So, theoretically, of course, could someone take a hit off their N02 bottle and get a wicked buzz?

I mean, it's the same thing as a whip-it, right? (Which, by the way, is perfectly legal)

IanS

 

well, the stuff you feed your car is slightly different that what they feed you when theyre gonna cut you up. they put sulfur in there to keep people from getting high off a tank of n2o for fun. iirc, it can kill ya.

eric

 

N02 = nitrogen dioxide, which you don't want to be breathing in too often.

 

It's actually called Nitrous Oxide.

I remember back in my partying days people would steal the stuff from dentists office, and then bring it to Raves. People got all silly on it.

IanS

 

That would be N20.

 

AHHH you beat be to it.

 

I've been told if you stick a nitrous bottle in your cabin (or if you have a hatchback), you have to have a blow down tube to vent the nitrous if it leaks from the bottle so you don't poison everyone in the car. I'm sure that means it's not safe to inhale.

 

The blow down or 'vent' tube is for when the bottle vents from too much pressure. If you don't have that tube the bottle will just vent indside the car. It really has nothign to do with leaky fittings.

If a non tubed bottle vents inside you car I promise you the 100ppm Sulfur Dioxide will be the last thing on your mind.

 

yes .. but its One Part Nitrogen and Two Parts Oxygen which is Nitrogen Dioxide..

which is what our athmosphere is made up of so why not sniff it

 

Ahh, this takes me back to the high school days where me and a friend found a random canister that could have been N20 or CO2 from the previous few days' activities...we pondered loading it up in ye ole balloon but decided the possible negative consequences weighed in a little too heavy...

And yea, automotive N20 isn't really fit for human inhilation with the sulfur additive, or so I thought. If you really wanted to, just go buy some canisters

 

Ahh sooo. Either way, it's not safe.

But remember in "Black Sheep", they get wasted on the leaking N2O and they seem fine afterwards.

 

Hmm, if it's N20 and Sulfur... wouldn't that make it something like NSO or something? (sorry, forgot my chem)

Additionally, the Sulfur is primarily there to deter substance abuse. There's no added performance gain for adding it in. Which makes me wonder if medical N20 would also work for this application.

 

I think the sulfur is really there so that you can smell it when it leaks. They do the same thing with natural gas lines.

And yes, I forgot my basic chemistry. It is Nitrous Dioxide.

IanS

 

Actually, in the instructions that come with the nitrous kits, they say it's added in to prevent abuse. I think it says it on the bottle too...

 

Nitrous Dioxide would be N2O2...NO2 would be Nitrogen Dioxide, and N2O is Nitrous Oxide. Actually, NO2 is the nitrite ion, which is like a nitrous acid combined with a base I think.

 

Yes medical grade is the exact same stuff minus the <100ppm Sulfer Dioxide. It does work just fine.

 

We have a winner!!! that is absolutely correct.

Yes, medical grade nitrous works perfectly fine in automotive applications and it's very much cheaper to buy. The catch is you have to be a licensed doctor to get your hands on it (legally).

BTW, the sulfur is added for the purpose of deterring substance abuse only.

 

n2o does not burn on its own...it is a catalyst, and thats it. its a stable oxygen compound. id be more worried about the sulfur than anything else.

eric