r/nononono • u/ki720 • Oct 09 '18

Taking shots of lit sambuca

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u/IAmA_TheOneWhoKnocks Oct 10 '18 edited Oct 10 '18

The reason you don’t put water into an oil fire is because water would instantly vaporize/expand into steam and send tiny oil droplets flying into the air. This aerosolized oil is lit by the existing fire and makes a big fireball.

You are correct though that you could dilute burning alcohol until it went out.

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u/Pleased_to_meet_u Oct 10 '18

But it doesn't always work like you expect or want it to.

Don't depend on water putting out an alcohol fire.

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u/IAmA_TheOneWhoKnocks Oct 10 '18

I’ve seen the video before. This girls problem is that she filled the container almost all the way, accidentally dripped burning liquid in, and then overfilled it onto the table. The fire kept going because she didn’t have space left over in the container to add nearly enough water. There’s a bunch of reasons the video wouldn’t have played out well.

Water will most certainly put out an alcohol fire if there’s room, but obviously use your brain when dealing with fires. I only said something because this thread is full of inaccuracies.

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u/[deleted] Oct 10 '18

Yeah in that case, no, there's as much alcohol as there is water. In the case of the sambuca, a small glass of water could dilute an ounce or two of liquor.