Concrete Explodes !!

Who doesn't love grilling after a day enjoying their motorcycles ??

I have some friends over to help me celebrate my 51st, and steaks are on the menu. There's beer, conversations, distractions . . . I light a "chimney" and burn "lump" charcoal (wood) rather than briquettes and lighter fluid. No chemicals !! There must have been alot of moisture in the dry looking concrete, or I let it pre-burn a bit too long,

and - BOOM !! a 10 inch circle an inch deep explodes with enough force to blow the screen out of the chimney, blowing hot coals and concrete bits everywhere !! Small fires in the yard, luckily nobody was closer than 30 feet. No real damage, except - how to patch and color match the concrete divot??

Hopefully this will add to our vast collection of knowledge and nobody else will blow up their driveway. Boating tomorrow, hoist a beer for me this weekend !!

 

Gosh, after an experience like that....be careful on a boat, who knows what fiberglass might do.........

 

It happened to us when I was a kid, my father made a small wood fire on a the concrete slab beside our wood shed.

I don't really remember what was the fire for, but I remember that the darn concrete slab blew up with a nice bang! Nobody was hurt and we learned an interesting lesson...

 

what a surprise that must have been! glad no one was hurt in that accident. yes, it is a little known fact that concrete has explosive potential when heated.

I too like the lump charcoal and chimney over the briquettes and lighter fluid. you can taste the difference. an old car wheel with some smartly placed scraps of square tubing as feet makes a nice elevated place to put a chimney over gravel or dirt.

my wife loves the smell of mesquite on me when I come in from tending the grill. if only I could make a cologne that matched that smell. I could make a mint!

CN

 

Yeh, you have to be careful nailing up pictures, too.

 

Birthday with a bang! Happy solar orbit!

 

Yeah, not fun that! It's not the moisture that caused it, but the minute air bubbles trapped within the concrete so I believe. It's why you can buy special fire bricks (and why said bricks are so heavy).

Glad nobody was hurt, but what did you have for dinner in the end? :? Happy Birthday!

 

The Ribeye steaks and brats were unharmed by the schrapnel.
That woulda REALLY hurt if I were standing right over it at the time.
I'm thinking steam was involved - it really sounded like a large firecracker.

Bayliner 175

 

nothing like adding more bang to your bite
glad to know nobody wz hurt though.....

 

We had a rep come out to a factory once to show us how well their Plasma cutter worked. He put a piece of metal on the floor and started cutting, was he surprised when the cement floor started going off like fireworks. I told him to put something under it to get it further off the floor as the slag was still too hot when it hit the cement!

 

I had rocks explode in a campfire while camping one night, that was memorable.

 

Whoah ... that's crazy! Who woulda thought? That's one to store away for future reference. Glad no one was hurt!
Joe

 

Sorry I forgot - happy birthday!

 

TIMEtoRIDE, are you going to the Leesburg Bikefest tomorrow? I'm joining my Cafe-moto MC which will be heading out of Orlando tomorrow. I'm coming from the west and will hook up with them on the way. Quote: "We have been invited to pay tribute to all things vintage and cafe racer. We will have a small ride through main street and end up in rats hole parking lot show area. Hot Rods, live music pin ups etc..." I plan on staying for the Pin up contest, then head back home before my wife's designated curfew takes effect. Probably will stay at least until 3:00 PM. Gotta be safer than barbecuing, right?