Nitrous oxide bottle failure/explosion

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

This is a reminder that some safety devices are actually there to keep you safe. It would appear that the safety "burst disk" was removed from this nitrous bottle and replaced with a plug. Obviously it then would not be able to vent if the bottle reaches and unsafe pressure from being overfilled or heated. I say it "would appear" because you never know if photos on the internet are doctored, and it is possible for a compressed gas bottle to fail even if the safety features are present and working (only story I can think of is an O2 bottle in a Boeing 747 letting go and tearing a hole in the side of the airplane, which was investigated thoroughly given the nature of the incident, but obviously it can happen). I think it's likely this is a case of the burst disk leaking and somebody being cheap and replacing it with a plug.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

[Johnny5]

Driver ok? If he is prob can’t hear shit now

[Scoobienorth]

Found more info on this and I can’t remember most of it but that bottle had a minimum burst pressure of 4111 psi.

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

Driver ok? If he is prob can’t hear shit now

Sounded like reasonably okay, or not dead at least. Ringing ears would be a minimum, likely bad enough to burst some blood vessels too. I don't know though, but I assume only a driver in the car. If anyone had been in the back seat they would be in bad shape.

Found more info on this and I can’t remember most of it but that bottle had a minimum burst pressure of 4111 psi.

Yeah, there was some spotty info with it on FB. But those bottles are good to over 4ksi. 99.9999% the failure is the result of plugging the burst disk port, but there likely was other things at play, I'm thinking there might have been a Chicom bottle heater involved too. They sometimes blow the burst disk if the car is parked left in the sun for hours, but it seems very unlikely in a moving car as there would be airflow, it wouldn't always in direct sunlight, and it wouldn't be much over 100 F in their likely (even if the car doesn't have A/C they'd have the windows down then, unless they enjoy hell). They sell bottle insulating things, like a can coozie but bigger, to avoid them venting if left in the sun, but the vent goes at 3ksi~, and the bottle is good for 30% more than that, so I think there was more than just the plug in it. It might have been overfilled too, because places that fill them normally know not to fill a bottle that's sketchy, the guy might have his own booster and buy/rent big bottles.