Heating Coffee with Thermite!

I had found a coffee company that used self-heating cans that use a thermite based reaction to warm the coffee. In this video I deconstruct a can to try and figure out how they work, as well as demonstrate the reaction involving the thermite inside a few different ways.
If you're interested in the engineering and chemistry behind the heater itself, I'd suggest reading the related patents (I just used google patent search for my own research), which are owned by HeatGen (which used to be called Heat Genie).

[@gregorycohan1508]

I appreciate the detail put into this! Being a “how does this work?” individual, your videos epitomize that mentality and break it down for everyone to understand. Thank you!

[@TheGUARDIANOFFOR]

im didnt learned what chemicals react in what way ... all this video told me is there is a reaction and it get hot well no shit sherlock...

[@nextprogram5945]

11

[@PlutoTheSynth]

46

[@iamgriff]

I was a crane operator in a foundry. We made Ductile Iron a few times a week. We used magnesium landscaping rocks (by the pallet) in a pre heated ladle. Then we would pour hot iron into the ladle. The flash from the interaction was the brightest thing I have ever witnessed in my life! I would close my eyes (while wearing shade 6 lenses) and could still see the flash. A very dangerous, but interesting job working in a foundry.

[@HotelPapa100]

A few days ago I modified a laptop case, drilling and cutting a few threads (Stoopid stuck shut designs, nowadays). Of course I could not resist to set the puny heap of magnesium shavings on fire afterwards...

[@Chemteacherphil]

I would enjoy seeing that IRL

[@louie2747]

Meh, I don’t want coffee on my thermite. Ruins the natural flavor.

[@icecold5707]

True. I prefer the taste of iron, seared flesh, and boiling blood.

[@altonb93]

@@icecold5707 okay Hannibal😂

[@William_Bryant]

I agree! Wait

[@HaroldMC63]

@@icecold5707Mh the aluminium oxide gives more of the taste than the iron in my opinion

[@xmysef4920]

@@HaroldMC63 Yeah, the truly awe-inspiring taste of corundum… lol

[@ethandavis7310]

This would be great for camping. Drink the coffee cold, turn the dial, toss it into the firepit to start your morning fire and brew some real coffee lol

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

That's using your noodle!

[@iainballas]

This is gold sir

[@radio7353]

best part is this totally checks out, even the cold canned coffee. high brew's cold stuff is WAY better

[@SunriseLAW]

(smirk:)

[@Sphendrana]

So the coffee in the can was non-existant? Or are you just being a coffee snob 😂

[@PonteBata]

Phil I love your content, thanks for being such a great inspiration for other science communicators. Greetings from Spain

[@Chemteacherphil]

Thank you so much!

[@tropisk.]

@@Chemteacherphil does the coffee absorb some of the epoxy coating?

[@Chemteacherphil]

@@tropisk. that’s not something I observed. The heater looks identical before/after use when coffee is inside the can. I didn’t really investigate the epoxy coating aside from making the observation that it burnt when the heater was activated without coffee around it.

[@tropisk.]

@@Chemteacherphil ok. thank you. I am just thinking that maybe bisphenol A could occure, like water bottles if they have been opened for too long.

[@JakeWitmer]

​@@tropisk....let's hope so! Gotta get bisphenol-A into our systems somehow!

[@damienlocutus]

This is so cool! That water has the highest heat capacity by volume is one of those amazing facts about everyday life that chemistry classes should always remember to teach.

[@paradiselost9946]

I was disturbed to find that magnesium has a higher specific heat than ali...

[@VoIcanoman]

Second-highest. Supercooled liquid anhydrous ammonia has a slightly higher specific heat capacity than water.

[@DrakeOola]

@@VoIcanoman k

[@teddynotcomfy889]

its only thing that i remember from chemistry classes. or maybe from physics class.

[@budbrady3289]

Naval '70 grad..... this type of enthusiasm is one reason why I appreciate my summers there. Thanks

[@mystwalker479]

I've been watching your shorts, and im excited you'll be making longer contents like this!!

[@vesstig]

In a game I play called Space Station 13 they have food items that you can use which have internal heaters so to see that principle used in real life was amazing.

[@myuzu_]

Check out some MRE videos for more food packaging with integrated heating

[@Thenameless1]

Very surprised to see a Space Station 13 mention of this here lol, you just gave me a very evil idea I will abuse horribly next time I play clown.

[@mrgw98]

Thanks for making a full video on this, it is really facinating and magical to me that this is possible. Side note though, be sure to add some form of end card at the end of the video as when the recommended videos pop up at the end, you can't see the reactions. Edit: Thanks for fixing! Looking forward to more of your videos.

[@Chemteacherphil]

Thanks for the tip! I was able to go back and change the end card bit.

[@mrgw98]

@@Chemteacherphil Oh cool. Didn't know you could do that after the fact. Thanks for fixing it as it works a lot better now. Have a great day and keep up the great work!

[@DrakeOola]

Yep, I absolutely hate that. I use an adblocker just to get rid of those pesky recommendations blocking the end of a video... Still can't even disable them as far as I'm aware and I just don't see the point when recommended videos are already shown in a huge list to the right of the screen. A third of the screen is already reserved for recommended videos, why does it have to block the end of the video too? 🤦‍♂

[@noahr7678]

What an extremely interesting and educational video! I really appreciate how many different cans you used to demonstrate the effects under different conditions

[@teresashinkansen9402]

I been wanting to get my hands for years on one of this cans to see how the thermite reaction looks like. Finally someone does it.

[@pickyraincloud1231]

I love your video's keep posting them when you can! They're awesome!

[@deltabeta5527]

Thank god, Finally the full video! I hate watching those reels and shorts!!

[@MissDarleneRae]

Wolfgang Puck had coffee like this over a decade ago. It didn't last but I used to buy it.

[@tinman7551]

Absolutely love your videos Phil, keep up the great work. If I’ve found your channel, others will too. 😊

[@therealbadbob2201]

I hsve had a few of these. Shared the. With my son. Never knew how it worked and at the time could not find a good explanation on the internet. Thank you!

[@dewhickok9028]

Seen the short came here with a lot of questions. You answered them all.

[@stonedsasquatch]

I saw one of these over 10 years ago and haven't seen them since. They were expensive but worth the experience

[@mwbgaming28]

And here I am, having never seen a self heating can before, mind swimming with DIY possibilities for that heating core

[@weekendcoff33]

you got me, I found you from your shorts! a fat sub with a bell! as someone who had a hard time in school it was teachers like you that made me want to keep going!

[@ilgiusto6885]

I remember that many years ago sealed cups with coffee were on the market that could heat themselves but they were less than half the size of this can and certainly the operating principle was different....Now, in Italy, at my house, I prepare the coffee with the free current of my small photovoltaic system, it is really gratifying to use the sun to drink a good Espresso coffee

[@JuliusUnique]

wow, sharp and fast video but with all the information we need! more of that please!! your shorts are nice, but this video was 10/10

[@Killer_snail]

I love these kinds of videos & I look forward to checking out your channel. If I had a head for numbers then I’d have absolutely loved going into this field, chemical reactions are just so bizarre!

[@SauvikRoy]

Thank you for running a detailed experiment on this. Got it, water has incredible specific heat capacity and that doesn't allow the can to melt or catch fire or something!

[@DrakeOola]

This just in, water cools things down and puts out fires...

[@MintyArisato]

@@DrakeOoladon’t be an asshole

[@alsadekalkhayer7007]

Amazingly explained, thanks

[@Soguwe]

That's so cool Need to look up if that exists with water instead of coffee, that goes straight into the survival pack

[@ThatsMySkill]

this is the future i always hoped for

[@malta7406]

I'm glad I saw the full video, instead of just the short

[@Time_Traveling_Corgi]

Is that why trucks explode all the time in movies? They are just delivering coffee?

[@theprogrammer32]

Not a coffee drinker but I think I'm in love with these cans

[@PovlKvols]

Very neat - thank you for sharing!

[@Gamefreak8112]

Right to business and no funny business. Bless you.

[@7784000]

What a waste of resources. But the chemistry behind it is brilliant ❤

[@nooblangpoo]

I started to buy a box of these just for the novelty and the use when backpack camping out in the wild which I do occasionally. No fire needed for a hot joe in the morning. I don't care if I don't like their mix but a hot coffee is a hot coffee.

[@seededsoul]

How much is it?

[@nooblangpoo]

if I remember correctly I think I paid 50 for a 12 pack but I'm not sure if I paid for shipping with that since I'm not fron the US. But as of now it's currently out of stock in Amazon.

[@DrakeOola]

@@seededsoul $5 a can down to $4 in bulk.

[@marco8773]

Me llamó la atención eso de "EL COCINERO", anyways, hope your channel keeps on growing, looks like you enjoy performing experiments, and i am sooooo happy watching them!

[@JunkyardBashSteve]

That's sick. I want one of those!

[@davidinmossy]

That has to be the coolest coffee ever !

[@eve_squared]

I love the whole idea and the product is really cool, it just seems like a waste just for a cup of coffee. It's one of those "almost useful" inventions, after a week of buying these anyone would probably just switch to a thermos to keep their coffee hot through the day.

[@GuyFromJupiter]

This seems to me more like something you would buy at a convenience store, not something you stock up on and drink daily.

[@hadrianguardiola4627]

I agree it’s dumb. It’s cheaper and more appealing to pour a fresh cup if you’re stopping at a convenience store to pick this up anyway. It’s just a gimmick. But they’ll always find someone to buy it.

[@ISavant]

You wouldn't even get a cup of coffee from it. Half the volume is taken up by the heater that you can use once. It's a waste of money, probably most of it can't be recycled, it's a dumb gimmick

[@mattmichael2441]

It’s a pretty big can idk why you think you won’t get a full cup… and Google says it’s 10oz so a little more than a standard cup. Also look up what the meeting of gimmick… you seem to think it means an efficient environmentally friendly product…

[@ISavant]

@@mattmichael2441 no, it means it's a pointless waste of time, which this product is

[@mohammedfaiq3671]

Such a nice video

[@tehpanda64]

Pretty neat, I am sure some pretty smart people worked on the container and exact chemistry inside to get it to react just vigorously enough that the can of coffee can contain it properly.

[@ZoonCrypticon]

Do they also offer self cooling cans ?

[@Eaglepass]

Remarkable confidence Compliments before i view it i know I'm going too enjoy it learning that Chemistry Science is bizarre amazement.

[@manisdogfish]

I can't think of a single thing that could go wrong with this.

[@ats-3693]

Awesome, now all we need is a similar product for beer but in which the can has an endothermic reaction device inside it.

[@marcovicencio1]

it already exists, self cooling can search it in youtube

[@Khaleesi_Jack]

I wish I could find these where I live. As a 'how does this work?' person myself as well, would love to play with/tinker with one or several of these. Safely of course, always safely!

[@Bruisader]

Silica won't heat up by just mixing aluminium to it ? There is some other thing also.

[@txikitofandango]

Excellent use of our limited and unrenewable natural resources!

[@hantrio4327]

Because sand and bauxite are so rare

[@ejnaygfantzcg]

Looks extremely safe.

[@arctic3032]

I love the smell of thermite in the morning

[@rmaxwell3294]

Great job Phil, I just wonder what the coffee tastes like...

[@Qui-9]

Aluminum and sand, basically?

[@TheWhoost]

Wow! That's quite a can, Makes me wonder about the manufacturing costs. Plastic resealable ends are about 90 cents each wholesale, so I bet these are pretty pricey, but quite a cool gimmick!

[@Connie_cpu]

$20 for a 4 pack it seems, so maybe a tiny bit cheaper than Starbucks. Might be good for camping!

[@ethandavis7310]

@@Connie_cpu Great for camping if you drink the coffee cold and use the can as a fire starter lol

[@LaurieGeePea]

35 years ago in Japan, I bought a drink from a vending machine on the side of the road that had a very similar mechanism.

[@goopbloop8823]

Awesome!!

[@black_abysseus]

Thats a nifty fuse

[@whatelseison8970]

How does it start the reaction though? Silica and aluminum obviously don't react on contact; even when finely powdered.

[@Marienkarpfen]

You actually answered my question at 3:50 òó Too good of a teacher. Very good explanation thank you for the video :0

[@DenwarTheoriginal]

I'm curious to know what exactly starts the reaction. Does Silicon Dioxide based thermite have a lower ignition point than FeO 3 thermite?

[@parsamohammadzade291]

Amazing

[@chadterry9770]

So basically a cool way to ignite a bomb or something other with a nice timed fuse Thanks for selling that to the public

[@georgeh5075]

I'm wondering if those two ignition chemicals could be something like glycerin and saturated potassium permanganate solution? Two cheap readily available chemicals that can light thermite.

[@ZoonCrypticon]

Very interesting. But I wonder, that this product got a safety certification.

[@MarvelParsons700]

Thank you for posting the video. Very informative. I'm disappointed that a company would make a product that uses so many resources to create a hot cup of coffee. It seems very wasteful. How could this can be recycled?

[@Chemteacherphil]

As I was deconstructing these, it was pretty apparent that they were designed with recycling in mind. The plastic components snapped off easily and the aluminum outer casing can easily be separated from the steel vessel that contains the silica thermite. Is it as easy to recycle as aluminum cans? I doubt it.

[@velfaern1716]

Honestly my favorite thing about chemists is when they get ahold of an everyday product like this and immediately have to know why it works.

[@DOGMA1138]

How has this been approved for release? Also if do they sell these at airports? ;)

[@Vikingwerk]

This ought to settle a lot of the arguments in the comments on the short version of this video! 😂

[@dominikdobrotic8298]

Walter White: "Jesse, go buy more coffee!"

[@Joeyisagonnawin]

My first question is: why? Then I understand the convenience of it all, the interesting reaction, and the efficiency of it all. But, overheating coffee can burn it and ruin the flavor, especially if the coffee was premade, meaning it's a bit excessive for something such as this. And then I think how thermite could potentially be abused, and then I come to a unique and come to a completely reasonable question: why?

[@maryinfante1657]

Because we can. The best kind of reasoning.

[@everythingpony]

Cool, so is it safe to drink thermite m

[@mikelCold]

Awesome

[@MrWillypanda88]

I am more interested in the mechanism to trigger the thermite reaction, how did they do that?

[@tymz-r-achangin]

Very interesting. Thanks for the video. Would also like to know how much those self-heating cans of coffee cost. I would imagine it costs way more than its worth it just to get hot coffee.

[@Chemteacherphil]

It’s definitely a niche product. The cans cost me $5/each.

[@tymz-r-achangin]

@@Chemteacherphil WoW 5 bucks each. But eah, maybe worth it when something like going on a trip or hunting in the cold and knowing it would be nice now n then to have a hot and quick coffee to warm up with :)

[@DrakeOola]

@@tymz-r-achanginI'd still buy that over starbucks tho... Not sure how much starbucks costs elsewhere but it's like 7-10 bucks a coffee here so this is not only cheaper but a lot cooler too.

[@tymz-r-achangin]

@@DrakeOola I hear ya loud n clear on that. Our household wont even consider starbucks anymore. Even before commi china unleashed their virus on our economy, our starbucks have been going downhill with the quality of their their coffee while they keep their prices high

[@Corvus__]

Where can I get some of this coffee to try out?

[@crewneckdeath6801]

Is there a market for it ?

[@paulmvn5431]

I just want to know where to buy that coffee.

[@ronmka8931]

This is the young version of the hl2 scientist

[@mattkidroske]

What can you do with the used thermite afterwards? I imagine you can't recycle that like a normal aluminum can.

[@mrwizzardknight]

Is it safe to put that empty can in the recycling bin?

[@user-xu3zb7nq2h]

Hey Phil. I really need your assistance with a Chem problem. Will it be possible to ask?

[@Eonz]

I too would like to heat my coffee with a thermite pipebomb

[@Some_Beach]

How does it kick off the reaction though?

[@DonCarlione973]

Very interesting! I've never seen anything like this before... I mean, thermite inside a coffee can! C'mon, It's an absolutely crazy idea, no? Lol

[@rebeccarivers4797]

Is the coffee any good?

[@thematronsmilitia]

I want to use this reaction to make my own silicon aluminum alloy, for casting aluminum small engine parts, or perhaps just forging aluminum

[@morningstarsci]

thank you for pulling it apart. what initial chemical reaction do you think is starting it off once the membrane is ruptured?

[@Chemteacherphil]

I think (based solely off of the patent description) that it involves barium peroxide. There is an audible release of gas from the heater once the reaction is initiated.

[@MarianLuca-rz5kk]

​@@Chemteacherphil Hi Phil. So if we mix aluminum filings with quartz sand, how can we initiate the reaction ?

[@DrakeOola]

@@MarianLuca-rz5kk magnesium ribbon or get enough shavings from a fire starter and use that assuming your powder is even fine enough...

[@MarianLuca-rz5kk]

@@DrakeOola Shavings from a fire starter? What do you mean by that?

[@deltab9768]

What I wonder is how, exactly it ignites the thermite. There has to be some sensitive chemical reaction to trigger it just by turning the dial

[@unagisama5476]

Still wasn't clear how the reaction was initiated though. Now more curious about that puncture ignition. A bullet primer would've been more fun.😂

[@Chemteacherphil]

I had hoped that the patent description would provide answers about the primary ignition but it was quite vague.

[@DrakeOola]

@@Chemteacherphil You mentioned barium peroxide in another comment, surely there's some chemistry tests you could perform to confirm its presence...

[@wrathofcell]

what brand is this? i cant read it? how can i get it?

[@francesblakely1616]

Hi. I cannot comment on shorts, so i figured I'd ask here. Can you do a vids explaining kitchen science please? More specific, why my purple/red onion turned blue/green after i cooked it with eggs?

[@tonyztyles]

Where tf where you at when I had chemistry class ?!

[@JoTheVeteran]

Is that product affordable? Compared to other canned coffee products. It looks too complicated.

[@randlemcmurphy4594]

This makes me wish I smoked less weed And actually went to chemistry class!

[@Adam-jg7le]

we need this for instant ramen

[@mumblbeebee6546]

You get coffe, a coolstory, and presumably a higher environmental footprint?

[@sic308941]

wouldnt it pressurise ? chance to explode?

[@yellowflowerorangeflower5706]

New sub

[@WhiteBoyGamer]

how much does one can cost ?

[@dynomar11]

Okay but isn't this dangerous if you drink your coffee and then activate the thermite thing? Sounds like a lawsuit

[@DrakeOola]

You'd have to purposefully disassemble the whole can and at that point it's your own fault. It's like a knife, any product can be used wrong if you intend to do harm but the manufacturer isn't going to be the one to get in trouble because you murdered someone with it.

[@BIBRO0]

how much is one of those coffes ?