Carbide Explosions

[Rock and Glock]

Another thread (Flying Barrels) reminded me of my carbide cannon.

i had the 15FC Major Field Cannon several years ago, and had a great time with it. They are still available: BIG-BANG Cannons Conestoga Company

Anyone else have one, or make one?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[msgt/ret]

Had one as a kid (a very long time ago) back then I think they were $9.95 but at 2 cents apiece it took picking up a lot of pop bottles to buy one. We used to take carbide and a little bit of water and place it in a Hershey chocolate can (cans were made of metal then) with a hole in the top and light it with a match nice loud pop when the lids shot off.

[Zsnake]

Yep! I had the 9.99 cheap one myself. I kept it in my locker at the high school and when the whim hit me I fired off a "round". It would really echo down those corridors.
Good times!
I have a larger model siting on the coffee table in my basement now.

[Zsnake]

In case you missed the posting by GunnyBunny on this page,

Having a Barrel of Fun - YouTube

[F350]

Oh the things we use to do with carbide!!!!!

Buddy's dad had a farm, we found that a coke can would perfectly fit over the fence post driver, drill hole under where the can would come down, fill with water and add carbide, after a while we started putting just a little concrete in the top of the cans, they flew like a badminton birdie. The farm had a valley with a county road going through it that was used as a "Lovers Lane", when touched off at night it produced about a 15 foot flame and lit up the whole valley; the number of cars that slung gravel leaving, we got to taping those whistling bottle rockets to the cans, light the fuses, touch off the cannon and the rockets would ignite while passing over the road in front of the cars

One day his mom told us to get rid of a mole that had dug a tunnel across the front yard, we got a baby food jar, punched holes on 1/2 the lid, half filled with water, added carbide, opened both ends of the tunnel, put a lit candle in one end, the carbide jar in the other and covered with a board. We had to dodge his mom for 3 days she was so pissed, it blew open a small trench all the way across the yard.

There was a creek running through the above mentioned valley and the road forded the creek, we took a mayonnaise jar, put gravel in the bottom, punched holes in the top, filled with water and a bunch of carbide and put in the creek so there was maybe 6 inches of water over the top, then set the escaping acetylene gas on fire. When cars would come down to the ford there was this blue flame burning on top of the creek, always funny to watch the reaction. There was this one night we had 4 flames going and set off a red military smoke grenade as we saw a car coming, we had to dodge the sheriffs deputies and state cops for about 3 hours before we got back to the house that night.

Oh yea, you could also use it to "power" a lantern for spelunking

[Sheldon J]

Still got mine, n had it for since I was about 16, got it from "Johnson Smith Co" they still exist today too!!! yes this was during the stone age before personal computers and the INTERNET, joy buzzers, fake dog poo, snakes in a peanut can..... The Johnson Smith Company : Welcome! and Things You Never Knew Existed : Gag gifts, novelties and toys : Welcome!

[Arborigine]

One day his mom told us to get rid of a mole that had dug a tunnel across the front yard, we got a baby food jar, punched holes on 1/2 the lid, half filled with water, added carbide, opened both ends of the tunnel, put a lit candle in one end, the carbide jar in the other and covered with a board. We had to dodge his mom for 3 days she was so pissed, it blew open a small trench all the way across the yard.

:

A guy at an old job did that using the welding torch so it was a nice oxy/acetylene mix, quite explosive (and unstable, so don't try it!!) . It blew open 2 foot deep trenches that must have totalled 200 yards in length, and broke a lot of windows.
Yes, i still have a large 50's "Big Bang" cannon.

[Pyro07]

A guy at an old job did that using the welding torch so it was a nice oxy/acetylene mix, quite explosive (and unstable, so don't try it!!) . It blew open 2 foot deep trenches that must have totalled 200 yards in length, and broke a lot of windows.
Yes, i still have a large 50's "Big Bang" cannon.

In HS welding glass i used to fill an upside down foam or paper cup with acetylene, light the torch, light the cup and BANG!!!