<VV> magnesium fans

[D. Barry Ellison]

Really strange how some topics hit home at the right time.

I DO NOT ADVISE ATTEMPTING THE FOLLOWING !!!!

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!

A couple of years back I powder coated my fan red.  Some of it's cracked a 
little so I decided to take it all off and just paint it.  The easiest way 
I've found to remove powdercoating is with a propane torch.  I breaks it up 
enough that a light sandblasting takes it off easy.

After I touched the top of the fan with the torch and the first part started 
to smoke like usual, I said to myself, "Oh poopsky (only I didn't say 
poopsky, but the S word)  I'M PUTTING A FLAME TO MAGNESIUM!"  My eyes got 
big and I backed away.  Then I realized nothing happened.  So I tried it 
again, nothing spectacular happened.  I finished the entire fan w/o 
incident.

I'll try to find a cracked fan and run some tests to see how much it takes 
to ignite.  Should be fun to tape it and post it to YouTube.

Update: Got this from Wikipedia...Magnesium is a highly flammable metal, but 
while it is easy to ignite when powdered or shaved into thin strips, it is 
difficult to ignite in mass or bulk. ...Burning or molten magnesium metal 
reacts violently with water. Magnesium powder is an explosive hazard....The 
autoignition temperature of magnesium is approximately 744 K (473 °C, 883 
°F). ....

Also according to Wikipedia, propane burns at (1995 °C/3623 °F).   I guess 
it being in bulk saved me, plus that I didn't really hold it in one spot for 
any length of time.  Not pure enough maybe?

Your mileage may vary.

There, that should "fan the flame" on this topic.

Barry Ellison
65 Corsa 140/4 Black Coupe, soon to be running again, on jackstands awaiting 
parts
64 110 PG, on jack stands awaiting parts
61 Lakewood, on jack stands awaiting parts
65 Monza 140/4 Red/black top vert, under cover

>From: Geoffrey Johnson <geoffj at unm.edu>
>To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
>Subject: Re: <VV> magnesium fans
>Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 17:11:06 -0700
>
>My father caught one on fire, I am not sure exactly how.   Yeah, he had a 
>hell of a time putting it out.   Think he had to cover it with dirt and 
>stomp on it to starve out the fire.
>
>
>>>
>>>Subject: <VV> magnesium fans
>>>
>>>Has anyone, um, tossed one of these on a bonfire, just to see what would
>>>happen? Sort of like the vacuum cleaner blowups taken to the next level.
>>>I've seen magnesium burn, and it's rather intense. Not sure you can put 
>>>out
>>>a magnesium fire...
>>>Just wondering....
>>>
>>>harry yarnell
>>
>