airbag disposal

[ckucia]

I have a couple of airbag assemblies taking up space in the garage.

Did a little googling, and apparently the proper way to get rid of them is to remote detonate them (face up) from 20' away with a 12 VDC charge.

Seems straightforward enough. Just curious if anyone's done this and has any useful tips.

Also, how loud are these things when they go off?

Was thinking it might be safer to do them on the back lawn rather than the concrete driveway...

 

[Harrison2]

they're loud in a inclosed space, as for standing 20' away, you dont need to stand that far.

just rig it to a battery and then touch the terminal. boom!

used to do them often when we dismantled cars at college. can shoot them pretty high, could always just shoot them...

 

[Scott P]

At least put a watermelon on top of them beforehand. Then hit record on your camera. Make for a fun video.

I don't imagine they are too loud. I think the backyard would be better just in case there is some force in the other direction.

 

[ckucia]

There are some feral cats in the neighborhood. Maybe I could lure one on top of the airbag and send it into orbit - or at least into the yard of the crazy woman a few houses down that feeds the mangy critters.

 

[rsanter]

wait for the upcomming 4th of July

bob

 

[#1SomeGuy]

I'd be wearing goggles (or a face shield) and muffs if I were doing it...

 

[Milton Shaw]

The charge in them is a very bad substance. Very bad if you breath or taste it. Not a problem once they have been discharged. They are very loud about like a shotgun shell I have heard but have never done one.

 

[Harrison2]

I'd be wearing goggles (or a face shield) and muffs if I were doing it...

 

[Rodhotz]

put them on craigs list or ebay and sell them...make a few bucks off them.

 

[Super Mech]

I usually take them out of cars that I scrap. Then I hook them up to to a jumper pack via an old 25' extension cord. Face up with a empty 5 gallon bucket on top can launch a bucket about 2 stories! My kids get a kick out of it.

 

[Gary S]

I'd take them to the rifle range and detonate them with a 300 Magnum.

 

[G_P]

Offer rides to people who you dislike!

 

[ChevyEFI]

The guy who just posted about hydraulic strut disposay and you could get together and see which device wins, depending on successfully timed firing.

 

[G_P]

Would an airbag deploy if it was underwater? It would make a wicked geyser to put one in the bottom of an oil drum half full of water.

 

[koditten]

This thread has potential. I've got several old AB's laying around too. I've been trying to think of things to do with them as well.

I'm leaning towards some sort of home defence...booby traps, I dunno? I hope someone chimes in with some cool ideas.

Sub'd

KO

 

[nehog]

put them on craigs list or ebay and sell them...make a few bucks off them.

I would not recommend doing this. Both legal and liability issues abound.

 

[plow]

I like the under water idea.

 

[e-tek]

I've done a couple. There's a surprising amount of talc inside.

 

[gonefirefighting]

 

[Rodhotz]

I would not recommend doing this. Both legal and liability issues abound.

Why,done all the time.

 

[NHBandit]

Having managed a salvage yard for a few years I've set off alot of them. We were required to remove them when prepping cars for the crusher. Done the "popcorn" thing launching co-workers, etc. Rigged 3 of them under a couch one time that our yard guy used to take naps on when he was supposed to be working... It's all good. Warning to you guys. When you first set one off the metal housing gets extremely hot. Don't touch it for awhile. And yeah, the chemicals they release is bad stuff. "Careful Eugene, you'll blow your eyebrows off" Make a video if you do something stupid...

 

[nehog]

Why,done all the time.

I understand there are laws in some areas regarding selling used air bags. You need to check your state's laws.

The liability issue is that say you sell a used air bag to a mechanic who installs it wrong. There's an accident. You better believe that someone will be putting your name on that law suit.

IMHO, you are better off making a big bang than trying to sell it.

 

[wornoutoldman]

This thread has potential. I've got several old AB's laying around too. I've been trying to think of things to do with them as well.

I'm leaning towards some sort of home defence...booby traps, I dunno? I hope someone chimes in with some cool ideas.

Sub'd

KO

I like this How bout under a "welcome" mat?

 

[junkman104]

I also have had a lot of fun blowing them up. We wired 21 together on a old extension cord for a employee that retired. Made a hell of a noise

 

[Playwme]

I like this How bout under a "welcome" mat?

And hooked to the doorbell.

Better idea. Halloween coming up. Put one inside a pumpkin, stick it in the corner of the porch, and hook up the doorbell switch to detonate. Trick, treat or poop your pants kiddo's.

 

[koditten]

You're speakin' my language. Keep the ideas coming.

KO

 

[metaleltr]

We set one off as a demo in shop. It was and s10 drivers side, we took the entire steering column out and clamped it to a sawhorse. i had soldered about 10 feet of wire to the leads, just connected it to a battery on the other side of a chain link fence. I looked at the battery as I touched the wore to it, looked up and it was already deflated. We thought that we would be getting gunshot complaints, no one heard anything.

 

[55dude]

The pumpkin sounds cool,talk about one huge mess.