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Is carrying compressed gas around and more or less dangerous than carrying high explosives, and propellant around?

Originally Posted by incendiarycutlery

Is carrying compressed gas around and more or less dangerous than carrying high explosives, and propellant around?

Speaking theoretically as a scientist:

PE4 can burn quietly and won't go off if shot. A worry of people carrying explosives is the detonators going off, but then again those are tiny targets and no one carries blocks of PE4 with the detonators inserted on a long term basis.

HE weapons (e.g. 40mm grenades, hand grenades, M72, Javelin) typically have an arming system on firing them but that can be bypassed by a bullet to the primer directly - again an unlucky circumstance. The pellet of primary explosive is probably no bigger than a kernel of corn.

If you shoot a live round it may go off (in a rubbish way, since the casing is broken and the bullet won't have the distance of a barrel to accelerate through) but even then it is only one going off.

A gas canister would burst and vent high pressure gases if shot. What happens next depends on a number of factors. The worst case scenario is a fuel - air explosion, but it is tricky to manage with propane with its 2 - 10% flammability limits. Basically the volume immediately around the ruptured cylinder would be fuel rich, hence no explosion. (NB: Acetylene is much more fun for FAEs 3-82% heh heh)

Acetylene Explosion - YouTube

I was thinking that you were suggesting that they couldn't be trusted with compressed gas.

If we are only concerned about being shot in the thing, then perhaps rocket motors and phosphorus would raise greater concerns.
Maybe it might be an issue inside an armoured vehicle, or aircraft, but how different to carrying around the regular gas canisters for Jetboil or similar systems?

Originally Posted by incendiarycutlery

I was thinking that you were suggesting that they couldn't be trusted with compressed gas.

If we are only concerned about being shot in the thing, then perhaps rocket motors and phosphorus would raise greater concerns.
Maybe it might be an issue inside an armoured vehicle, or aircraft, but how different to carrying around the regular gas canisters for Jetboil or similar systems?

I don't know. I don't deal with procurement and am not a soldier.

Research proposals I submitted to DSTL that had compressed gas canisters (one even inert ones) were torn apart because of this aspect.

Originally Posted by IndependentBoffin

Speaking theoretically as a scientist:

PE4 can burn quietly and won't go off if shot. A worry of people carrying explosives is the detonators going off, but then again those are tiny targets and no one carries blocks of PE4 with the detonators inserted on a long term basis.

..Oh Yeah? - Check the pile of "denial charges" (1/2 barmine +PE + 6" Safety fuze + L1 Det + pull ignigter) rolling around in the back of a WIMIC I confiscated a couple of years ago.. never underestimate the stupidity of unsupervised children with fireworks..!

HE weapons (e.g. 40mm grenades, hand grenades, M72, Javelin) typically have an arming system on firing them but that can be bypassed by a bullet to the primer directly - again an unlucky circumstance. The pellet of primary explosive is probably no bigger than a kernel of corn.

If the kit is properly designed and checked by DOSG, this should not happen. This is why detonators have to be physically separated from the initiation chain if they are not impact safe. Newer weapons like the JAv have (apparantly) intrinsically safe dets that do not go off on fragment impact.

If you shoot a live round it may go off (in a rubbish way, since the casing is broken and the bullet won't have the distance of a barrel to accelerate through) but even then it is only one going off.

If it is HD 1.4 the round should not propagate an explosion in the other rounds. Not always the case! - check the label! Some high calibre SAA is 1.3!

A gas canister would burst and vent high pressure gases if shot. What happens next depends on a number of factors. The worst case scenario is a fuel - air explosion, but it is tricky to manage with propane with its 2 - 10% flammability limits. Basically the volume immediately around the ruptured cylinder would be fuel rich, hence no explosion. (NB: Acetylene is much more fun for FAEs 3-82% heh heh)

Acetylene Explosion - YouTube

The bottom line is that compressed, inflammable gas is a real problem in an enclosed space, particularly if the space is occupied by humans or vital equipment (such as you might find on an aircraft!).


The risk to an individual in a basha is probably ok, and frankly if his Jetboil takes an incoming round, then he is probably not having a nice day anyway..

The danger is getting the gas to the end user. Ok if you can pay a jingly to deliver it to the FOB, however moving thin cased LPG cans through service transport channels, which usually involves an aircraft or stuffing the items into a mixed load in a container, is a complete show stopper! It only requires one can to get punctured by a sharp edge to fill a shipping container or an aircraft cargo bay with a potentially explosive mixture.

So.. Jetboils etc are great for invading Otterburn, Suffield and other battle zones where combat oriented retail outlets are available to supply canned gas on an opportunity basis.. You cannot however rely on them - Hexy is boring, dirty and only marginally effective, however it is compact and safe to transport and supply and will brew tea in any military scenario..

Originally Posted by HE117

The bottom line is that compressed, inflammable gas is a real problem in an enclosed space, particularly if the space is occupied by humans or vital equipment (such as you might find on an aircraft!).


The risk to an individual in a basha is probably ok, and frankly if his Jetboil takes an incoming round, then he is probably not having a nice day anyway..

The danger is getting the gas to the end user. Ok if you can pay a jingly to deliver it to the FOB, however moving thin cased LPG cans through service transport channels, which usually involves an aircraft or stuffing the items into a mixed load in a container, is a complete show stopper! It only requires one can to get punctured by a sharp edge to fill a shipping container or an aircraft cargo bay with a potentially explosive mixture.

So.. Jetboils etc are great for invading Otterburn, Suffield and other battle zones where combat oriented retail outlets are available to supply canned gas on an opportunity basis.. You cannot however rely on them - Hexy is boring, dirty and only marginally effective, however it is compact and safe to transport and supply and will brew tea in any military scenario..

Thanks for the education! Posts like this are gems.

Or you could go down this route, looks like it works the same as the MRE heaters.

Flameless Cook by Trekmates