tracers + propane tanks/gas cans

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - tracers + propane tanks/gas cans

Posted: 3/23/2006 10:30:34 AM EDT

Gonna make a video this weekend for physics class. If I use M856 tracer rounds, can I ignite propane tanks and/or gas cans?
Pertaining to gasoline, how much should I use? 1 gallon? 5 gallons? Should there be any air in the can (1/2 gas, 1/2 air)?

Thanx in advance for your help.

Posted: 3/23/2006 10:46:11 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
Gonna make a video this weekend for physics class. If I use M856 tracer rounds, can I ignite propane tanks and/or gas cans?
Pertaining to gasoline, how much should I use? 1 gallon? 5 gallons? Should there be any air in the can (1/2 gas, 1/2 air)?

Thanx in advance for your help.

Gasoline will just flame. To explode you need the right mix of air to gas, and gas vapor, not liquid.

Propone is easy. Now you don't need tracers. Just go buy those little camping propane tanks, light a road flare behind it. Shoot. WHOOSH.

Now, because these things are under pressure and you have metal in contact, do NOT shoot them while you are close. For small Propane cans 50 yards is good. For the big ones, well, try more like 100 at least.

And be warned as well, they can start flying left, right, even straight at you.

Posted: 3/23/2006 10:54:28 AM EDT

[#2]

I haven't been able to get them to work reliably on gas. Gas will eventually catch on fire from the tracer compound,but usually only after spilling out on the ground. I've not tried propane.
Incendiary ammo is the ticket if you want reliable explosions.
A lot of .223 tracers fired rapidly into any remotely flammable object will usually cause fires,but not spontaneous explosions.
What are you trying to prove for physics-transfer of heat?

Posted: 3/23/2006 10:57:49 AM EDT

[#3]

Mythbusters tried this. Although I was not impressed with the way they did it, they were fairly thorough.

Posted: 3/23/2006 11:00:39 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Mythbusters tried this.

Poorly I might add. The targets were way too close (before the tracers had a chance to ignite).

Posted: 3/23/2006 11:01:08 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
Mythbusters tried this. Although I was not impressed with the way they did it, they were fairly thorough.

They failed to use tracers.

Posted: 3/23/2006 11:40:59 AM EDT

[#6]

Tried this last summer. A buddy and I were shooting at a full BBQ grill tank with a broken valve. It was full. I was shooting tracers out of my AR and he was shooting a Garand with ball. We were both hitting it and I was shooting through the vapor as well. No flame or explosion of any kind. Have no idea why.

Posted: 3/23/2006 11:51:48 AM EDT

[#7]

Gas:air=1:14 in order for detonation as opposed to combustion

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:22:51 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
Gas:air=1:14 in order for detonation as opposed to combustion

Thats only the optimum ratio for the most efficent burn and when it is vaporized or aerosoled.

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:42:28 PM EDT

[#9]

Have seen it done to disposable propane cylinders w/ tracers.
First shot - nice fireball.
Second shot, no fireball but cylinder flew 25-50m up and 100m behind the shooter. I watched from a position of relative safety & was mentally going through some ugly first aid/trauma scenarios.

This won't put you in the "safe shooting" category.

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:45:24 PM EDT

[#10]

stupid is as stupid does.

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:50:04 PM EDT

[#11]

I have seen tracers shot at gas cans 100 yards or so and NOTHING!!!

Dont know about propane tanks?

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:53:04 PM EDT

[#12]

Now I have filled a beer can with gas and used a old rag and set it on fire and shot it with ball ammo
it looked pretty cool!

But gas cans and tracers wont work! I thought it would but I was wrong

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:57:13 PM EDT

[#13]

Well, if you want something good/big don't use tracers. Yes,tracers set dry grass on fire. I have shot tracers into gas trucks and the like (Iraq 91, 2003-2004, 2005). You need to find some Incendiary rounds! They will blow LP gas and light gas. Put the vid. equip. close in a small fox hole. Your set back should be 200m+, or pick lots of stuff out of your body(rocks,dirt,metal...). Check local laws!
Stay safe!
hug.gif

Posted: 3/23/2006 12:57:50 PM EDT

[#14]

will aerosol cans blow up? compressed air?

Posted: 3/23/2006 1:06:51 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
stupid is as stupid does.

+1

Posted: 3/23/2006 3:21:14 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Thats only the optimum ratio for the most efficent burn and when it is vaporized or aerosoled.

Correct but, if the air fuel ratio is not correct it won't ignite either. Must be between the LEL & UEL (Upper & Lower explosive limits) for anything to happen... otherwise you're fuel rich or starved.
FWIW.

Posted: 3/23/2006 3:41:55 PM EDT

[#17]

step 1 put can of tannerite in 5 gallon gas can

step 2 fill gas can with high octane

step 3 place full lp tank behind gas can

step 4 take a few steps back

step 5 shoot with rifle

step 6 duck!!

step 7 call fire dept.

step 8 call ambulance before you bleed out or shock from the burns sets in

Posted: 3/23/2006 3:44:59 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
will aerosol cans blow up? compressed air?

They're fun to watch when you hit them, but they don't blow up. They just dance around or jump up once.

shooting too close for the tracers to ignite

I said the exact same thing.

Posted: 3/23/2006 3:46:44 PM EDT

[#19]

Posted: 3/23/2006 4:08:48 PM EDT

[#20]

The "A-Team" could make anything explode. It doesn't look hard to do at all...

Posted: 3/23/2006 4:28:29 PM EDT

[#21]

paintcans are fun. Not really an explosion, but we shot it with a .270 and the lid flew up high and paint went everywhere. What about Oxy-Acetelene mix in a baloon?

Posted: 3/23/2006 4:31:41 PM EDT

[#22]

have fun

Posted: 3/23/2006 4:40:56 PM EDT

[#23]

Yeah,
Fire extinguishers are By far some of My favorite reactive targets. After being intially shot, having them placed at 100+ yds.-puffs of white smoke let you now every time you hit 'em.

I have yet to seen a propane tank blow up yet, Just dance and spin around and occasionally go airborne
reaching some amazing heights, and sometimes heading off in some pretty unpredictable directions. Have seen some cool fires though.

Posted: 3/23/2006 4:59:44 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Gasoline will just flame. To explode you need the right mix of air to gas, and gas vapor, not liquid.

Propone is easy. Now you don't need tracers. Just go buy those little camping propane tanks, light a road flare behind it. Shoot. WHOOSH.

Now, because these things are under pressure and you have metal in contact, do NOT shoot them while you are close. For small Propane cans 50 yards is good. For the big ones, well, try more like 100 at least.

And be warned as well, they can start flying left, right, even straight at you.

Yup. That's exactly how to do it.

Put a flare within about 3 feet of the tank, you'll be good to go to watch an explosion.

Here's a small propane tank with "scarecrow" (kinda like tannerite)
members.aol.com/sensasstcweb2/fireball.mpg

No detonation charge or flare. Tank only.
members.aol.com/sensasstcweb2/propane1.mpg

Again, no detonation charge or flare. Tank only.
members.aol.com/sensasstcweb2/propane2.mpg

The explosion dissipates a lot of the energy. If you shoot a propane tank with nothing to help it ignite, the tank seems launch further and faster. So be careful.

Posted: 3/24/2006 7:38:55 AM EDT

[#25]

Thanx for all the info. My project is on ballistics, but you can't teach ballistics witout discussing terminal ballistics, and for that, reactive targets are always nice.

Posted: 3/25/2006 3:41:02 PM EDT

[#26]

can of ether/starter fluid works good

Posted: 3/25/2006 4:30:18 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
The "A-Team" could make anything explode. It doesn't look hard to do at all...

But damn - for a bunch of spec ops guys they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn door. You'd think for all those rounds they fired in all those encounters they'd at least hit someone even if by accident. Maybe that's why they weren't in the military anymore -- poor marksmanship.

Posted: 3/25/2006 8:12:09 PM EDT

[#28]

How do you shoot 'too close for tracers to ignite?'.

Last time I checked, they were ignited by the gunpowder burning inside your weapon.

Unless you're using some home made tracers, USGI stuff is visible right out of the barrel of an M16. I did night fire on a 25m range not too long ago, and they were visible from the barrel to the target, in the dark.

Posted: 3/25/2006 8:28:05 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
How do you shoot 'too close for tracers to ignite?'.

Last time I checked, they were ignited by the gunpowder burning inside your weapon.

Unless you're using some home made tracers, USGI stuff is visible right out of the barrel of an M16. I did night fire on a 25m range not too long ago, and they were visible from the barrel to the target, in the dark.

I heard that some tracers don't ignite until they're a few hundred yards down.

Posted: 3/25/2006 8:46:32 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
How do you shoot 'too close for tracers to ignite?'.

Last time I checked, they were ignited by the gunpowder burning inside your weapon.

Unless you're using some home made tracers, USGI stuff is visible right out of the barrel of an M16. I did night fire on a 25m range not too long ago, and they were visible from the barrel to the target, in the dark.

No, it's the orange paint that ignites from air friction. I saw it on TV

Posted: 3/26/2006 6:46:32 AM EDT

[#31]

Tracers don't ignite things very well with any reliability. That's why the military had (maybe still has although I don't think there are many areal observation baloons around anymore) INCENDIARY bullets. As the name suggests they were made to start things on fire.

Posted: 3/26/2006 7:25:57 AM EDT

[#32]

I have a full small CO2 tank (for paintball stuff) that is gathering dust. I wonder what would happen if I shot it?

Posted: 3/26/2006 7:45:54 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
Quoted:
will aerosol cans blow up? compressed air?

They're fun to watch when you hit them, but they don't blow up. They just dance around or jump up once.

What if there is a small fire next to the can?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - tracers + propane tanks/gas cans

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