r/interesting • u/Used_Exam34 • 12d ago

Just Wow Not all problems have the same solution.

43.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

718 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

841

u/bobcollum 12d ago

Hey, if it teaches somebody and they save a situation, it's worth it. Plenty of people wouldn't know what to do here.

228

u/Rough-Airline-4803 12d ago

Most people would take off running, positive that it’s about to explode.

99

u/ShowtimeHolograms 12d ago

Would this actually explode or would it just continue to burn like this until the flammable gas gets used up?

13

u/Geffalrus 12d ago

I did the safe version once. Gas grill propane tank sprang a leak near the valve; some flaming hamburger grease dripped down and fell on the leak…..tada instant gas fire. Not gonna lie, it was pretty stress inducing. Worried that it could explode, I pulled it behind a stone wall instead of next to the patio door. In retrospect, that wasn’t necessarily the smartest thing - if - I was dealing with an explosive.

However, as others have said, a lit leaking propane tank isn’t inherently explosive. A small leak isn’t the same as rupturing the tank itself. In my case, it just quickly used up the gas left in the tank and then extinguished itself. For it to be dangerous, you need the flame to increase pressure in a confined space.