Looking to save a buck I thought petrol is cheaper than paint thinners so why not? Also how would it go flushing out an airless sprayer?
Petrol Instead of Paint Thinners?
figarow on 08/10/2015 - 10:50
Comments
My nostrils are not airless
Tragic, but my mind went there as well.
Reminds me of the following:
When they asked one of the Gridiron players if he preferred AstroTurf or grass he said "I don't know I've never smoked AstroTurf"
What is an airless sprayer?
I think the Flash Point for petrol is dangerously lower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_point . If you read the directions for your Airless sprayer, it should have a limit for flash point for the solutions to be sprayed. (Mine does - I can't spray petrol)
The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporise to form an ignitable mixture in air.
Being an "airless" sprayer wouldn’t that negate this? Also it's not like it would be sprayed into the air where open flame or spark could be present but rather into a bucket. I think the main concern would be the fumes, good fast flowing ventilation would be paramount.
Good point I didn't think of that, even so is oil residue detrimental at all? Hope someone can answer this.
@Cheap Charlie: Saving heaps. If it was just a few paint brushes I wouldn’t care but cleaning out a commercial paint machine needs a lot of product. Petrol $1.80/ltr VS Thinner $5.45/ltr
Are you aware of how a carburetor, in an internal combustion engine, works??…well it turns petrol into a fine mist so that it ignites quicker and explodes with a greater force inside the cylinder.
If you transpose the use of an airless sprayer with the carburetor and the cylinder with the confined space of the room to be painted….sounds like you are trying for the most cheaply painted pile of ashes in the street….good luck!Sounds a bit like fuel injection to me. Petrol is pumped into the cylinder and pressure and is atomised. Same thing with paint sprayer, pumped at high pressure and atomised.
Just get the thinners, it won't have any additional stuff in it that will contaminate the system.
Yes your right, the combining of air (oxygen) would take place "after" spraying into the atmosphere of the volatile mix, thus producing a combustible vapour…unlike the closed circuit of an "internal" combustion engine….so you are making a somewhat less efficient combustion device
You seem like a fairly intelligent guy…if you try such a venture, check any possible sources of ignition, remove the Missus and the kids from the house, rip up your, no longer useful, house and contents insurance policy and say a little prayer before you start.I would only do it outside on my property where I can control everything. The fuel will be squirted inside a 20ltr bucket, being under pressure the nozzle can also be under the fuel as it fills up. I see this as little to no risk actually.
Your post I would consider unfortunate and be captioned with a little bit of knowledge..etc.. A thought may be OK….but a recommendation???!!!
When you're talking of explosive limits you are talking "petroleum ether"
and your only concern is the LEL…this is, of course, when the atmosphere has become hazardous. From then on out your in a lucky dip…..that's why we use "explosimeters", in explosive atmospheres which use LEL% to alarm.Because petrol is very volatile, at low temperatures an ether is formed quickly and considering the amount of confinement, a hazardous and combustible atmosphere MAY be formed, awaiting an ignition source such as a short from an airless sprayer, to ignite it.
Petroleum is not as incredibly flammable as most people believe.
Non empirically…..if you had seen, someone as I did, throw a paper cup of petrol on a barbecue and finish up with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, you might be more chastened by the explosive power of petrol!
"Outside", of course would be less hazardous….however, with any any admixture of fuel and paint, considering the drying volatiles, in the paint, there would still be "offgassing" and hence would create a possible immediate combustible hazard.
I look for cheap ways out myself….using, old vegie oil in chain saws…I used transmission oil in a jack hammer last week….better than nothing!…. but considering the possibility, slight as it may be, of something going wrong…why take the chance?
In the earlier post, I mentioned "insurance". You would know that insurance companies look for the slightest reason not to pay up and because fire services consider petroleum an "accelerant" and a class 1A combustible hazard..and you're not using the stuff as per ANY recommendation…what chance would you have?…..to save $10???
But, I've said my bit, if you go ahead, all the best.
There are serious health issues resulting from both sniffing petrol and paint thinners. Try computer duster for a safer high