Forums > Technical Discussion > Australian Mineral Turpentine...

Posted: 29th Aug 2005
umm in new zealand the better cleaner fuel to use was pegasol I think, I don't know how that will relate to oz though..

Posted: 29th Aug 2005
hydrocarbons are a group, with so many differences between their properties...their dangers... that MSDS sheets are created for each hydrocarbon type.

Each of those substances also have other additional impurities that vaporise into a breathable form if they are set on fire.

Please request the MSDS sheets on each substance if you are keen to find out their toxicity.

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Posted: 30th Aug 2005
There are a number of hydrocarbons that can be used for burning, and obviously de-aromatised ones are more pleasant.

Different fuel companies make and market them as solvents, lubricants, or for table lamps at restaurants etc... Pegasol was a name used by one fuel company, KsolT was another... various juggling shops have found what works well and have packaged various ones as eg Firewater.



Beyond smell, the other issue is flashpoint... you don't want something that will go up with a big bang and then burn out quickly (like a lot of the Americans use, called things like whitegas) A slightly higher flashpoint is good.. safer.

Here in Brisbane we tend to use a product called d60 ( stands for 'de-aromatised 60', referring to the flashpoint. It has replaced KsolT which was the popular one on our local market...( don't know why the petrol company stopped making it) Ksol had a lower flashpoint and burned hotter.. so had some advantages and disadvantages. The slightly lower burn temp is good if using bigger wicked items like snakes or double head poi.



We can get it in 20litre drums from a local distributor for about $3 a litre...PM me if you want the details, or look up fuel suppliers in your local white pages (I don't have the invoice next to me this minute.) There have been lots of chats about fuel on HoP; eg [Old link]



Have never used turps.

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....

Posted: 30th Aug 2005
an excellent summary, newgabe!

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Posted: 23rd Sep 2005
Turps is crap ,no ifs or buts about in. It stinks, its sooty ,its more carcinocenic and it is more toxic. Turps usually contains aromatic hydrocarbons( unsaturated molecules that usually stink and are often very toxic and carcinogenic ie benzene, toluene, xylene and the like.) in reasonable amounts. Having washed my tounge with it once after eating a chili I can also assure you it tastes foul and burns you lips. It will also hurt like hell if it soaks into clothing around your crotch or armpits(I suspect all fire twirling fuels will do these things , but turps is especially bad)



Ask for a saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon with a flashpoint above 65 degrees and a boiling point as low as you can get without decreasing the flashpoint. Aliphatic saturated hydrocarbons are the class of compounds such as propane (C3 H8) ,butane(C4 H10), shelite( Hexane C6 H14) and D60 ( Probably a 10-13 carbon mixture but I cant say that for sure)



GSB Chemicals at Production st Wacol Brisbane suplies D60 at about 70 dollars fo a 20L drum to the best of my knowledge, an it pays to check availability first before you go out there



As a general rule if a hydrocarbon smells it will be toxic, if it does not smell it MIGHT be a less toxic molecule, and if it disolves in water it is definitly not a hydrocarbon and will probably be unsafe to twirl with. Avoid contact with all fuels including D60.



On this topic Never ignite a halogenated solvent such as trichloroethane mixed with shellite(used in some brake cleaners).These emit toxic phosgene and hydrochloric acid fumes as well as other toxic products. If you smell choking acrid fumes drop your equipment on the ground and run upwind. These fumes will destroy your lungs, and can be fatal even in small amounts like from burning a few mL of fuel .

Posted: 1st Oct 2005
fire water from juggleart is 100% petrolium hydrocarbons

Posted: 5th Oct 2005
Um. "Petroleum hydrocarbons" is a general classification of a very wide variety of substances.

What you have said is roughly the equivalent of "the meal from the restaurant was 100% Food"

Read the above posts for a more detailed introduction.

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....