carmody training kit

[jmahon]

I have recently acquired a "carmody combustible hazards training kit". It was left at the station and has no instructions, contents list etc. If anyone can help with where to get parts/contents and instructions I would be very greatful, as it looks like a great demonstration, and a lot of fun.

[resqtek]

I used to teach industrial firefighting and used a Carmody kit for the fire chemistry section. They are great! I would love to get my hands on one of those kits. I was trying to find info for them on the web but had little success. If you tell what you do have, I can help you figure out what to do with it and possibly let you know what else you may need. I will make a call and see if the company I used to work for has instructions or contact info for parts, etc.

[jmahon]

Like you I have also been unable to find any detail on the net. The kit that I have seems to be complete as there are no obviously empty spaces.as I'm not at the station I will try from memory
# power supply unit with three outlets
# Stand with a steel "combustion chamber"
# Steel combustion chamber with a spark plug style icnition point
# 3 fuel cans, kerosene, gasolene & waste.
# illuminated chain reaction sign
# 3 "ignition sources" light bulb, resistor coil, etc.
# a bottle of "ABC powder"
# assorted glassware, tubes & dripper arrangement.
# a bottle of Glyserene.
# gauze sheets
# a brass plate sandwiched between perspex sheets.

As I am in Australia the power supply converts from 250 volts to 110 volts.
As i said I've done this from memory but everything seems to be there. Any help you can give will be nuch appreciated

Regards jmahon

[stillPSFB]

Where abouts in Oz?

[jmahon]

Alpha if you have ever heard of it,
Approximately 2 hours west of rockhampton in Qld.

[stillPSFB]

Originally posted by jmahon
Alpha if you have ever heard of it,

I did at school, along with his mates Beta, Gamma and Phi

Approximately 2 hours west of rockhampton in Qld. [/QUOTE]
Unfortunately no I'd never heard of it, but I don't know a lot about inland Queensland apart from Longreach

[resqtek]

It's been about 5 years so I'll try my best to remember.

We had a container of potassium permangenate powder. A small amount was ground up and placed on a metal plate. Make a small crater in the top of the powder and add about 2-3 drops of the glycerin. A chemical reaction will occur within about 10 seconds resulting in boiling and then an intense flame about 10 cm in height.

There was also a combustion chamber with a spout coming off the side near the bottom. This was attached to the stand and a rag was moistened with gasoline and placed in the chamber. A hard plastic tube which was cut in half lengthwise to make a trough was attached to the spout and an ignition source was placed at the bottom of the spout. I would caution against using an opem flame ignition source as one of our instructors placed the flame too close to the trough and melted the plastic. Also the placing of the rag in the chamber would best be done last so that your table top is not blanketed with vapor when you turn on your ignition source. Each time the vapors ignite, they will chase up towards the chamber, the lid will pop up breifly to relieve pressure and the fire is then out. After a couple ignitions, you will be able to see the vapor better as there will be smoke mixed in with it.

The combustion chamber with the spark plug is pretty simple. Using a dropper, place 1-2 drops of gasoline into the chamber and place rubber stopper in top. Turn on power to spark plug. Make sure your are not beneath anything breakable and if you are, bring an umbrella. We had a small (3-5 cm) length of pull chain from a light fixture that we would use to spread the gasoline around the chamber by mixing and slowly shaking it. This seemed to help make a more uniform vapor concentration.

Gotta head to work right now. I will sign back on later to see if I can remember any more.

[jmahon]

Thank you for all your help this will certainly get me started. sorry I took so long to reply, been way for a few days. any further info will be greatly appreciated.

[resqtek]

Another demo we would do was for showing flash point. Place a small amount of diesel into the glass beaker. Place an ignition source in side the beaker and the diesel will not ignite as the flash point is around 43 degrees celcius. Now place the beaker over the flame to heat the fluid. Place your ignition source inside the beaker as the fluid is heating up. If you have the electric sparking igniter that comes with the kit, that would be preferable to an open flame ignition source because the open flame will contribute to the heating of the fluid and vapour, which may affect the demonstration. Also if you have the thermometer, place it in the fluid so you can see the temperature. When the fluid reaches it's flash point, it will ignite momentarily and then go back out as there is not quite enough vapour to sustain combustion yet. About 3-5 degrees more and you will reach the burning point where the vapours will ignite and sustain combustion. Explain to the students what auto ignition is and that if you could heat the fluid to its AI temp with out your heat source becoming the ignition source, the product would auto ignite. Pour the warm fluid into a seperate container which you can later pour back into your diesel contaner when it cools.

Next, ask the students what would happen if you mixed gasoline with a flash point of about -43 degrees celcius and diesel with a FP of 43 degrees at a 50/50 ratio. Most will say that the flash point would be 0 degrees. How about 90% diesel 10% gasoline? Most will assume the flash point will be around 30 degrees. Now make this mixture in a beaker and place an ignition source inside. The product will ignite even if the liquid is refrigerated because the two products in the mixture still vapourize at their normal levels.

There was also a demonstration for static electric ignition. There was a beaker with two metal rods coming through the side and almost touching at the center of the beaker. A small amount of gasoline is placed in the beaker. Then a cloth is rubbed on a plate which is made up of a copper plate sandwiched between two peices of plastic. This will place a static charge into the copper plate. If you ground out one of the electrodes from the beaker and then touch the copper plate to the other, it will cause a static spark which will ignite the vapours. This experiment is a good one for the many people out there who don't beleive a static spark is hot enough to ignite vapours. It is a very touchy experiment and needs to be practiced to get it right.

Those are basically the only ones I used. Enjoy the kit. It is a great tool.

[jmahon]

Thank you for all your help, I will post a reply to let you know how we get on. Again many thanks

[benford1]

Any Idea where I can find one of those kits? That would be a GREAT asset to my training collection for classes. I teach Haz Mat and also Live Burn and LP Gas, as well as all the Firefighter I & II Classes. If anyone knows where to get one (company name, address, etc...) please let me know.

Thanks!

[stegmanj]

It looks like this issue goes back away, I see that the last inquires go back to 2005. I am wondering if anyone has found anymore information on the Carmody Combustible Hazards Trainer kits instructions. This kit has been handed down through the generations and the operating instructions can't be located, if anyone has found anymore information I would appreciate if you could send it my way.

Be Safe! Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give me...

[richdd]

Any Idea where I can find one of those kits? That would be a GREAT asset to my training collection for classes. I teach Haz Mat and also Live Burn and LP Gas, as well as all the Firefighter I & II Classes. If anyone knows where to get one (company name, address, etc...) please let me know.

Thanks!

Our kit has in it:

Trinity Corporation
P.O. Box 1212
Glen Burnie, MD 21061

Our Kit model is #CHT-700C

I was unable to find the company on a basic web search. But I believe you can get most, if not all of the equipment needed from a lab supply company.