this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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Also, ammonium nitrate + gasoline = bad day.
I know a farmer who lived to tell the tale. He had a bunch of empty sacks, and he had piled them up and was ready to burn them. He poured some gasoline on them so that the fire would start easily. Unfortunately, he didnโt know that one of the sacks contained a little bit of ammonium nitrate, which happily combined with the gasoline and fire. Next, the mixture exploded, throwing burning gasoline everywhere.
After he managed to put the fires out he was taken to the hospital. Today, he still has some nasty burn marks on his skin, but he survived.
You shouldn't use gasoline for anything else than your vehicle anyway.
If one must use liquid accelerants, kerosene or (gasp) charcoal lighting fluid are good choices because they don't turn into gas as readily or burn as quickly as gas. Again only of you must. Solid fire starters are more reliable and safe anyway.
I think he must have left a bit out. To make it explosive, typically it needs to be in a space that will allow it to compress when ignited. That can be a hole in the ground or a large quantity in that it will create its own compressive reaction. Also generally to set it off, you generally need a shock wave type of igniter. A small amount will simply burn.
Dynamite is same way. I worked with it quite often when younger. Old dynamite can begin to sweat and when like that, it is a bit unstable. Few times just burnt it to destroy it. Otherwise you would need to use a blasting cap to set it off. That was now expensive and might annoy neighbours if you do it above ground.