Video: Pool Cleaner + Brake Fluid = Fiery Chemical Reaction

Is this safe? Definitely not. But, it is cool!

Two basic ingredients that technicians are sure to have in their garage — pool cleaner and brake fluid.

You don’t need pure chlorine, what you need is “pool shock” or calcium hypochlorite. Your brake fluid should be a type with polyethylene glycol. When you mix the two together, nothing happens. Well, for about 15 seconds nothing happens.

Soon the mixture bubbles up, builds up pressure inside the water bottle forcing the plastic to expand and … POW! Erupts into a red flame.

Is brake fluid flammable? Not necessarily. Here’s an explanation from i09:

“In studies of the reaction, all the brake fluid is consumed by the fire, but no effort on the part of the researchers can get the brake fluid to ignite on its own. The calcium hypochlorite is ripping the brake fluid apart, grabbing the hydrocarbons in it, and the heat from the reaction is making them ignite. In conclusion, boom.”

Here’s a few things to be careful for:

This reaction will work in any bottle, including glass bottles. Do not use a glass bottle to try this out. The glass will break into shards and the shards shooting off from the reaction could result in an injury.

It’s also a chemical reaction people, there’s nothing inherently safe about those …

But, you can Youtube the reaction safely! Check out this video: