining or cladding, to keep some (admittedly quite small) enclosed area cooler. They’re opened via a small hole poked into one end … uh, so I heard. You could use them to store small amounts of liquid - injected via syringe would be simplest, but you could submerge them in a vat and let it seep/bubble in - and cap off the hole with silicon caulk, paraffin or other wax, or a really tiny plug. Does that give ya any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/16 "2020-03-02T18:43:23Z")
When I was a stupid pyro teenager, me and my stupid pyro teenaged friends would fill spent CO2 cartridges (probably very similar to the nitrous oxide carts) with blackpowder and glue cannon wick into the bottom to seal. It was rare to find even a fragment after blowing one up. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/17 "2020-03-02T19:26:44Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > When I was a stupid pyro teenager, me and my stupid pyro teenaged friends would fill spent CO2 cartridges (probably very similar to the nitrous oxide carts) with blackpowder and glue cannon wick into the bottom to seal. It was rare to find even a fragment after blowing one up. I will confess to doing something quite similar - different load inside them - indeed, we used chemistry that would definitely attract attention on the basis of anti-terrorism laws nowadays) Needless to say, I don’t want to try to repeat my mis-spent youth with these. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/18 "2020-03-02T19:29:00Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > If you have some sort of disposable base or box to contain them upright, could you solder or glue them together to make a base or pedestal to support warm or hot objects that you don’t want touching your floor or wooden workbench? I suppose if I cut them in half (with some consistency and precision) they could be packed into some sort of frame - blunt end upwards, and used as a trivet in that way ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/19 "2020-03-02T20:27:09Z")
I have a related problem: I have a few dozen FILLED NO2 containers, and I have no idea what to do with them, safely. I ordered a whipped cream charger along with a lifetime supply of NO2, but it was very messy and the trigger very fussy, so I returned it. Amazon wouldn’t allow me to ship the canisters back to them, even though they refunded the charge. So I’m stuck with these filled canisters. Legal and sane advice appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758/20 "2020-03-02T21:26:56Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I have a related problem: I have a few dozen FILLED NO2 containers, and I have no idea what to do with them, safely. > > I ordered a whipped cream charger along with a lifetime supply of NO2, but it was very messy and the trigger very fussy, so I returned it. Amazon wouldn’t allow me to ship the canisters back to them, even though they refunded the charge. > > So I’m stuck with these filled canisters. Legal and sane advice appreciated. Offer them to your local bakery? If they don’t want them, you can always put them in a vise and use a nail and hammer to puncture the seal, thus reducing the problem to the same as **Mangetout** s. (The greenhouse gas impact will be the same in both cases). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-make-out-of-200-spent-no2-canisters/848758.md?page=2)