View Full Version : Detonator transport/storage box
mark
August 23rd, 2002, 04:34 PM
Hello all. Ive been looking for a way to safley transport a detennator or two safley to a friends house, and I think I've found the perfect carying case. Its made of polymer and foam lined. Its airtight, waterproof, and has a decompresion valve(useles?) Do you guys think this would be a safe way to cary a few AP caps, or is just a faom lined grenade waiting to happen? Will the foam help lessen blast pressure should a cap acidently go off? Thanks.
<a href="http://www.casesbypelican.com/pelican-cases-sizes.htm" target="_blank">http://www.casesbypelican.com/pelican-cases-sizes.htm</a>
p.s. Im sorry if this was the wrong section to post this in, but I wasnt sure which section this fits into.
zaibatsu
August 23rd, 2002, 05:11 PM
Well, if you want to buy a case I guess those look fine, but if I was you, I'd just make one. Just make a normal hinged box out of something like plywood, then insert a rectangle of plywood with holes drilled through that the detonators can fit through, so its similar to a test tube rack. Then you can fill with TP padding or whatever. It'd be cheaper than buying one. Maybe you could just fill the plywood box with plaster of paris, using a mold to allow the detonators to be slid in. This might have an effect similar to the one that NBK mentioned (compressed pumice) so the AP would use most of its energy blasting the plaster to dust, leaving very little shrapnel. But really anything will work, as long as it stops the dets. being subjected to sharp knocks.
0EZ0
August 23rd, 2002, 09:51 PM
I have often pondered the transport of completed detonators. But unless a transport case is tested to see how well it could take a blast, then i would not use such a thing.
I do remeber that thread on a transport box lined with pumice (That floating volcanic rock). It sounded like a great idea. Maybe one could incorporate the same idea with a bought case?
PYRO500
August 23rd, 2002, 10:50 PM
Remember now, the pumice/epoxy resin box is designed to isolate the explosion from setting off other HE's meaning you may have a detonator blow around tons of pumice buyt you'll leave all the rest untouched, unless you use a sensitive primary such as AP.
Magas
September 1st, 2002, 12:19 PM
I commercially transport my detonators both plain & electric in a 50cal metal ammo box that is lined with plywood and painted red with det stickers. Meets all the explosive legislation for dangerous goods transport, is water & dust proof and lockable. And Cheap from any surplus store.
Microtek
September 1st, 2002, 01:07 PM
Well for one thing, I would use a modular detonator design, meaning that a small pellet of primary ( 0.05-0.1 g ) would be carried separate from the base charge.
Secondly, I would use a carrying case that was much larger than the dets.
Thirdly, I would make sure that only the sides of the case that was facing me was strong ( steel or aluminium ); the rest should be thin plywood. This way, any fragments would be directed away from myself.
nbk2000
September 1st, 2002, 03:17 PM
You can get pumice very cheaply. Just fill the container with the appropriate sized pumice chunks, then use expanding foam sealant (Great-Stuf) to lock it in place.
A breicase is ready made for carrying. Make a hole almost the size of the lid, and cover with cardboard. The bottom has a few mm thick steel plate. The body is filled with foamed pumice, and slots cut into it for your dets to fit into.
matjaz
January 10th, 2004, 08:04 PM
To just carry a detonator or two somewhere, this might be a cheap and safe way:
For $2 I bought a few pieces of 1/2" water pipe fittings and two "radiator" type endcaps all of which could be screwed together into a handy carry case for blasting caps. I drilled a 2.5mm (0.1") gas vent hole (the black dot on the piece in front of the pen in the left photo). The whole thing weighs 250g.
I just dreamt of testing it:
The test charge was 1g of AP, pressed into an Al capacitor can and ignited electrically through the venting hole. As you can see, the detonator nearly pulverized its tube, but the piping survived extremely well. Only the flat endcap closer to the detonation point developed a slight curvature. The waterpipe endcaps should probably be used - they are much thicker than the radiator ones.
Not only the piping contained all the schrapnel, it also silenced the bang to a pathetic "bwufff", which is quite an issue when something explodes in your backpack.
vulture
January 10th, 2004, 08:36 PM
I can't see a picture.
And frankly, a detonator in a metal pipe with screwed endcaps? :eek:
Anyone else hear the word "pipebomb"?
matjaz
January 11th, 2004, 06:14 AM
The picture was waiting in some e-purgatory for the moderator to approve it, I guess... :) It's visible now.
It's a matter of quantities. 1ccm charge inside a 25ccm pipe isn't the same as a pipe filled with explosive. For adiabatic expansion of production gasses, 25x increase in volume means over 50x reduction in pressure. And the pipe walls are 3mm steel.
Well, it's not theory alone. The pipe is intact. No cracks, not even a slight increase in diameter.
knowledgehungry
January 11th, 2004, 10:03 AM
I use an ammunition tin filled with sand, it's heavy but no way in hell am I going to be injured by something going off in that. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if it would detonate and I not notice it.
Skean Dhu
January 11th, 2004, 12:48 PM
wouldn't the sand be too dense and thuse transfer the shockwave very nicely potentially setting off other dets held inside? not to mention transfer it into you . I think you'd be better off using pumice, and " Great-stuff" as NBK suggested. and then put a block of polyurethane foam inside and carve Det sized slots into it to hold them
knowledgehungry
January 12th, 2004, 08:28 PM
I have set off many charges purposefully inside the sand box thing, bigger charges than a det. I know pumice is most likely better but sand makes it sound proof too.
pyr0_mike_4
January 29th, 2004, 11:51 PM
I've also noticed a whole lot of force dampening abilities of sand. Try it sometime, bury a det about 6 inches down in the sand. it definitely wouldnt be the best method, as you would need something the size of a coffee can for a single det, but it gets the job done.
Ropik
March 29th, 2004, 06:30 AM
In ma opinion the best detonator case is tin from machine gun ammunition with polystyrene liner.
Cyclo_Knight
March 30th, 2004, 01:43 AM
I use an old plastic briefcase 20" x 16" x 5" lined with plywood and filled with 1/4" chunks of crushed pumice. I also rienforced the side facing me(fuze side) and the top handle sidewith 3 mm aluminum sheeting to deflect the shockwave. I used liquid-foam to seal the pumice after I placed rods of different sizes to accomidate different sized dets.
It will carry 9 dets of any size, and will never transmit an accidental discharge to another det. I have tried with AP dets up to about number 12, and never had a sympathetic discharge of any other caps.
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