Ahhh. Spring has sprung. The trees have all blossomed and turned to
leaves. And the gophers are out.

I tried my new device today, and it has some failings I'd like to ask your
opinion of.

I have O2 and propane. Then flashback arrestors. Then through a common T
hose. Then there's a coupling where both gases go through the same line and
down into the hole through a weed burner with a close off valve. The
igniter is at the end of the line.

I seem not to be getting good gas mixing. It appears to me that if I have
the O2 pressure over the propane pressure that the propane does not flow.
Could this be something in the OPD that senses this and cuts it off?

I have alternated putting O2 and propane in the hole, then hitting the
igniter. So far, I had four good blasts. Two were low volume thumps that I
read were a sign you were getting into the deep tunnels. Two of them were
what I would call very close to the report of a .357 Magnum pistol with a
short barrel.

I'm thinking of rethinking this. Using a torch mixing body, then a long
single flexible hose with the igniter in the bottom. All I need for an
igniter is two wires that run up to a stun gun. I'm also going to add
another pair of flashback arrestors and a 90 master valve. Also making the
stun gun box moveable so you don't have to stand in front of the tunnel.
Duh.

I did learn that the five foot long stiff weed burner head ain't gonna get
it, as I need the flex to get into tunnels without digging a big hole.

But for right now, it appears the gas just isn't mixing right for some
reason. I believe the pressure on the oxygen is pushing back on the
propane, possibly even closing the flashback arrestor, or activating
something in the OPD device of the tank.

I was turning the gas and O2 off between every spark, and apparently did
things right enough to write this. I still want more arrestors and safety
layers.

And this is going to make an awesome Fourth of July and New Years Eve
noisemaker. Ten foot of eight inch pipe ought to do it.

What do you think?

Steve

SteveB wrote:

Ahhh. Spring has sprung. The trees have all blossomed and turned to
leaves. And the gophers are out.

I tried my new device today, and it has some failings I'd like to ask
your opinion of.

I have O2 and propane. Then flashback arrestors. Then through a common
T hose. Then there's a coupling where both gases go through the same
line and down into the hole through a weed burner with a close off valve.
The igniter is at the end of the line.

I seem not to be getting good gas mixing. It appears to me that if I
have the O2 pressure over the propane pressure that the propane does not
flow. Could this be something in the OPD that senses this and cuts it
off?

I have alternated putting O2 and propane in the hole, then hitting the
igniter. So far, I had four good blasts. Two were low volume thumps
that I read were a sign you were getting into the deep tunnels. Two of
them were what I would call very close to the report of a .357 Magnum
pistol with a short barrel.

I'm thinking of rethinking this. Using a torch mixing body, then a long
single flexible hose with the igniter in the bottom. All I need for an
igniter is two wires that run up to a stun gun. I'm also going to add
another pair of flashback arrestors and a 90 master valve. Also making
the stun gun box moveable so you don't have to stand in front of the
tunnel. Duh.

I did learn that the five foot long stiff weed burner head ain't gonna
get it, as I need the flex to get into tunnels without digging a big
hole.

But for right now, it appears the gas just isn't mixing right for some
reason. I believe the pressure on the oxygen is pushing back on the
propane, possibly even closing the flashback arrestor, or activating
something in the OPD device of the tank.

I was turning the gas and O2 off between every spark, and apparently did
things right enough to write this. I still want more arrestors and
safety layers.

And this is going to make an awesome Fourth of July and New Years Eve
noisemaker. Ten foot of eight inch pipe ought to do it.

What do you think?

Steve

Are these really gophers, or just moles?

Grant

I can't help with your mixing issue, but I have to say, if I were
going to be intentionally detonating gas, I'd sure rig up a set of
quick connects or something so I could completely disconnect the hoses
first rather than relying on arrestors. Just a thought...