So, after I had checked in on Saturday the day before the race, I wandered outside to where there was a small “expo” of your miscellaneous tri clothes, nick naks, and general other tri related supplies. You’ve all seen them, a conglomerate of plastic bins, about 8" x 12" placed on table tops. I was looking over some of the items on one particular table when just in front of me and 2 feet to the right, it sounds like a cannon going off. Pieces of plastic bin go everywhere, along with other bins and other nick naks… So after I change my underwear, I try to find out what just happened. Behind me and about 10 feet back there is this guy that says, “Dianna, take me to the hospital!”. I look back and there this guy holding his left arm with his right hand with blood just streaming down his arm. Come to find out it’s Scott Schowe, the the husband of one of our club members who’s there to race. Someone’s yelling, “Call 911, call 911.” Luckily, there were some EMT’s that were there as participants, so they immediatley spring into action. Telling the guy to lie down, appliying pressure, etc… Come to find out, that it was a CO2 cartridge that exploded and took off like a missle hitting Scott just above the elbow. It hit him so hard and fast that it ruptured the skin down to the bone. The EMT’s did a fantastic job to stop the bleeding, but it was very scary few minutes seeing him bleed like that and seeing Dianna a mess as it all unfolded. It could have just as easily been me. I talked with Scott the next day after the race, he’s doing great. He’s wearing a sling and sore, but he’s alive.
Just remember folks, don’t leave your CO2 cartridges sitting out in the sun in 93 degree heat… Not that you do anyway!
EDIT: It was actually a Vittoria Pit Stop cannister filled with propane…
Certainly leaving them in the heat isn’t good practice, but it had to be a defective cartridge or it was damaged. No way should normal heat cause them to go off. Glad your friend is OK.
I was there as well. I thought it was an aerosol “Slime” tire sealant bottle that blew up not a CO2 cartridge. Is the guy allright? A buddy of mine got hit by what he thought was the cap.
I was there as well. I thought it was an aerosol “Slime” tire sealant bottle that blew up not a CO2 cartridge. Is the guy allright? A buddy of mine got hit by what he thought was the cap.
Talking with Dianna on Sunday, she kept calling it a cartridge. I guess I just assumed she was talking about a CO2 cartridge. I’ll send her an e-mail to clarify…
Scott seemed like he was in good spirits on Sunday… Like I said, he said he was pretty sore, not sure if he got stitches or not for the wound. He was wearing a sling so I’m guessing he was pretty bandaged up under there.
In general with any high pressure canister I would say its a good idea to keep it in the proverbial cool dry. I just didn’t think it went off solely due to heat.
Just remember folks, don’t leave your CO2 cartridges sitting out in the sun in 93 degree heat… Not that you do anyway!
I can recall a number of time where I have left my Co2 cartridges sitting out in the sun & 93+ degree heat… It’s called transition;-) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That’s a really good point. And you know, a lot of the behind-the-seat water bottle cages have CO2 and crack pipe mounts where they are completely exposed to sun and heat. I wonder how vulnerable those things are to exploding?
I was there as well. I thought it was an aerosol “Slime” tire sealant bottle that blew up not a CO2 cartridge. Is the guy allright? A buddy of mine got hit by what he thought was the cap.
It could be unrelated but when I bought a couple cannisters of Vittoria Pit Stop at the expo on Sat night after packet pickup the guys working there told me that earlier one or more of the cannisters had exploded due to being left in the sun/heat so they had moved them into the shade. This would make more sense than CO2 cannisters exploding because the Vittoria product uses propane which is a bit more volatile and therefore more likely to explode. In any case if you use the product just be sure to keep it out of the direct sunlight/heat because they can explode (though I’m not sure if it was this product that caused the injury described above.)
I was there as well. I thought it was an aerosol “Slime” tire sealant bottle that blew up not a CO2 cartridge. Is the guy allright? A buddy of mine got hit by what he thought was the cap.
It could be unrelated but when I bought a couple cannisters of Vittoria Pit Stop at the expo on Sat night after packet pickup the guys working there told me that earlier one or more of the cannisters had exploded due to being left in the sun/heat so they had moved them into the shade. This would make more sense than CO2 cannisters exploding because the Vittoria product uses propane which is a bit more volatile and therefore more likely to explode. In any case if you use the product just be sure to keep it out of the direct sunlight/heat because they can explode (though I’m not sure if it was this product that caused the injury described above.)
You are correct. I confirmed that it was a Vittoria Pit Stop cannister and not a CO2 cartridge which everyone first thought it was.
