I have been following some of the threads on Nitrous and I thought
I would put in my $0.02. Nitrous is a gas that is stored in
bottles as a liquid under its own pressure of about 750 psig. It
boils at room pressure at -88F. It is an axphiant, anesthetic
and a strong oxidizer.
>From a safety viewpoint I would not put the nitrous bottle in the
cab or under the hood. In the cab a leak could prove fatal. A small
leak could cause some poor judgment. (50% more horsepower could
also effect your judgment.) A large leak could displace the air
in the cab and render you unconsious. OSHA only allows long term
exposure of 50ppm. If you get liquid nitrous on you it will cause
frostbite since it boils at -88F. If that is not enough, any
spark or flame (like a cigarett) will cause a large fire. DOT
regulations require compressed gas cylinders to travel in a
compartment seperate from the passenger compartment.
The under the hood is also not a good place. As the liquid heats
up the pressure rises. The increased pressure could cause the
safety disk to go, which would discharge the entire bottle under
the hood. This could cause a massive fire.
IMHO, the only safe place for the "Juice" is in the bed.
There has been several discussions on 2#, 5# and 10# bottles and
how much use you can get out of each one. There will be a little
cooling effect as liquid is drained from the bottle. As the
bottle cools it will drop in pressure, thus lowering the flow. The
pressure will recover when the bottle warms up again. Smaller
bottles have more surface area for their volume so they would warm
up quicker.
The following is from the British Oxygen Corp. (BOC) web site
(www.boc.com). It is an overview of nitrous applications. The web
site also has an MSDS for nitrous, which is interesting.
>From BOC:
Nitrous Oxide is a non-toxic, colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish taste and odor.
It is soluble in water (1.3 liters of gas in one liter of water at 0oC) and even more so
in organic solvents such as alcohol and oils.
In the eighteenth century, nitrous oxide was known as 'laughing gas' and used as an
intoxicant at parties, supplied in leather bags. The laughter inducing properties were
probably due to contaminants.
Nitrous oxide was also known to have an anesthetic effect from the late eighteenth century,
but it was only put to medical use after 1844. As an anesthetic it is relatively weak and
is used as base anesthetic supplemented by other agents.
It is used extensively as an analgesic and also in cryosurgery.
Key Properties
Nitrous oxide is a weak anesthetic, it vigorously accelerates combustion and is
soluble in water.
Applications:
-Instrument grade nitrous oxide is used a combustion support gas (an oxidant) in atomic
absorption spectrophotometry
-As a base anesthetic generally supplemented by other agents.
-Cryosurgery
-Propellant for aerosol products such as whipped cream, cosmetics, shaving cream and some insect sprays
-Exceptionally, as an engine boosting fuel for 'dragsters', where special safety
precautions are essential.
Drive Safe,
Joe Dille
Telford PA USA
(joe@dille.montgomery.pa.us)
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