Nitromethane + Hydrazine = MADNESS!!!!

Resurrecting this thread from the dead... Anyove found any 20 liter drums of hydrazine left behind by old rodders lately? No?

How about some more stories, then?

 

Thanks for reviving this thread. It's a fun read!

 

Amen! And it's much safer to just be reading about it!

 

Awesome thread, crazy story about the bee and the Komet, AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE A PIC OF SOME GREEN FLAMES.

 

Lighting a fart produces a GREEN flame. Can't believe I missed this thread 'til now. DD

 

Why is it always the fun shit that kills you?

 

The laws of science are never convenient, and often hostile.

 

Don't click this link if you're the adventurous type.

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sial/215155?lang=en&region=US

 

I watched Rance McDaniel making the turn around (at Raisin City) behind the starting line (remember when the cars were push started from the big end) in I think it was The Berry Bros blown sbc fueler. There was a loud bang and the breather hoses to the puke tank kept the valve covers from leaving the area, the oil pan also left but the motor was still running till Rance shut it off. Rumor had it Hydrazine was to blame.
As for Patrick 2965 story about the one lobe being blown out of the motor, Its true. We had doped up our dirt car and when it let go, the cam got broken into three pieces, the rod punted that lobe out the hole in the block side and Ricky Utley found it during track clean-up Saurday AM.

 

You probably get put on the FBI list just for looking at that!

 

They've already got a file on me. I'm not too worried about adding ammo.

 

I'm bumping this thread to the top because it's just that awesome.

 

yep. Awesome!!

 

Pick up a copy of the book " WE were the Ramchargers" they speak quite candidly about running Hydrazine in both the funny car and the Top fuel dragster. They give some great insite into what was involved in useing it and the results they got from it. Possibly the best book I have ever read about drag racing in the 60s and 70s,

 

Can you say BOOM

 

I think I've heard of the chemical N2H4. JC

 

I'm sure glad to see this thread back. Some of the carnage and story's of running this stuff are just insane! I looked through my pile of old mags I've bought at swap meets and found my copy of CAR CRAFT January '67. On pg. 26 there's a story on this stuff called " HYDRAZINE this fool's fuel is liquid dynamite!" I haven't read it yet (Been too busy reading this thread) but it should make for some interesting reading sense I've heard all the stories about " The Greek" Unofficial breaking the 200 M.PH. Barrier.

 

I know its a old question but the answer is yes I have drag racing , and no I do not recommend it , you have to mix it in small quanities if the air is going to change as being ok in the morning might turn into engine block crucible in the afternoon when a weather front comes thru . and hard to read on plugs.

and the stuff requires special handling like Hydrazine ( kept cold and prefered nitrogen blanketed and no static )

I turned a $1000 set of pistons into $50 worth of scrap aluminum because of a temp drop and high pressure front moving thru ( but the car ran like gangbusters till it let loose . )

 

Read this thread for the first time this morning. Brought back some bad memories. Power plants have used a 35% hydrazine solution in water to scavenge oxygen from the steam generators. This minimizes corrosion of the inconel tubing. When I got out of Navy (nuc subs) in 71 and went to the civilian nucs, the 55 gal barrels of the stuff just had regular labels denoting what was inside. We pumped the stuff with rotaflex pumps (kneaded tygon tubing to move fluid) and sometimes you'd take a bath in it when the tubing failed. You'd go home smelling like dead fish. But in the 90s the barrels began to carry the skull and crossbones with the word "carcinogenic" on it and as a previous poster said, we went to totally closed outside vented transfer systems to add the hydrazine to the feed water. But unfortunately I know some old power plant chemists who ended up with some rare liver cancers attributed to hydrazine exposure in the plants. It is very bad stuff!

 

The actual use of it in an engine is as a producer of large quantities of nitrogen and hydrogen gases during the combustion forcing down the piston.

It was used in Germany in rocket powered planes in 44 and if the pilot landed the plane with any left in the fuel tank, the plane would often explode upon landing.

 

Here's a thumbnail of the cover I found if somebody has it and wants to scan the article.

 

Back in the late 60s Dick Loehr makes his burn out at Wichita International Raceway, a crewman pours a small container of hydrazine in the fuel tank and the flames instantly turn green in color. Dick staged his Mustang and when he hit the throttle it blew all of the glass out of the tower. Two friends and myself were setting in the first section of the bleachers and we along with many others were showered with broken glass. Fortunately there were no injuries. It was not long after that incident when hydrazine was banned.

McGurk

 

Hey guys I finally got myself a scanner ($10 bucks at Goodwill) and i scaned the article from my Jan. '67 copy of
CAR CRAFT magizine on "H". Enjoy.

 

BOOM.

 

BIG BOOM.

 

My mind is a little foggy but I remember working at a shop in the early '60s and we experimented with a fuel blend made up by a chemist friend of the owner. It was mostly Nitro and Benzene and some stuff called Butadiene(?), he referred to it as "Purple Panther Piss". Normal shutdown after a run is to pull the fuel shutoff lever and run the excess out of the system. After the car stopped we had to remove the Aluminum Moon tank and pour any leftover fuel out in the weeds. After a few runs the Moon tank dissolved and it got our attention. After that the 90% Nitro seemed normal and safe.

 

Sounds like the purple stuff could've been Nitropropane maybe?

 

Nitropropane is colorless, unless dye was added. It is soluble in gasoline which we found
advantages and use to buy from Don Francisco in the late 50's. Its not anymore of a hazard than any of the other "so called fuel solvent". Propylene oxide is another one that has misinformed reputation
(thanks NHRA). It acts as an initiator in small percentages. There would be a lot less dead cylinders in TF w/ PO. I handled it safely for 34 yrs buying a tank car monthly for use in an esterification process. On the other hand, Hydrazine and Nitrobenzene have a well earned hazardous reputation.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Drag racers have balls of steel. It always amazes me how they will experiment with new chemicals not having any idea what they are capable of and then stand right there by the engine holding the throttle and fire the thing up ! Columbus sailing to find if there was an edge of the earth to fall off of had nothing on these guys.

 

Theirs really not much in the article that hasn't already been posted but i've had it for a some time now and i remembered this thread and i finally got a scanner so i figured i'd scan it and add it to the thread.