Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Amazing Reactions With Calcium Hypochlorite Pool Chlorine

EliasExperiments - 2-11-2020 at 03:08

You can see in this Video some amazing reactions that you probably shouldn't do with calcium hypochlorite pool chlorine:

https://youtu.be/Q3tmDDQD_NQ

Does anybody have any other suggestions for amazing experiments you can do with calcium hypochlorite? Or what was your favorite experiment?

symboom - 2-11-2020 at 06:10

There are some reactions I did not expect to auto ignite like sugar or glycerine with calcium hypochlorite.

[Edited on 2-11-2020 by symboom]

xonu - 2-11-2020 at 06:52

Wow, never thought something OTC could be such a strong oxidizer! I was already considering buying some for making chlorine, but this might've cemented my purchase of it. As for suggestions, you could mix a small amount TCCA (another kind of pool chlorine) with ammonia solution, to make a compound that's similar to a stronger version of touch powder, but be careful since its VERY EASY to set off.

EliasExperiments - 2-11-2020 at 09:06

@symboom I am glad I could show you something new. I also learned that while making the video. :D Chemistry for me is always trying a lot of stuff that I can't find anywhere else.

@xonu Well I didn't think it was so awesome either, that's why I made a video about it. But it is also very dangerous cause it can easily auto ignite without intending it, which happenend to me.


monolithic - 2-11-2020 at 10:09

Wow, that is an impressive flame. Nice video. :D

Morgan - 2-11-2020 at 11:02

A long time ago when I was 12 after testing sulfur with calcium hypochlorite I discovered it would self-ignite by accident. Back then I think it was 75% but now if I recall hypochlorite is mostly sold as 65%. Anyway I had combined some and found if sprinkled with water it would ignite with a colorful flame but still unware that it could catch fire without water. I had a few tablespoons mixed up in a fat stubby white plastic sublime sulfur bottle bought at the pharmacy. Later I went to show my older adult brother and just as he unscrewed the lid and tilted the bottle to glance at the powder in the jar I handed him, it went off in a poof, consumed in a second. It was intimately mixed and my brother got a few specks on his glasses and forehead which burned his skin. He remarked sarcastically "very funny" compelling me to explain I didn't know that would happen. Imagine the startling coincidence of that scenario. I just had told tell him I made this powder that ignites when wet.
So not learning my lesson just yet it occurred to me like cutout rolls of toy cap gun caps and bbs wrapped in tissue and then stretched tight black electrical tape, where you could sometimes just drop them a few feet off the ground and they would go off I did the same with the sulfur and pool chlorine. You could feel the mixture heat up when compressed by the black tape. I hurriedly rushed to throw them once made into a water puddle. But one time I wasn't fast enough and it exploded in my hand burning a nice patch of skin on the side of my ring finger.
Also I've wondered why pool chlorine when mixed with Cox glow fuel, if I recall from childhood, it turned a pretty orange color when saturated with the fuel and then bursts into flames.

""Nitromethane, either alone or in a mixture with methanol and castor oil, has a delayed but violent reaction with powdered calcium hypochlorite."
https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/1222

Has anyone tried NH4NO3 with hypochlorite? I used to mix a pound or so of each in a large can and listen to it snap, crackle and pop like little firecrackers or rapid fire machine guns, but never catching fire or igniting.

It's probably a good idea to avoid breathing any smoke formed from these reactions or taking any seen or unforeseen chances like I did.

[Edited on 2-11-2020 by Morgan]

EliasExperiments - 2-11-2020 at 11:49

@monolithic Thank you! Glad you liked it. :-)

@Morgan Those are some really amazing stories. I wish someone would have recorded that fail with your brother. That would have to be one of the most amazing videos ever. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Maybe I need to make another video on that topic, trying to reproduce some of that...

MidLifeChemist - 2-11-2020 at 13:03

Elias, this video is excellent. Thanks for showing all of those reactions. I never realized that hypochlorite was such a powerful oxidizer. Looking forward to more videos.

Do you own a large property? You are lucky to have space and privacy to do these experiments! please stay safe. I was worried about you when you were putting the caps on those 5 large bottles that eventually exploded.

EliasExperiments - 3-11-2020 at 09:55

@MidLifeChemist Thank you, I love to hear that. I was doing the experiments in my mothers backyard and I am very fortunate that she allows me to continue doing it. There is a huge vineyard right behind the garden where I can safely perform explosions without hurting anyone.
When I did the experiment with the five bottles I timed before how long it takes until these things go off. And I still had like half a minute to run after I screwed on all the caps. So it was all nice and safe. Also these things anounce themselves pretty clearly before going off and even in the worst case, if it did go off in my face, I don't think that would hurt too bad with a plastic bottle. If that would have been a high explosive about to detonate, I certainly wouldn't have done it that way.
But thank you for your best wishes, more videos are on the way. ;-)