The Las Vegas concert shooter had 10 one pound containers and two 20 pound containers of Tannerite along with ammonium nitrate in his vehicle. Can you imagine if he had gotten that stuff up to his room and detonated it as LEOs were breaching.

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Originally posted by stiab:
I have blown a lot of stuff up with TNT, C4, det cord, and other explosives, and am surprised tannerite is powerful enough to destroy beaver dams. But I have never used it and don't know much about it, thought it was just for making loud noises in safe places.

Tannerites are generally ammonium nitrate based, so they generate more gas (more "heave") than most military HE, which detonate faster and can cut or shatter metal more efficiently.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:

quote:

Originally posted by stiab:
I have blown a lot of stuff up with TNT, C4, det cord, and other explosives, and am surprised tannerite is powerful enough to destroy beaver dams. But I have never used it and don't know much about it, thought it was just for making loud noises in safe places.

Tannerites are generally ammonium nitrate based, so they generate more gas (more "heave") than most military HE, which detonate faster and can cut or shatter metal more efficiently.

I have played with Tannerite once but after using everything “stiab” listed (in very large quantities) it just does not have the same affect. I’ve seen ALCM’s, BLU-82’s, B-52 carpet bombing, every Mk series bomb, AGM65’s, propagation tests with 100k of explosives that were detonated etc. It’s hard to get excited when those are the standard.

Didn’t really know that about Tannerite, thanks for posting that info.

Tannerite is obviously not a high explosive like TNT, Dynamite, C4, etc. That doesn’t mean that it can’t produce significant results. There are many Internet videos that show its effects, including one that demolished an entire small building. Some people have been almost severely injured by things like car or refrigerator doors blown in their direction, and there is one report that a man lost a leg due to a piece of metal blown from a lawn mower(?). Without checking, I recall that the recommended offset distance is 100 yards for a pound of the material.

We have issues with problem beaver at our camp in MI, mostly plugging pipes. It’s rather annoying but not extreme. With a few of the high offenders I may take action at any time.

More likely, a relative waits until Oct 25th, trapping season. Prices have been weak in recent decades, especially with inflation factored it. He ships them to an auction co in Canada. This late Winter he topped out at $74 for a large, prime pelt. The average is down in the 20’s to $30, recently.

The meat is also useful, mostly bait for canine trapping, a few old timers still ask for a fresh one for the table. There was the buffalo, but think of all the historical activity over 100’s of years chasing the beaver. All jokes aside.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Tannerite is obviously not a high explosive like TNT, Dynamite, C4, etc. That doesn’t mean that it can’t produce significant results. There are many Internet videos that show its effects, including one that demolished an entire small building. Some people have been almost severely injured by things like car or refrigerator doors blown in their direction, and there is one report that a man lost a leg due to a piece of metal blown from a lawn mower(?). Without checking, I recall that the recommended offset distance is 100 yards for a pound of the material.

Actually tannerite is classified as a high explosive once mixed. It has very similar detonation velocity to the range of dynamites. It’s ammonium nitrate based and actually very effective for demolition of things like beaver dams, due to its high level of CO2 production which gives it such a great “heaving” effect as flesheatingvirus mentioned earlier. While it’s generally available to the public, it’s absolutely an effective explosive and should not be treated as a toy or novelty. Another interesting fact, once it’s mixed it is absolutely treated as a high explosive with respect to regulations which means it can’t be transferred to non licensee/permittees and also must be stored in an approved magazine. If one was to mix their tannerite before using it, transportation would potentially be a crime and improper storage would also be a federal misdemeanor.

CHEG is on it.

I'm still also surprised it can still be sold to the public. Granted, making it illegal does nothing to stop the ability of people to improvise such materials at home, but it seems more like an optics thing. Tannerite hasn't been banned only because someone hasn't yet done something big enough with it to make national news. Think of it like bump stocks. Most of the public had no idea until some asshole in Vegas...

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Originally posted by Lt CHEG:

Thanks.
I am ignorant about certain certain technical details.

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Originally posted by sigfreund:

Thanks.
I am ignorant about certain certain technical details.

You got the most important part 100% right - Tannerite and its analogs with different names should absolutely be treated with respect. It can easily, and has in actuality caused death and serious injury from its misuse. While fairly fun to use every once in a while, using large quantities or doing stupid things with it is absolutely an open invitation for something very bad to happen. Given the time of year, it’s probably worth repeating as I imagine there will be lots of loud celebrations of America’s 250th birthday this year.