The completely dubious "flexible butane bubble tube" experiments.

This has definitely been one of the most violent things I've done in a while. It seemed simple enough. Just get some liquid butane into a piece of silicone tubing with some salt and make a safe-ish bubble tube that can be shaped round bends.
The main issue here is that butane is a vapour at room temperature, and to keep it liquid requires a pressure of around 50 PSI.
It follows that the main issue was keeping the end stops in place, especially when trying to put them into a pre-filled tube.
On more than one occasion it let rip explosively and spewed the entire contents of the tube as a highly combustible vapour out in a single blast that hit the other side of the room.
The second version based on a butane filling valve from a lighter was marginally more successful, but the butane still leaked out gradually.
An interesting note is that the silicone tube went hard and reduced in diameter slightly after being exposed to high pressure butane.

[@frac]

"I actually do shit like this all the time." A worthy epitaph for anyone, that.

[@zanedelorean9740]

+Fracture It'll be on his gravestone "I did shit all the time" :]

[@frac]

Zane Delorean Um, yeah... that's what an epitaph is... ;-P

[@zanedelorean9740]

Not exactly, I had/have the opinion that an "epitaph" was said about someone not necessarily on thier gravestone. Every days a schoolday :] Epitaph - 'a phrase or form of words written in memory of a person who has died, especially as an inscription on a tombstone.'

[@frac]

+Zane Delorean Right. You took the time to comment because you thought I meant on a billboard. Gotcha. Stick with that. Someone might believe you.

[@jondayton]

Here lies Big Clive. "It was working for a moment there"

[@DECCAS8]

"It hasn't exploded yet" - the motto of this channel

[@tipturkey1283]

DECCAS8 "that's exciting"

[@RichardT2112]

"I actually do shit like this all the time, I'm not a good role model technically" Book of Clive 3:14

[@gmc07joe]

one of the best lines I've ever heard on KZbin! Lol

[@herauthon]

Sparktastic Taste Day __O__

[@CraftQueenJr]

Where is this quote?

[@Satchel456]

@@CraftQueenJr 4:18

[@defnoz]

When I was a nipper I thought it would be a great lark to liquefy butane on a frozen pond. All went well and I had a nice little puddle, until the vapour reached a blowtorch carelessly left unattended. Cue me walking back into the family party going on indoors with no eyebrows and a delightful singed hair smell...

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

Watches Big Clive tell you how to make moonshine, then this, and then Big Clive says that he's "not the best role model" 😄. I think that he's a fantastic role model.

[@spotz6478]

i once fooled round with an old portable camper stover propane tank in the woods when i was younger and made the mistake of not knowing about gas pooling and lit a cigarete, when i threw the but down away from me it ignited the gas and caused a huge fire wave over the ground luckily it was winter and didnt cause me harm or the woods but scared the shit outa me but it was very cool to see

[@bigclivedotcom]

+Spotz “aholic” Fur And now you're older you can do it deliberately for fun.

[@spotz6478]

lol right proper now with tubes and much violent explosions right? you should do more explody and dangerous stuff...you know for our entertainment .

[@moth138]

+Spotz „aholic“ Fur When a friend and i where childs we threw a small propanetank into a fire because we were curious what would happen... it was a full one BTW...

[@spotz6478]

umm how are you still here?

[@greenaum]

+PalmFrond Front Don't suppose some miserable killjoy who wanted you to live called the fire brigade? If not, what happened? I can imagine it going up like a nuke. You HAVE to tell us!

[@Xomby]

1. don't shake the butane can 2. you need to let some of the pressure out of the tube as you fill it, yes this wastes some, but necessary if you want a "full" tank. note* above from experience repairing vintage butane lighters

[@meowingmono]

why not shake it?

[@Xomby]

Mostly because butane doesn't like to be cold, and guess what happens when you shake it? Then it acts like a cold can of compressed air till it warms up again.

[@meowingmono]

XombyCraft I thought it would be dangerous It just makes it harder to use?

[@Xomby]

Yeah. you won't get a good fill in a lighter with a cold can of 'tane. As for dangerous, the only thing dangerous about butane is the user. I handed a can of butane to a moron once, and he pulled the trigger on his lighter while he was filling it. was a glorious fireball. Luckily, he didn't really like his knucklehair anyway.

[@meowingmono]

XombyCraft Free shave lol

[@davidchester1612]

Your a mad man :) But wow, it actually works. A dry ice bath would help a lot with the gas capture, also silicon is not the best choice of material as it generally will absorb non-polar solvents (like butane) and allow it to seep out slowly.

[@killroy42]

The danger of these calls for a live stream... You know... Just in case you're not around to upload the vid!

[@swallin19]

Silicon tubing is not suitable for contact with any petroleum distillate or liquid gas like butane, it perishes the silicon, turning it brittle, and it bursts. It use to be used as fuel line in R/C planes, but was banned, and PVC based tubing is the only safe alternative. It can be obtained in larger diameters and my well work in this use. But any leak is deadly.

[@stargazer7644]

Silicone. Silicon is rather different.

[@entity8019]

I know this is six years old and BC is still alive, but FUCK ME, the amount of risks he just casually reeled off in the first five minutes alone gave me the sweats.

[@peterjensen6844]

"...went hard and reduced in diameter slightly after being exposed to high pressure butane." *immature giggle*

[@deansmiley8221]

when filling the tubing with butane,you need to let it leak at the fill valve so it vents vapor,while leaving the liquid in the tube,love your videos!!!

[@thepvporg]

Silicone is not the best, I did an experiment with a container that had a silicone stopper. I found cooling the container down in the freezer before putting butane in was best option but over time it will evaporate and silicone is porous, so its not the best containment, you end up with a butane silicone saturated device and you can light it, as I found out.

[@mahina1963]

..."I actually do shit like this all the time"... and I sprayed my coffee!

[@samiraperi467]

"Hasn't exploded yet" :D

[@TrollFaceTheMan]

Would like to see if you ever went any farther with this project.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I made a proper glass unit with methylene chloride. kzbin.info/www/bejne/haenoaGmZ8-FndU

[@TrollFaceTheMan]

Oh cool I couldn't find it before when I looked, thanks Clive.

[@UmbraAtrox_]

Dude has balls of steel.

[@AsymptoteInverse]

I've just had an idea for getting a better seal at the top of the tube: fill it with butane as you did here, but when you're getting close to having the right amount, pinch a section near the top shut very tight with a carpenter's clamp. I'd reckon that would give you a good enough seal for long enough to close the end off with hot-melt glue or similar.

[@jsteeves79]

Beware of the dangers, of the beautiful things that man creates. They can, quite literally, take your breath away.

[@Nomaran]

Clive actually reminds me of Dwarf Fortress, not because of the dwarfs themselves but what they do. Magma is "fun".

[@SlyPearTree]

So the exciting stuff happened off camera? Isn't that against the youtube terms of service or something?

[@crocellian2972]

Pre-chilled glass tubing. Raise temperature at bottom. Methanol as fluid. Marine grade shrink tube w/ hot melt on inner surface.

[@vernhartjr]

One of my favorite videos

[@pantherplatform]

"Actually, I do shit like this _all_ the time."

[@azzym312]

I look forward to hearing about you mentioned on the evening news, in the obituary section.

[@interstellarsurfer]

For future experimentation, I would think a hemostat would do an excellent job of clamping the tubing shut, while you applied the shrinkwrap/epoxy needed to complete the seal.

[@MagisterMalleus]

A similar effect can be achieved with a clear Clipper lighter- if you turn it upside down after its been alight for a while the liquid inside bubbles quite nicely.

[@shmehfleh3115]

Wow! It is a damn good thing you don't smoke in these videos!

[@12mazrekj]

"My LED tester is not overly thrilled at the fact that large quantities of solvents have gradually been injected down it" | ✓ Subscribed |

[@bigclivedotcom]

+silverstone2020 You've just made me realise why my LED tester has physically disintegrated. I guess butane degrades some plastics.

[@saberpeep]

This is how progress is made!

[@nogghan4637]

Most Super glue sets instantly if you mix it with baking soda could try using that to cap the gas in the tube, if you're going to remember to actually mix it in because if you don't it will just set the outside and leave the middle liquid for longer than normal because there's little to no air

[@gordslater]

"since I'm about to do something incredibly stupid, here's my Last Vid and Testament" :)

[@JoshuaNicoll]

Thing about gas, it needs pressure more. I was able to get Butane into an old solder tube, by using the cap, it held the pressure, and I was able to get it in liquid form without much gas loss, and then left it in a fridge freezer for 20min it was full stabalised and in liquid.

[@TheCrakkle]

Man after my own heart. Had me in stitches with the hot air blower :)

[@MegaWayneD]

There's got to be some beer/wine making glass tubes available that are capable of taking high pressures of gas. I'm loving these experiments by the way!

[@bigclivedotcom]

MegaWayneD I was looking at brewing glassware, but it all seemed a bit large in diameter. The closest thing was a glass syphon tube.

[@markhowards420]

4:21 bullshit , you are an excellent role model. Did no-one ever tell you that the best way to check for a gas leak is with a match or a poundland lighter.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

It sort of works, but I would like a house to come home to at night. That is if I don't burn it daon making it in the first place! You do get a nozel for the propane burner that puts a point of flame out and this is what you needed for the glass. Keep heat on glass while you keep sucking the air out, that should work, yes I know it will suck in the tip of the tube but do it a bit at a time, leaving only a small hole and a long tail. Heat it up quickly and twist and instantlly cool it down with cool air, the tail should seal. Once it is sealed you can work it to ridy it up with a shorter tail. I don't think gas is the best thing to use in there though. With you using the plastic tube I thought if you worked on it you could get a coloured liquid in it and heat it from the bottom from a glass file. It would take a bit of time to try other things, but even slow bubbles going round a long tube with random LED's lighting the tube would have a nice effect. As the bubbles passed an LED it would get brighter. Just thinking out loud, I know you are trying to copy the Christmas decoration tubes. But it could evolve! I would never use gas though, it just is to volatile!!

[@bigclivedotcom]

I did end up making a successful tube with methylene chloride. kzbin.info/www/bejne/haenoaGmZ8-FndU

[@greenaum]

Apparently butane boils at -1C, so an ice bath, maybe with some salt added and give it time to cool, might make this a bit more practical and a lot less dangerous! Good job you don't smoke while you're working.

[@greenaum]

Also maybe a bit of glue on the LED, reduce the chance of unplanned ballistics.

[@renton9999]

problem is you need to evacuate the air in the tube first, then get the butane inside. likely would work better in a freezer when filling. and of course you need to close up both ends, which glue isn't the best option for as it doesn't like high pressure very much and will form micro channels to allow pressure to escape

[@crazyhans]

Christ, when the gas started spraying everywhere I could smell this video.

[@Ryzomadman]

we use propane or green gas that is propane with silicon oil gas for airsoft pistols when filling the mags it helps if you use short burst into the magazine rather than a lot at one time stops a lot of the cooling down and discharge when the O-rings let go

[@greenaum]

Second idea... Use a much longer tube, and coil round the top, gas-filled half and hide it in a case. You could then pot the ends in epoxy or the like. By making sure the liquid was all down at one end, and potting the other, the heat from the epoxy wouldn't matter so much. You could also stick some ice further down the tube, to absorb any heat that does get there. Third, much better idea, is use something that's liquid at room temperature! Something like alcohol. The nice purple colour you get in meths might even be decorative. Or some other solvent. You'd need more heat, but it should stay where you put it. There must be some liquid that bubbles just above a nice cosy room temp. Also, for this idea in general, if you're gonna put heat into it, ultimately that has to come out, just as fast, or you're going to lose liquid, it'll evaporate and put even more pressure on the tube. So have some form of heat disposal. You could maybe, if you were smart and lucky, use a Peltier to take heat out of one end, and put it back at the other. Use some metal to transfer the heat. Final tip is of course, point it away from your face!

[@TheChipmunk2008]

Ah, you too have a pile of LEDs that you took out of stuff but couldn't bear to throw out :) By the way, tip for the use of liquid butane: Recharging aerosol cans that still have liquid in but have lost their propellant. A bit of that tubing to connect the 2, simply press the butane down onto the 'empty' can...

[@bigclivedotcom]

***** Yeah, I've got my can recharging adaptor.

[@phillrullzXBL]

when i've played around with silicone tubing and liquid butane ive noticed the tubing after a pressurized time of a few hours becomes porous and bubbles inside the tubing wall forms, this is evident when its depressurised and placed under water to which it begins to bubble.

[@scorchedearth1451]

They sell clear plexiglass tubing on Ebay. Together with the proper plumbing fittings, you could build a much bigger, and more rugged tube. It's easier to make a valve in it too. I think it would contain the gas better.

[@Treddian]

"This is bound to end in tears at some point."

[@keenan1972]

OH my god this is why i worry about young minds and you tube and tiktok. Love your content I have watched quite few. A fellow did somthing similar making a petrol fuelled gas stove lol he burnt his house down......

[@McCawley74]

Maybe squishing the tube flat to get ambient air out before filling would get more butane in.

[@pixelpatter01]

Put the butane tank and other bits in a freezer to cool it down. The BP of butane is about 0C, so it will come out as a liquid.

[@benjaminjones512]

could have already been mentioned but a cigarette lighter filler valve might do it.

[@benjaminjones512]

oh...disregard.

[@ElTelBaby]

... Clive the Mad Exsperiment'ist ...

[@audiocrush]

you can literally punch a hole in these small gas bottles. It will do a small pop and pressure will be released. Then you put another hole in and then you can pour the liquid butane out like out of a water bottle. There also aren't very much losses in the process

[@MyWillyboi]

Big Clive is Batman Badass! One wicked cool Scotsman!

[@jayare1933]

Never said you were a role model, but will you be mine!

[@Desklamp1234]

"I actually do shit like this all the time" - thebigclive 2015

[@agentbertram4769]

Clive, you are absolutely bonkers, which is why I watch your videos. :O) Keep them coming.

[@pauljs75]

I thought bubble lights used a light mineral oil. Has to get hotter to bubble, but less pressure difference from liquid to gas and back. And that fluid remains liquid at room temp so it should be easier to deal with.

[@brianallen9810]

You may not be a good roll model, but you are fun to watch.

[@mealex303]

get a syringe to evacuate the pressure then fill it with gas!?

[@eDhUAN]

Could try with a Teflon/PTFE tubing too, less permeable and mechanically stronger too I think.

[@ProbablyDrunkATM]

They use dichloromethane in the glass version, I believe.

[@die2end]

WOW! And I thought I was the only person who tinkers like this..

[@bigclivedotcom]

No, there's quite a lot of us. In fact, every time you hear a loud boom in the distance it's one of us having an "incident".

[@melody3741]

Also if you chill butane in the freezer it goes into a vacuum which might make things easier

[@wire54321]

your a great roll model.

[@baleksus]

This is essentially a heatpipe.

[@rongarvin8722]

Have you ever seen or played with a "hand boiler"? Its set up in glass and ready to experiment!

[@AdrianTechWizard]

If you like the effect, why don't you equip the lighter valve to a wider tube? ...or even a filament lamp for a higher temperature.

[@daviddavidson2357]

Diethyl ether might work better. It'll need a little more heat but you can just pour it out of a bottle/can.

[@ColettaHughes]

I must say I'd never be bored around you lol.

[@mittfh]

Did you record any of the explosions? :) If so, upload a compilation set to the _1812 Overture_ finale...

[@kevinsellsit5584]

at 4:30 ... "I'm not a good role model actually". You are my favorite superhero, don't say things like that! ha ha

[@CATASTEROID934]

It's possible that the hardening and shrinking of the tubing could be caused by a plasticiser in the tubing migrating into the butane.

[@evknucklehead]

+Caleb Howes Problem with that theory is that the tube would stay rigid when it got back to near room temperature, which does not appear to be the case here. More likely it is simply a realigning of the molecules in the tubing caused by the lower temperature, similar to what happens when liquids freeze.

[@elijahschultz6616]

I love it man I’m so glad I found your channel

[@MrHolozip]

I must admit I was kinda hoping for some explodiness; but this was very interesting to watch nonetheless. What was this project for? Were you planning on making some interesting light feature?

[@Skilldibop]

Bubble tubes used to be used on old 40s and 50s juke boxes. They do look really cool. I reckon they are super expensive these days though, and usually were made of glass or rigid plexi-glass. This looks like a prototype for a big clive brand cheap imitation (or immolation) version that one can make at home for a fraction of the cost but get the same cool effect.

[@GeFlixes]

7:44 Of course it's violent! A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that Butane gas expands about 230 times in between beeing a liquid and room temperature. (reciprocal of the denisity at boiling point divided to the reciprocal of the density at 20 deg. C according to wikipedia); if Butane were an ideal gas, it would be in the ballpark of 250x expansion. (compressibillity factor of about 0,925).

[@Dreamsarefragile]

Yep that looks exciting!

[@NickFoxQuixand]

I would probably have gone with the kettle for the shrink tube.

[@TarisRedwing]

I guess thats why negative vacuum boiling in the glass works better. nice seal with glass i guess

[@jasonwilde197]

Schrader Valve...Schrader...Hank Schrader...I have a sudden urge to watch Breaking Bad.

[@master6ate]

+bigclivedotcom try using clear fuel lines and hose clamps from most hardware stores. The tubing may be a bit more resilient to pressure/leakage, and hose clamps will let you add tube ends/LEDs and secure them on the fly. You can even find "wing nut" hose clamps that can be tightened by hand. Possibly even a fill port that is metal and wont leak.

[@christophergrove4876]

"It hasn't exploded yet.... Woah!!!!!"

[@treguard1982]

It really did make me cringe everytime you pointed that 'potential missile' towards yourself lol.

[@markmooney4770]

We didn't get to see the violence and carnage... 😟

[@MrGoatflakes]

"I'm not a good role model, technically" -- Big Clive 2015 xD

[@benoitdebrueker2500]

you should put everything in the freezer before starting. butane is liquid at a temperature close to 0°C at atmospheric pressure.

[@gdj6298]

Does RoSPA still exist in the UK, or have they just wandered away, blank-eyed and muttering "yeah....whatever....what's the bloody point......." ? :-)

[@L_Hagen]

try squeezing the tube flat to empty out as much air as possible before fitting the valve. i think that way you could fit more gas into it

[@pizzablender]

Or fill the tube through the valve, then let gas+air mixture flow out, and fill again.

[@GordieGii]

Assemble in winter. Butane will stay liquid at about -10 to -15 C Of course you'll need a glue that will set cold.

[@flagpoleeip]

butane boils at -1C at atmospheric pressure. so yeah you could have frozen the tube.

[@zarcyne]

After viewing over 100 of Big Clive's videos it is very apparent that very intelligent people can be very dangerous... LOL

[@bigclivedotcom]

Danger adds fun to everything.

[@W4BIN]

Ever think about using a non-flammable gas like a refrigerant? (like one of the freons from a little refill can)

[@stargazer7644]

What would be the fun in that?

[@System32F]

you need to bleed the air out of the tube to fill it more air is less compressible than butane so fill it then empty some out again then refill empty again a little bit if needed

[@System32F]

ah never mind it filled in the end lol

[@bigronvfr750]

As my dad always said to my mum......boys will be boys, 57 years old now and nothing has changed lol

[@smallenginedude71]

try those little surgical clamps they use in hospitals to hold arteries and what not shut. they have a little ratchetting mechanism so you can hold the tube tight while you fiddle with the leds.

[@MyWillyboi]

The utensil you are trying to suggest is a hemostat! Suggesting that someone use something that you yourself cannot name, doesn't instill confidence in your advice. Hope you understand where I'm coming from, no offense M8, hope I taught you the 'term' Hemostat!! Cheers

[@nicolek4076]

+MyWillyboi Given that we're in UK, you should really say "haemostat". We're funny like that; "hemo-" as a prefix relates to "one half", "haemo-" as a prefix relates to blood.

[@MyWillyboi]

Nicole K I'm american we make everything funny! Inches not millimeters, Feet not Meters. We say Aluminum, Ya'll say Aluminium. I apologize for assuming, as well as the harsh tone of my comment. Plenty of TROLLS on here hard to distinguish between genuine and smartass! I bid a Good Day Nicole, Cheers from Across the Pond XD

[@nicolek4076]

+MyWillyboi On reflection, my comment was a but snippy. Thank you for taking it well. A good day to you, too. BTW, y'all will all be saying aluminium within a couple of generations; the UIPAC have decreed it as a quid pro quo for the English using an f in sulphur (I'm too old to change!)

[@greenaum]

+Nicole K The English don't use an "f" in "sulphur"! Americans do. Webster was concerned that English spelling wasn't very logical, so he changed it, and now it's still massively illogical but slightly less so. And now it annoys actual English speakers, since the Internet was invented.

[@theLuigiFan0007Productions]

bigclivedotcom If you're still trying this, I reccommend you use Methylene Chloride, sometimes called DCM (DiChloroMethane). It's what's used in the real thing. Boils at just around room temperature (39.6 °C), so it''d have a lot less pressure. DCM is commonly used as a solvent in chemistry applications and is the key ingredient in solvent welding many plastics.

[@bigclivedotcom]

+theLuigiFan0007 kzbin.info/www/bejne/haenoaGmZ8-FndU

[@theLuigiFan0007Productions]

bigclivedotcom That's epic!

[@comwarrior69]

+theLuigiFan0007 39.6 °C is not room temp... 20c is room temp...

[@theLuigiFan0007Productions]

comwarrior69 I said just around room temperature but I was thinking room temperature was 30C. Guess It's because I don't use Celsius much. Will take note of that.

[@ficolas2]

+comwarrior69 I.S. room temperature (aka standart conditions) is 25°C

[@stewartcaldwell5299]

Pot both ends in epoxy after the gas is in. I have no idea what it will do, though.

[@keithwatkins3216]

ive been dold to silicon tubing can be abit pourse to gases i have used a water cooling computer system with silicon tubes and lost water on a sealed system i tried pvc pipeing and the losses where a lot lower just a thourght

[@bigclivedotcom]

keith watkins I was considering a bit of PVC pipe, but I think it might be quite hard to properly seal onto the waxy plastic. The internal pressure is also so high that it seems to just squeeze by press-fit connections.

[@MysticalDork]

bigclivedotcom I'd try using some solvent-based PVC cement to make the connections, it'll definitely grip the tubing. The issue then will be if it will grip anything else. Also, if the silicone froze on exposure to the butane it's evidently not very high quality silicone. The good stuff is really really cold-tolerant and solvent-resistant.

[@pjf222]

Don't know if this will work, but have you tried using a check valve for an aquarium air line? not sure it would handle the gas, but worth a try.

[@kubeek]

I love the smell of a really stupid idea in the mornign... You should have tried a glass tube and open flame to get even more spectacular results :D

[@acidicvideos8733]

Mornign? Enlighten me as to what language that is so I can learn a new word :D I'm thinking language moron but I could be wrong 🤔🤔