Acetylene for fuel (no oxidizer)

Novacastrian · Sat Nov 24, 2007 6:35 pm

I was just wondering if it would increase the power of my mini hybrid if i were to use Acetylene as fuel instead of Butane as currently used. I would not be adding oxygen, rather just air as per normal.
Is Acetylene actually more powerful? i.e. does it store more energy per unit?
Would i still get that grotty soot if used this way?

Edit: Wiki says that it could detonate at pressures exceeding 15 psi, and it contains less energy than propane!
Oh well, just goes to show that one should search before posting useless threads

The Kid · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:07 pm

i think it would cause advanced spuds list it as high powered and it will probably be loud as hell (i know this cause me and my friend and his neighbor fill bottles of Acetylene up with an oxy welder and light them you can here it from 2 ks away literally).

Novacastrian · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:12 pm

Yes, but in a hybrid application you have to pressurise your chamber, acetylene doesn't like pressure i have learned.

The Kid · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:14 pm

Novacastrian wrote:Yes, but in a hybrid application you have to pressurise your chamber, acetylene doesn't like pressure i have learned.

makes sence

frankrede · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:23 pm

Acetylene is highly unstable and can go off when pressurized.
I don't know if it actually detonates though, but it probably does.

The Kid · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:24 pm

but doesen't have to be presurised in and oxy or am i wrong?

Novacastrian · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:34 pm

Yes and no, what they do is *dissolve* the acetylene in acetone i think, then the put it into a bottle that is filled with some kind "rock*" that absorbs the solution.

*rock, think like a honeycomb

DYI · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:37 pm

Acetylene can produce slightly higher pressures than propane combustion when it combusts, but the only real use that I can imagine for it in a cannon is if you are actually trying to cause detonations, and have a hard time getting them with propane.

Acetylene should be fine in a thick walled, small brass or aluminum cannon, although I would be wary of using it in a steel gun. If you have it available, you should try it, but don't be too close when you do.

The main advantage of using C2H2 in a mini is that it greatly simplifies mixing - it can ignite in anywhere from 2-82% in air.

Novacastrian · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:46 pm

I think i'll leave it to the experts!

Look at this bottle, it flew about 1\8th of a mile before it hit the ute.

DYI · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:49 pm

I'm assuming that that is a picture of what happens when the porous material and acetone inside an acetylene are either not properly made, or something violent happened to a full bottle. Over 15 psi, acetylene can decompose at any concentration, even pure, with hardly any provocation.
It is rather dangerous, and you could use hydrogen for equally easy to detonate mixes anyway.

The Kid · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:51 pm

Novacastrian wrote:I think i'll leave it to the experts! Look at this bottle, it flew about 1\8th of a mile before it hit the ute.

f*king hell thats gonna cost a pritty penny to repair

Novacastrian · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:52 pm

That bottle got caught up in a fire at a hotel, but it shows how powerful the explosion can be.

DYI · Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:57 pm

Did you ever read the story on the Darwin Awards site about the guy who was trying to weld on his roof, so he tried to weld the acetylene tank to his roof so it wouldn't fall off?

They never found a body...

Novacastrian · Sat Nov 24, 2007 8:00 pm

DYI wrote:Did you ever read the story on the Darwin Awards site about the guy who was trying to weld on his roof, so he tried to weld the acetylene tank to his roof so it wouldn't fall off?

They never found a body...

That is rather funny. You know where one could find the story?
Edit: just read it, what a loser!

DYI · Sat Nov 24, 2007 8:01 pm

It's on the Darwin Awards site, I don't know what year though.