Sean sent me this link early this morning. We then chatted about where to find an old washing machine (he has an old one but isn’t ready for it to be deconstructed yet) and a place to try a similar experiment of our own. I suggested a dump–we might find the desired object(s) and wouldn’t have to clean up afterward. Sean said it was a good idea and maybe we would get lucky and ignite the methane escaping from the rotting organic matter in the dump. That was when I realized it wasn’t such a good idea. It would be impossible to determine the minimum safe distance from which to view the deconstruction of the home appliance(s). If the entire landfill went up in one fireball…. well… it would be thrilling until it came back down on top of us.
The View From North Central Idaho
Ramblings on explosives, guns, politics, and sex by a redneck Idaho farm boy who became a software engineer living near Seattle.
You could probably buy one, or a shell of one, from a repair shop. I remember the repair place in Moscow was just hauling them to the dump once gutted of working components.
One of our favorite hang-outs as kids was the local dump. You could shoot things and break things, and no one cared. It even provided a source of income for the local homeless guy, we called “Charlie the Dump Man”. When they started covering the land fills in the 1960s and ’70s, we regarded it as a loss.
Never did have a problem with methane.
Save the tub first before blasting the machine! Metal washing-machine tubs make a handy portable firepit. They sell for $40-$50 along the Highway 1 beaches here in Cali.
Example at this link:
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:kH00MTBs7NEJ:www.off-road.com/camp/firepit/+washing+machine+firepit&hl=en
Stick it on a post in your back yard, and you have a waist-high firepit, which can be nice for parties.