Extreme wood bending with ammonia
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“For the science geeks in the audience.”
Isn’t that nearly everyone who reads the blog?
Very cool, and he does a good job explaining the process. I watched the video on manufacturing anhydrous ammonia, and he appears to pay a decent amount of attention to safety. He also has what must be the coolest garage in the neighborhood.
I wouldn’t recommend reusing the aluminum tank. 150 PSI may not seem like much but if it bursts it could put your eye out.
Slice both tanks in half and put them in the recycling bin.
The meth labs use the blue rhino tanks for anhydrous ammonia. But they have to get new ones all the time because it corrodes the brass fittings and a leak can kill them. We just had a blue rhino distributor alert the authorities to three tanks that showed signs of tampering to hold ammonia. (bubbled paint and corroded brass). Turned out they were just old tanks. Hope you never get one that has held ammonia and then been refilled with propane. Nasty surprise during barbecue season.
Having grown up on a farm in Kansas we fertilized with anhydrous ammonia. If you ever get a chance try soaking a dollar bill in anhydrous ammonia. The anhydrous ammonia turns the dollar bill into a thick piece of leathery like material! It becomes about 2/3 the size. We called them “Farmer’s Dollars”.
Thanks for clearing up the mystery. I’m guessing the transformation is a product of bills being derived from wood products. Do the bills become thicker, or remain the same thickness?