Kozzy Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Was at the mega-farm-store yesterday and they had a large stack of nice looking fire rings at great pricing--all hot dip galvanized quite heavily. I've been pondering the notion of a bunch of 8 year olds crowed up close with hot dogs and marshmallows on their skewers while they snorked up that nice yellow-green zinc smoke of the first big fire. But....at the same time I was wondering just how much risk there really might be from such a thing. In reality, coals aren't all that hot without a good forced draft and the typical camp fire "hot spot" wouldn't be in direct contact with the galvanizing. Curious if you folks would consider a hot-dipped fire ring to be of little risk or a nightmare of a risk...or somewhere in between. I suspect the few people here who have experienced the horrors of zinc poisoning would definitely have adverse opinions of the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Interesting question. The key factor would have to be, does the fire get the ring hot enough to vaporize the galvy? The boiling point of zinc is about 1665°F, and while it's certainly possible for the center of a roaring campfire to get that hot, I'm not sure if the ring would get to that temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Fumes come off stuff before it reaches it's boiling temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 True, but at what temperature does this become a health issue? The central question is, do campfire temperatures put marshmallow toasters and hot dog roasters above the permissible exposure limit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen56 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 mate dont go close to gal items in any fire,why when theres un coated steel there,gal is evil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Found a couple of things around the thermal properties of zinc. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6105&context=masters_theses Quote Evaporation rates of liquid zinc were determined experimentally within the temperature range of 450° C to 575° C http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/ZincSafety.html Quote When zinc is raised to a high temperature (at or above its boiling point around 900C), it burns and forms zinc oxide smoke. Like any kind of smoke, zinc oxide will irritate the lungs, leading to difficulty breathing: This is not a dangerous situation and it clears up immediately when you move away from the source of the fumes. People exposed to high concentrations of zinc oxide over a prolonged period of time can also develop a condition known as the "zinc chills", "metal fume fever", "brass-founders ague", or a number of other colorful terms. This involves fever, tremors, and other unpleasant symptoms. Quote On the basis of these facts, I am absolutely convinced, as are a number of expert chemists, metallurgists, and foundry men I've consulted, that melting pure zinc or alloys containing zinc (but not any lead) that melt at or below about 450C, represents no health hazard from inhalation of zinc fumes. Yes, you can definitely burn yourself really badly if you spill it, but that is the extent of what you have to worry about. https://www.doctorfire.com/flametmp.html Quote Slightly above the base of the fire begins the continuous flame region. Here the temperatures are constant and are slightly below 900°C. Above the solid flame region is the intermittent flame region. Here the temperatures are continuously dropping as one moves up the plume. The visible flame tips correspond to a temperature of about 320°C. Finally, beyond the flame tips is the thermal plume region, where no more flames are visible and temperature continually drop with height. Quote In studying fires in a warehouse storage rack geometry, Ingason [9] found an average solid-flame temperature of 870°C. At the visible flame tips, the average temperature was 450°C, but the range was large, covering 300~600°C. Based on the above, i'd surmise an average open fire, even at the edges, has the potential to reach the zinc evaporation point, thus making it dangerous (although not fatal). I've read the first sentence on the Dunning-Kruger wikipedia page, so obviously i'm an expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I read one word in a book on Homeopathy and so have grasped the essence of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 In that case, perhaps you can help me I forgot my medicine today, so how much do I need to make now to ensure I don't overdose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 3 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I read one word in a book on Homeopathy and so have grasped the essence of it. I only read one letter of one word, so my understanding is even greater than yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Yes I don't usually break down words by letter when I read... And JAV: enough and not a bit more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 5 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I read one word in a book on Homeopathy and so have grasped the essence of it. lol I love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 I can't pronounce Homeopathy and haven't read anything about it, I'm acanemic. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 14 hours ago, JHCC said: I only read one letter of one word, so my understanding is even greater than yours. Love it! Workmate of mine likes really strong tea at smoko time. I like it less strong. He calls my tea 'homeopathic tea' - two parts per million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 We have friends at church that were originally from Cornwall, once we were discussing tea; my typical tipple not involving ethanol, and finally she said "you drink builders tea!"---too strong, too sweet and too much milk. Works for me...though now I have to use splenda to sweeten it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 18 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: too much milk That was before you knew that milk was no good for metal fume fever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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