Crazy idea?

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:43 am
If you don't have a big enough air compressor for a job would it be ridiculous to run an air gun off a large butane cylinder? Obviously with a regulated pressure supply etc. and a well ventilated/outdoor area. I mean it's not so different from a scaled up version of a rattle can?

It's definitely a 'don't try this at home' sort of thing because of the fire/explosion risk but that's never stopped people trying stuff. :twisted:



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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:04 am
I would agree it's a crazy idea to use some thing so explosive. Why would you endanger yourself and others this way. If you have use compressed bottled products wouldn't CO 2 be a better choice? Better yet rent a compressor if you can't afford to buy one. Bad idea.

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:22 am
besides crazy, I doubt it would work unless you rounded up a small army of those cylinders. Figure a gun uses 12 cubic feet of air per minute. How many cubic feet of gas does one of those tanks contain?

I suppose an industrial gas tube on a mid-sized trailer might do it. These guys would know:

http://www.praxair.com/services/industr ... s-delivery



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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 1:24 am
Yes - Hiring a compressor is going to be a much more sensible option. But as far as how much gas you would get the answer is a lot! that's the advantage of liquefied gasses; about 6-7000 litres in a 9kg tank. And it's a lot cheaper and more readily available than using any type of inert gas. But you're probably right, something to let the mythbuster guys try first possibly.



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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 7:57 am
Butane is a really, really bad idea! Even in a well ventilated location.
In addition, I don't even know what kind of reaction the paint would have with such a gas.
Please put safety first.

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 10:27 am
AdrianB wrote:Yes - Hiring a compressor is going to be a much more sensible option. But as far as how much gas you would get the answer is a lot! that's the advantage of liquefied gasses; about 6-7000 litres in a 9kg tank. And it's a lot cheaper and more readily available than using any type of inert gas. But you're probably right, something to let the mythbuster guys try first possibly.


I don't think you can deliver that volume (what is that, around 200 cubic feet?) at 2 bars of pressure (30 PSI) over the entire evacuation of the liquified gas, out of the tank. If it's really pure butane you are starting out at around 17 PSI delivery pressure and that's with the valve wide open. Propane will give you higher pressure but still not enough to be practical over the entire evacuation of the tank. I think the reality is that you'd run the spray gun for a few minutes at best.

Now if you heated the fuel tank up to around 200 degrees F (93C)...we might have something here. Make sure you clear the neighborhood first, though :-)

Also, again pretending for a minute nobody dies while doing this...mecheng is right this is a carbon based fuel so highly likely to cause all sorts of contamination problems.

It's an interesting logic puzzle...I also think about stuff like this and at one point had designed a small array of large "scuba tank" type vessels that would be enough to paint a car. Failed the 'practical' test, though.



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PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 9:46 am
Okay you've convinced me, I'm not looking to get a Darwin award :) Made me think though on the carbon contamination front isn't this what they use as a propellant in spray cans and there's no problem there, it's just a really volatile 'thinner' in a way?

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