I made this video to present to someone interested in changing the color of a campfire. Because there isn't any videos similar to this already on Youtube, I decided to publicly uploaded so any can change the color of their campfire.
Things you'll need:
-3/16ths sized drill bit
-a copper pipe about an inch wide and a foot long.
-some gardening hose about a foot long.
-a metal coat hanger
-a marker
-a drill
-safety glasses.
-a vice to hold your pipe( optional)
-a pair of pliers to help bend the metal (optional)
Steps:
-Mark alongside your pipe every 2 inches.
-Rotate your pipe 90 degrees and mark every other inch.
-Drill holes all the way through the pipe from where each of the marks are at.
-Use a drill bit to scrap out the sharp edges.
-Bend the coat hanger and put it through the top holes of the pipe, create a small handle.
-(Optional) Shrink the end of the pipe down with some pliers so that the garden hose doesn't fall out.
-Insert the garden hose and place inside the fire.
I apologize for the camera shake. The 50mm f/1.4 lens would be great if it had IS. More regularly reoccurring videos to come of visual effects, tutorials and more.
DISCLAIMER:
There is a lot of speculation about this being toxic when burned and some people have even claimed that you can get cancer from this. I doubt there's even enough evidence to backup the cancer claim, but besides the point, there are toxins that may be released when burned.
CHEMICALLY WHATS GOING ON:
Copper by itself doesn't give off any toxins but when you burn the garden hose you are burning a type of plastic pending on your type of garden hose. Garden hose is likely polyvinyl chloride. It contains a high concentration of dioctyl phthalte plasticizer. The hose likely contains fiber glass or other roving, heavy metal additives, and other plastics to create the finished article. The hose is placed in a copper pipe and placed in the fire. As PVC is heated it begins to smoke above 100 C. At 200 C loss of hydrochloric acid begins and loss accelerates up to 300 C where PVC quantitatively loses hydrochloric acid (HCl). When HCl is gone the polymer is left as a chain of double bonds (unsaturated). PVC contains 56.7% chlorine indicating that a significant amount of HCl can be produced.There are two paths for the PVC residue after HCL loss. If oxygen is present and sufficient, combustion will proceed. The products of combustion are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water depending upon a variety of factors. If oxygen is not present or in low concentration thermal decomposition proceeds. The products of thermal decomposition are HCL, benzene, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and a variety of minor components. Thermal decomposition proceeds to completion above 400 C. Is the process safe? There is a level of toxicity which will produce lung and membrane irritation and interfere with breathing with too much exposure.
RECOMMENDATION:
A little exposure to this won't hurt you, however too much exposure could be bad for you. I wouldn't be burning one of these every weekend but maybe once in a blue moon. I've also read that if your fire burns hot enough you don't get as much smoke. The trick is to only put the copper and garden hose in a HOT fire, not one just starting to burn. Less smoke = less toxins to inhale. Last but not least DO NOT COOK on a fire with this inside !!! The fumes can leave toxins on food which is more harmful digesting that it is inhaling.
