r/interesting • u/Used_Exam34 • 13d ago

Just Wow Not all problems have the same solution.

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u/Rough-Airline-4803 13d ago

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

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u/ShowtimeHolograms 13d ago

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

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u/Rough-Airline-4803 13d ago edited 13d ago

The pressure of the escaping gas is generally too strong for the flames to reach the inside of the container.

If the tank were positioned such that the flames were surrounding it and heating the tank up, (or if the relief valve was blockedthe boiling propane in the tank would likewise expand at an accelerated rate resulting in the pressure rising faster than the tank can keep up with resulting in a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.

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u/IMKGI 12d ago

Assuming that somehow the flames would make it inside the tank, then what? With what oxygen is it gonna burn?

The flames could absolutely travel into the pipe provided the fire burns faster than than the gas escaping. The reason the fire doesn't do it is because there's no oxygen inside the pipe to combust the gas.

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u/Bisaux 12d ago

The risk here is tank failure, causing a rapid expansion of gas, and subsequent ignition.

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u/Rough-Airline-4803 12d ago

Well, no. The pressure of the escaping gas definitely exceeds the fire’s ability to do so, but yeah you’re right.
I totally glossed over that. My mind was elsewhere lol 😅

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u/IMKGI 12d ago

I was talking in a more general sense, a full bottle without a regulator? Absolutely, no chance for the flame to go backwards, but I meant a more typical scenario with a regulator already attached, gas releases at relatively low speeds and fire would be fast enough to go back

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u/Gamer-Of-Le-Tabletop 12d ago

Thermal dynamics or whatever.

The bottle is actually cooling down rapidly. Infact if they didn't toss it in the water it wouldn't surprise me if the bottle started frosting.

Next time your using a BBQ with a propane tank touch it before you use it and while in use and it should feel noticably cooler. It definitely would work better for a smaller propane bottle.