# What happens if you shoot a propane tank? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207 "2011-07-16T01:44:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/21 "2011-07-16T12:13:58Z")
[Michael Yon](http://www.michaelyon-online.com/gates-of-fire.htm), a former Green Beret turned embedded reporter in Iraq, picked up an M4 when others around him were wounded, and opened up on an insurgent inside a shop. > [@](#): > > The third bullet pierced a propane canister, which jumped up in the air and began spinning violently. It came straight at my head but somehow missed, flying out of the shop as a high-pressure jet of propane hit me in the face. The goggles saved my eyes. I gulped in deeply. > > In the tiniest fraction of a second, somehow my mind actually registered Propane . . . FIREBALL! as it bounced on the ground where it spun furiously, creating an explosive cloud of gas and dust, just waiting for someone to fire a weapon. > > I scrambled back, got up and ran a few yards, afraid that Kurilla was going to burn up if there was a fire. The soldiers from Alpha Company were heading toward him when LTC Kurilla yelled out that he was okay, but that CSM Prosser was still in the shop. The Alpha Company soldiers ran through the propane and dust cloud and swarmed the shop. Good story, but that’s the end of the propane excitement. It spun around and spewed gas but didn’t explode. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/22 "2011-07-16T13:12:35Z")
Heating a coconut in a fire sounds safer. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/23 "2011-07-16T14:24:35Z")
I was warned once that the danger with those tall welding tank cylinders was that they fall over, hit something on the way down, and the valve stem breaks off causing the tank to become a rocket capable of crashing through cinder block walls. 2000 to 3000 psi is a decent propellant kick. The worker safety lesson evryone gets around flamables is - each flamable has a flash point. Below a certain air-fuel mixture, no flames, no bang. In a certain range, “woof” is possible. The thing that makes ai blasts so spectacular is the size. If you set off a full cylinder of propane after a significant leak, you have an explosive mix dozens of feet cubed. Often in gas leaks, the whole house is explosive and all that’s left is the roof (if it goes up then down) on the floor. Oddly enough, the person inside the house often survives because unlike solid explosives, it’s a large volume, not a small point source, that is going off. I once shot at a paint spray can with a 303 and the bullet bounced off at a glancing angle. Unless you hit close to straight on or take out the valvestem, a tank will be pretty robust. If you do make it leak, the next trick is to ignite it. As others mentioned, a bullet whizzing by won’t do it, and odds are the bullet’s spark will be gone before the gas mix is right. If you keep hitting metal around the leaking tank, maybe a spark will set it off. Maybe not. Things still have to be just right. IIRC, Isaac Asimov had a mystery set in a university where someone attempted to murder a professor by smearing glycerin (or petroleum jelly?) inside the vlave stem of an oxygen tank. If it had been exposed to pure oxygen at 2000psi that would have blown the valve stem off. Flashpoint relates to the partial pressure of oxygen and fuel. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/24 "2011-07-16T14:41:50Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Now _that’s_ going on the ol’ Xmas list this year. Mythbuster time … propane tank, trebouchet, flaming ballista bolt? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/25 "2011-07-16T15:02:49Z")
A case of … _Budweiser_? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/26 "2011-07-16T15:30:24Z")
When you are that stoned, why bother with good beer? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/27 "2011-07-16T15:39:00Z")
Ah, good point. I thought maybe they were going to use it to pick up teenage girls. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/28 "2011-07-16T16:09:01Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > **Disclaimer:** > > **DO NOT** try this at home (or anywhere). The science is clear on this but nevertheless playing with flammable gasses in this manner is a recipe for disaster. > > If you shoot the tank the gas will bleed out. Once mixed with the air there is a great potential for a serious explosion. Fuel-Air Explosives (FAE) are among the most devastating conventional bombs in a military arsenal. Poking holes in a propane tank/shooting it is a recipe for killing a bunch of people. In other words, [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pan1t4WdYbc) might happen. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/29 "2011-07-16T16:28:17Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Only if it happens to be at the appropriate oxygen/propane mix. The thing with sparks and gas explosions is they don’t just happen, you need the right mixture for anything to ignite. In an open area this rarely happens and in a closed are you need good timing because to much or too little propane and you don’t get the boom. Best answer ever! Even took the Mythbusters several episodes to realize this. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/30 "2011-07-16T17:18:53Z")
Would the concave bottom of many tanks be the best target? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/31 "2011-07-16T18:37:30Z")
Here is a guy shooting one with armor piercing bullets. Not your everyday gun, of course. [It gets blowed up real good.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW_K3cnXxW4) ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/32 "2011-07-16T19:38:40Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Pistol-9mm, ricochet. > > Rifle, gas leak. > > _Mythbusters_ did this one, if I remember, they needed a minigun to get a big boom. I just saw that episode. I suppose “gas leak” is technically correct, but I think “high pressure jets of gas shooting from both sides, forming a dense and expanding fog” gives more of a feel for the effect. Not likely to be lethal to any gunmen standing next to it, probably, but I dare say it would put them off their aim a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/33 "2011-07-17T12:29:22Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > A case of … _Budweiser_? > [@silenus](#): > > When you are that stoned, why bother with good beer? To be fair, that was written in 1972. Choices were more limited then; Heineken was considered high brow brew. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/34 "2011-07-17T16:06:28Z")
[QUOTE=md2000] I was warned once that the danger with those tall welding tank cylinders was that they fall over, hit something on the way down, and the valve stem breaks off causing the tank to become a rocket capable of crashing through cinder block walls. 2000 to 3000 psi is a decent propellant kick. [/QUOTE] Probably not surprising, but that was another _Mythbusters_ [episode](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEJGNLTo84). (2 minute clip) They were just using air, but at typical welding cylinder pressures, and were quite successful at punching a hole through a cinder block wall and damaging another wall behind the cinder block wall. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/35 "2011-07-17T20:26:41Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > **Disclaimer:** > > **DO NOT** try this at home (or anywhere). The science is clear on this but nevertheless playing with flammable gasses in this manner is a recipe for disaster. > > If you shoot the tank the gas will bleed out. Once mixed with the air there is a great potential for a serious explosion. Fuel-Air Explosives (FAE) are among the most devastating conventional bombs in a military arsenal. Poking holes in a propane tank/shooting it is a recipe for killing a bunch of people. this is anecdotal but I know someone who managed to get one to explode. Maybe explode is the wrong word but the tank popped like a balloon, lots of noise, huge fire ball and eventually a car with flashing lights and people asking questions. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/36 "2011-07-17T20:42:38Z")
I once shot one with a Boys a/t rifle-based gun with .50 API ammunition. It flared up for a moment or two, but no explosion. I doubt there was much gas left in it, anyway. Pressured gas cylinders with the valve knocked-off will go through walls in their flight. Which is why most of them have guards around the valve to try to stop that happening. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/37 "2011-07-17T22:52:00Z")
[It was tested long before Mythbusters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bytoID_SNnE) ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/38 "2011-07-17T22:57:03Z")
OK, now, what if the propane tank were on a treadmill? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Ayebaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darth_ayebaw/32/9870_2.png) [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/39 "2011-07-17T23:52:15Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > In other words, [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pan1t4WdYbc) might happen. What’s that blueish beam going straight up into the sky around 0:26? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207/40 "2011-07-17T23:56:20Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#): > > What’s that blueish beam going straight up into the sky around 0:26? Lens flare, or maybe a digital artifact. Doesn’t exist outside the camera. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-shoot-a-propane-tank/589207.md?page=3)