canned air, a warning

[VonMessa]

  Unplug those electrical devices when cleaning.  

  Since we are into diagrams here is a proper cleaning technique.

(Image removed from quote.)

Toilet bong?

[CAP1]

Water separator in LN2 lines?  

no...in air lines snappy.

[Slate]

Toilet bong?

  Believe it or not it is supposed to be a way to get oxygen if you're trapped in a fire so you don't inhale smoke.
  Where you get the hose from I don't know shower maybe? 
 

[Shuffler]

  Believe it or not it is supposed to be a way to get oxygen if you're trapped in a fire so you don't inhale smoke.
  Where you get the hose from I don't know shower maybe? 
 

Looks like a way to release flamable gases into your restoom.

[gyrene81]

  Believe it or not it is supposed to be a way to get oxygen if you're trapped in a fire so you don't inhale smoke.
  Where you get the hose from I don't know shower maybe? 

imagine living in a first floor apartment of a multi-story building and doing that...           

[Sol75]

In all seriousness, This was completely my lack of attention that caused this, however, there is one point I want to make.  aside from the fire itself, there was another way this could have dgone badly.. 

After doing some research, difluorethanemia, the "air" in some canned air is, highly flammable, as well as having another nasty quality... when it burns, it produces hydrogen fluoride, and carbon fluoride.

hydrogen fluoride, when exposed to water..such as the moisture in your lungs, forms hdrofuoric acid...which as you can imagine is NOT good for your lungs.  in addition, the carbonyl fluoride decomposes into what is basically phosgene..yes, like the chemical weapon...

had I not evacuated that room as rapidly as I did, the outcome could have been very bad..

my point is, while this was totally my fault, it was just a moment of inattention, which could have had fatal consequences.
PLEASE if you are using canned air, make sure it is a brand which  DOES NOT use difluorethane...there are a lot if other options out there...  remember, no matter what, accidents DO happen, and I do not want to see anyone injured by this stuff.

[CAP1]

In all seriousness, This was completely my lack of attention that caused this, however, there is one point I want to make.  aside from the fire itself, there was another way this could have dgone badly.. 

After doing some research, difluorethanemia, the "air" in some canned air is, highly flammable, as well as having another nasty quality... when it burns, it produces hydrogen fluoride, and carbon fluoride.

hydrogen fluoride, when exposed to water..such as the moisture in your lungs, forms hdrofuoric acid...which as you can imagine is NOT good for your lungs.  in addition, the carbonyl fluoride decomposes into what is basically phosgene..yes, like the chemical weapon...

had I not evacuated that room as rapidly as I did, the outcome could have been very bad..

my point is, while this was totally my fault, it was just a moment of inattention, which could have had fatal consequences.
PLEASE if you are using canned air, make sure it is a brand which  DOES NOT use difluorethane...there are a lot if other options out there...  remember, no matter what, accidents DO happen, and I do not want to see anyone injured by this stuff.

 are your lungs/throat still irritated?


 also...thank you for posting this. i always assumed that stuff was perfectly safe.

[VonMessa]

I always unplug and take it outside...

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I always unplug and take it outside...

I always carry the thing to the garage and give it a good spray with the good ole compressor

That trick about inhaling from the sewers airlock seems kinda fishy. The air in sewers is typically think with methane and other suer gases that not only smell bad but are harmful, perhaps harmful enough to make you lose consciousness.

[OOZ662]

Just as a somewhat late note here, it's always a good idea to lock the fans in place with string or a wiretie or what-have-you before firing high speed gasses at them. As fun as it is, to watch them spin up real fast and fling dust everywhere, electric motors turn into generators when turned. Saves your motherboard having to deal with the voltage (one assumes most have a diode in the way to make that moot, but who knows with some of the things rolling out of China) and reduces wear on the bearings.
Also, if you look behind the sticker on most computer fans, you'll find a small hole for putting a drop of oil in if they need it.

[Bizman]

I've been using canned air for over a decade without problems. The trick is to use nonflammable canned air for electronic devices. Alright, the price may be triple so go cheap if you like to fry your bacon...

[Motherland]

Funny... the least harmful 'duster gas' when burned is butane... but it's also by far the most flammable, to the point where it's not used anymore.
Difluoroethane is significantly less flammable but if it does burn it's obviously a lot more harmful.
Tetrafluoroethane, which is sometimes used, is almost completely non-flammable but is extremely harmful in a lot of other ways.