14x02 - Tanker Crush

[bunniefuu]

Please, don't try anything
you are about to see at home.

We're
what you call experts.

They say
home is where the heart is.

But inside every house lurks
a host of domestic dangers.

So could your home
actually be where the hurt is?

The Mythbusters are finding out.

Ah. A mythbuster's job
is never done.

From exploding
vacuum cleaners...

I spilled
the whole thing. Oh, no.

...to sunscreen
that could scorch your skin...

Can't get sunburnt.

Hey.
We caught him on fire.

There.
He's on fire.

...to pianos
dropping out of the sky.

Off the roof.
Off the other roof!

Nothing but concrete.

And finally, to water heaters
that might extinguish fires.

Oh, crap!

Boom!

Wow.

The Mythbusters are on the case

With a horde
of household disasters.

Come on.
Come on, water heater.

Whoa!

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage...

This is science in action.

...and Jamie Hyneman.

We're gonna have an adventure.

Between them,
more than 30 years

Of special-effects experience.

Together with Kari Byron...

Let's do it.

...Grant Imahara...

Rahhhh!

...and Tory Belleci.

Let's chop this car up!

They don't just tell
the myths.

Oh, yeah.

They put them to the test.

- [font color="#ffff00"]Captions by vitac[/font] --
[font color="#00ffff"]www.Vitac.Com[/font]
-- Resynced for W4F HDTV rip by someone --

Off the grid and undercover...

...the Mythbusters
are beginning...

This is
the worst-case scenario.

Fire in the hole!

...by living dangerously.

All I want
is something to blow up.

Is that so much to ask?

Boom.

High five!
Nicely done!

I spoke too soon.
Good work, everyone.

So, they've started with a bang.

But how about we start
at the beginning?

Well, today, what we have
is a whole episode

Devoted to myths
about household disasters.

And the first one
is a doozy --

The myth that sunscreen

Can make you vulnerable
to bursting into flames.

Spontaneous
human combustion.

I'm all for it.

Great.
Let's go.

There's a myth out there

That says
that certain types of sunscreen

May protect you from burning,

But they can also, at
the same time, set you on fire.

And so, with that in mind,

We've come out to one of our
favorite places in the bay area

That we can legally and safely
set things on fire.

Yep. Inside this
fireproof concrete bunker...

Nice.

...the guys will
attempt to light up some lotion.

That your fire suit?

It is, indeed.

Good. Well,
if you put that on,

We'll find out which one
of these is flammable.

All right.

With Adam suited,

First up
are the traditional creams...

Just squirt those
into the flame.

...in possibly the most basic
test ever on "Mythbusters."

All right.
Here goes nothing.



Not flammable.

Nope.

All right.
Number two.

Also not flammable.

Nope.

So, why didn't the creams burn?

Well, the creams are made up
of chemicals and minerals,

But they're primarily
an oil-based product.

And just like the oil
in your salad dressing,

It's pretty hard to get it
to burst into flames.

Not flammable.

But we're just getting started.

Now it's time
to move on to the sprays.

Oh!

All right.
That's one for further study.

Wow!

Clearly, this is one
you shouldn't try at home...

Whoo!

...because the sprays
are adding fuel to the fire.

Wow!

Dude,
these sprays are scary.

And it's all down
to the propellant.

So, what are
those propellants you'll find

In an average can
of spray sunscreen?

Primarily butane and propane.

Butane you'll know as the stuff
that's in your lighter.

And propane is the stuff
you cook your burgers on.

They're used primarily because
they're self-pressurizing.

They allow the manufacturer
to make something that sprays

Without having to put
a highly pressurized gas

In this canister.

They're not meant
to be flammable --

Not for this product, anyway.

The butane is fanning
the flames of the myth.

All right.

Time to get cooking.

So now to find out
if this summertime scenario

Really is a household hazard.

Just in case.

Our scenario here
is pretty straightforward.

Our dude here, the chef,

Is a barbecuing aficionado
who is also very pale.

So he is currently covering
himself with sunscreen

While barbecuing.

We're gonna wait until the meat
gets good and greasy

And get some fire
coming up off of that.

And then we're gonna try
and apply a little sunscreen,

See what happens to our dude.

All right.
Here we go.

"I may be barbecuing,

But it's been awhile
since I put sunscreen on."

Barbecue buster
is pale as a ghost,

So Adam ensures he's thoroughly
protected from the sun.

Yeah.
That's not so bad.

But could
that overzealous protection

Actually do buster harm?

Can't get sunburnt. No.
No sunburn for you.

Whoa. Whoa.

Hey.
We caught him on fire.

He's on fire.

Should I put him out?

Yes! Excellent.

Whoo!
That was close!

We actually were able
to get the fire

To jump from the barbecue
through the mist

To the guy's arm
and set him on fire.

Pretty extreme circumstances,
I know,

But at this point, his arm
and even some of his clothing

Are on fire.

And he's in big trouble.

Clearly,
this could be a home disaster

Waiting to happen.

So cue human analogue 2.0.

Ready for your 15 minutes
of fame, little piggy?

Next up, Kari, Tory, and Grant

Get the drop
on a little house music.

Are you guys ready
for a super slapstick,

Cartoon-style
house hazards myth?

Yeah.
Okay. Let's hear it.

All right.
So, you know when a piano

Is dangling above a house
dangerously,

Whenever it drops,
it crashes all the way through.

Yeah. And it leaves
a perfect hole in the roof,

And every floor
it goes through.

Well, that's
what we're testing.

Is that
how it really happens?

So, to test
this disastrous domestic drop,

They found the perfect crib
to crash a piano through.

Whoa.
This place is creepy.

Now, to test this,
we had to find a house.

And by some miracle,

Somebody has given us a house
to crash a piano through.

What is this place?

Now, before you freak out --

"Oh, it's a house
from the 1800s!" --

This is ridden with rat poop.

This is slated for teardown.

This is going
to be demolished anyway.

We're just gonna give it
a head start.

So, this is the piano that we're
gonna be dropping on our roof.

It weighs 700 pounds.

We're gonna take it up 50 feet
above the roof and drop it.

Now, it's gonna be traveling
at 38 miles an hour,

And it's gonna hit the rooftop
with 12,000 pounds of force.

And this is our roof.

We'll be dropping the piano
right on the bull's eye.

Now, at that target point,
a roof of this design

Is capable
of supporting a static load

Of approximately 2,200 pounds.

Let me show you
what it looks like inside.

And we've specifically chosen
the target point

To be between the roof joists

So it has the best possibility
of punching through.

But that's not all.

In order for this myth
to be confirmed,

It has to punch
through the floor, too.

Now, this floor is capable
of supporting a static load

Of 4,200 pounds.

And if you do all the math,

That means we just might see
a hole in the roof

And a hole in the floor.

All right.

Time to raise the piano,
huh?

Let's do it.
Got the straps?

Now, to get our piano airborne,
this is our crane.

It should easily be able

To dangle that piano


All right.
Take a long look at this piano.

This is the last time
it's gonna look this good.

I think that the piano's
gonna break into pieces.

The idea
that it would keep going

And go through the floor,
as well,

It feels
a little ludicrous to me.

I think that we're gonna get
just through the roof,

And that's it.

Kari's instincts say no.

But with a 700-pound piano
dropping from 50 feet

And striking the roof
with a force of 12,000 pounds,

It's gonna be hard-hitting.

Okay.
Here we go.

This is
"upright piano at 50 feet

Dropped through a house"

In 3, 2, 1.

Oh.

Oh!
Oh! Ooh!

Off the roof.
Off the other roof!

Nothing but concrete.

Wow.
Listen to that bounce.

It's still playing.

It's still going,
but that's the music of --

Yeah.
I think I know this tune --

"Busted."

It seems the upright
piano was too low-key.

Despite the force of the fall,

It wasn't enough
to carry the tune.

But is there more to this myth?

I think we're gonna need
a bigger piano.

Yep.

Oh.

Oh!

Wow.
Look at that.

We splintered the beams.

I think what happened was, there
was so much flex in the roof

That we weren't able
to punch through.

So now I think
we need a bigger piano.

Coming up...

The Mythbusters hit home
with more domestic disasters.

Come on, water heater.

Whoa!

Sunscreen.

It's meant
to keep you from burning.

Mm-hmm!

But could it actually give you

A very painful kind of tan?

So far in this episode,
our experiments

Have been concentrated
around the aerosolization

Of spray sunscreen.

That is, when it creates
a bilious cloud

That gets near an open flame and
can cause a whooshing fireball.

Hey.
We caught him on fire.

But that's not
the only mechanism

By which we've heard these
sunscreens can be dangerous.

We've heard reports
of people applying it

And then, minutes later,
approaching an open flame

And then catching on fire...

That it may remain flammable
for a period of time.

But to test this, we can't use
our fiberglass mannequin

'Cause its skin is hard.

We need a more realistic
human analogue to skin

That can absorb
our sunscreen.

Ready for your 15 minutes
of fame, little piggy?

Like that guy.

The suggestion is
that propellant-based sunscreen

Stays flammable
long after application.

Let's get to grilling.

There we go.

But is that a scenario
that will bring home the bacon?

Now we wait a little bit,
let the fat start to fry.

For the first test,
we're gonna apply the sunscreen

And then wait three minutes
before we expose it to flame.

All right, dude.
I think we're close.

You want to get ready
to spray him

And then count down
three minutes?

Okeydokey.

So, how might it be
that sunscreen

Remains flammable
once applied to the skin?

A whole bunch.

All the way
down the arm, too.

Well, solvents are used to
dissolve the oils and minerals

And carry them in suspension.

And that is usually
denatured alcohol

At concentrations up to 75%.

And as we know,
alcohol is very flammable.

That's the theory,
and three minutes later...

Three minutes.

...porky has to sweat it out.

All right.
Here we go, pig.

Adam fans the flames,

But will the sunscreen
still be flammable?

Nothing.
No.

Nothing, man.

Uh
no.

Three minutes,
I don't think you're flammable.

Time to do one minute.

Let's go for broke.

Next, they slap on
a whole lot more sunscreen...

...and this time, grab
the grill after just 60 seconds.

Time's up.

Go.

Ah.

One minute -- Nothing.
Nope.

We've tested the application of
the spray sunscreen on our pig

And exposed him
to a barbecue fire

After three minutes
and one minute

And, so far, have yet to achieve
any kind of burning pork.

Now we're going to do it
nearly instantaneously.

We're going to apply
the sunscreen to our pig,

Wait about five seconds for
the bilious cloud to disperse,

And then bring in
the barbecue flames.

Here we go.
Okay.

There.
He's on fire.

Is he on fire?

Oh! My goodness!

So as porky feels the burn,

There's definitely
a residual risk,

But it's only five seconds
after application.

So, it seems
that the alcohol in these sprays

Is evaporating very rapidly.

But if you spray yourself down

And then immediately expose
that sprayed area

To an open source of flame
like the grill,

You could be in serious trouble,
like our guy.

Before they tickle
the ivories once again,

First,
a different domestic disaster.

Okay. A vacuum cleaner.
And is that black powder?

It is. All right.
Let me explain.

Now, this myth
is about a guy

Who's making his own a*mo
in his living room.

He knocks over a bunch
of black powder on the carpet,

Decides to vacuum it up.

But something
in the vacuum cleaner

Ignites the black powder,
and the whole thing explodes.

No way.

Man, this has "Mythbusters"
written all over it.

It's a household hazard

That you can't sweep
under the rug.

But will sucking up black powder
really bring the house down?

Well, at the b*mb range...

All right.
The cleanup crew's here.

...the guys
get on with their chores...

All hands on deck.
Get it?

Funny.

...as they lay, first,
a floor...

Oh, my god.
It's perfect.

...and then a carpet.

Now watch this.
Boom!

Wow.
We actually got a carpet

That goes with the colors
of the b*mb range.

There's dirty brown
and blasted brown.

A little bit
of "burnt" ocher.

So, now to bring in the vacuums.

But how could something built
to suck ignite the black powder?

Well, number one,

You have an electric motor
that's generating heat.

Number two, you have rotating
parts moving at high speed.

You could form
static electricity,

And a static discharge
could set it off.

And finally, there could be
an electrical problem

Inside of the vacuum,

Causing a large amount of heat
to be generated in a small area.

And because
of that unholy trinity...

Ah. A mythbuster's job
is never done.

...the team is opting
for some hands-free hoovering.

So, this is
how it's gonna go down.

We are gonna be vacuuming up
a pound of black powder.

That's a lot of black powder,

And the vacuum cleaner
could potentially explode.

So we'll be operating it
remotely

With my vacuuming robot.

If you are not satisfied with
the robot vacuuming machine,

Your money is 100%...



It is about 50% guaranteed.

With the robot firing
on its one and only cylinder...

It's like one
of those furniture testers.

...Grant
adds the final ingredient.

Ow!
I spilled some more!

Oh, no!

I spilled the whole thing.
Oh, no.

This feels
like the beginning

Of the best infomercial
for a vacuum ever.

Okay.
This is "black powder/vacuum"

In 3...





All right.
Engaging Robo-Maid.

All right. Let's let it run for
a minute and see what happens.

Slowly but surely,

Robo-Maid runs the vacuum
over the powder.

Yeah. She moves real slow,
but she does a great job.

But after a minute,
although the vacuum is sucking,

It's not blowing up.

Didn't blow up.

Okay.
Let's switch out the vacuum.

So with a squadron
of suckers standing by...

We do windows, too.

...next,
they try the uprights.

All right.
I think we can call it.

Then, the canisters.





Then, the high--
And the low-amperages.

Well, so far,
it's sucking.

Well, you're right.
It is sucking.

But after all that vacuuming,

They're still 0 for 7
on explosions.

This myth is totally busted.

I'm standing in a virtual
vacuum-cleaner graveyard.

We tried every vacuum cleaner
we could find.

We used a substantial amount
of black powder, and no boom.

Busted.

But we're gonna end this
the way Mythbusters

Like to end an experiment --
With a big blast.

Yep. The team
tested the circumstances,

And it sucked.

So now it's time
to replicate the result.

Time for our favorite part.

"Mythbusters maid service"
in 3, 2, 1.

Oh! Oh!

Whoo!

Now, that is
an exploding vacuum cleaner.

So, all episode long,
we've been testing things

That go horribly wrong
in the house.

For this story,
we've got a bit of a twist.

We're doing two things
that go horribly wrong,

Except that they cancel
each other out.

Go on.
Well, first,

You've got to picture
a house

That has
a faulty hot water heater --

A situation we know
is very, very dangerous.

At the same time
as the water heater

Is about to blow,
a fire starts.

Then,
in some crazy coincidence,

Just as the fire
as reaching its peak,

The water heater explodes,
and bang.

No more fire.

So, the water heater
explodes,

And then it completely
extinguishes the fire?

Exactly.
So, what we need

Is a house
that we can set on fire

And a water heater
that will "fail"

Precisely
when we want it to,

Because in this one,
timing is everything.

Isn't it always?

Yes, it is.

So, they'll fight fire
with steam later,

Because first up,
they need a water heater

That will explode on cue.

We've done a lot of stories
in this location.

Yes, we have.

And for the main ingredient,

They'll need that
malfunctioning water heater.

Nice.

And for
the firefighting contents,

They've got to improvise.

Resources are a little scarce
out here in pit 232,

So miles and Tory
are using the gradall

To get water in that trash can.

Said trash can

Will then be transported
over to our water heater,

Where, soon,
we're gonna turn it into steam,

Hopefully catastrophically.

That right there, that's
some Mythbusters ingenuity.

Uh-huh.

Straight from the lake
into the tank.

For the next step,

Jamie is bringing in
some air support.

But where does that fit with
this overheated water heater?

Now, if you're familiar
with our show,

You know that this is not our
first water-heater expl*si*n.

Everything's to blow up,
right here!

Whoa!

Boom.

Oh!

Now, in the past,
when we've blown them up,

We have gone
with a very similar methodology

For every single one.

We've capped it off, heated it
up, and waited for it to blow...

Ah!
The suspense is k*lling me!

...and waited...

This is excruciating.

...and waited.

I don't want to take
my eyes off of it.

The waiting is the hardest part.

I love this part.

But in this case,
we need the water heater

To blow
at a very specific point --

When the fire in our house

Is big enough to have passed
the point of no return

But not big enough

To have officially
burned down the house.

So this time,

We are implementing
an entirely new method

Of causing our water heater to
blow exactly when we want it to.

And that new method starts here,

With this generator putting out


To the heating elements
in our water heater.

All those trusty electrons
will transfer their energy

Into the water
inside this sealed container,

Causing the water to expand,

Causing pressure
to build inside it.

And in our extensive experience
with these,

They'll blow somewhere

Between 320 and 340 pounds
per square inch of pressure.

So, I figure I can make the tank
blow whenever I want

Using this scuba tank.

I'll wait until we get up
into the 300-PSI-or-so range,

Throw this lever.

And when I do...

Oh, crap!

So, when the tank
reaches 300 PSI...

Power on.

Now we wait.

...a little extra burst

Will push it past its threshold.

And boom.

Well, that's the theory,

So first,
a proof-of-concept test.

It's that familiar
water-heater wait

As the pressure inside the tank
slowly builds.

As they close in on 300 PSI.,
it's all down to their rig,

Because if it can't trigger
a boom,

They won't be fighting fires
any time soon.

We're at 226, folks.

The anticipation is really
exquisite at this point.



It's time to give the heater
its booster shot.

It's "go" time.
Here we go.

All right, everybody.
It's happening.

I'll give a countdown.

Jamie, you ready?

I'm ready.

All right.

High-pressure
hot-water-heater expl*si*n

In 5, 4, 3...



That pressure
just dropped to zero.

Oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
It's up. It's up. It's up.

I see it.
I see it.

It's coming down
to the right.

It's perfect.
Not too far.

Boom!

Nice work, sir!

Whoo!

Within a second.

Well done.

What a relief.

That works magnificently.

Proof of concept.

Let's go inspect
the damage.

Never get
used to that feeling.

That last shot in the arm

Overpressurized
the water heater.

And after a dramatic pause
for effect...

It exploded almost on cue.

Smells wet.

And just like every other
water-heater expl*si*n,

There's the upside-down concave,
now made convex,

That sends it
on its journey.

So, as you can see,
the ground is wet around here.

It's about a 25-foot radius
of moisture.

That's the stuff that hopefully
is gonna put out our fire.

Well, you know,
a little welding,

And it'll be good as new.

Well, that was beautiful.

It would seem
that even though we are old dogs

When it comes to detonating
or exploding hot water heaters,

We can still learn
a few new tricks.

We now know exactly
how to set off a water heater

When we want to.

Now it's time to transfer that
technology to a house on fire,

Because, don't forget, we're
trying to put out a house fire

With the energy
of an exploding water heater.

This should be good.

Please, don't try what
you're about to see at home.

We're what you would call
experts.

Welcome back.

We have been testing a story
about a house that is on fire,

And that fire gets extinguished

By an exploding
hot water heater.

In order to test this,

We had to come up
with an entirely new method

Of exploding a hot water heater
on command.

We tested it,
and it works perfectly.

Boom!

Nice work, sir!

Now it's time to find out if
that exploding hot water heater

Actually has
fire-extinguishing capabilities.

Yep. And for that,
they're gonna need a house

To set on fire.

So, this is
our cozy little cottage.

It's being built to code.

It'll have
all the modern amenities.

It has a lovely lakeside view.

Ain't she pretty?

Well, at least she is right now.

And every lake house
needs a fire extinguisher

Installed
and filled to the brim.

Got to love a siphon.

It's like magic.

And now
the dressing will commence.

Ooh!
Like a magician.

The Mythbusters

Are replicating
a lounge-room scenario,

Complete with shag carpet...

That is
some fugly-a*s carpet.

Yeah.
Nice.

...comfy couches...

This is looking good.

...and plenty
of combustible contents.

Home, sweet home.

I find it interesting
we're repeatedly making spaces

That feel somewhat homey

But are only gonna last
for like 45 minutes

Before we burn them down.

Oh.
Or maybe put them out.

We might put this fire out.

They might.

But to put it out,
first, they'll need to start it.

All right.
Go ahead and fire it up.

Nice.
Shut it down.

Oh. What is this?

This is a little wastebasket
fire starter

That I built
back in the shop yesterday.

In order to replicate
a real-world fire

Starting in a house,

We are going to create a way to
start a fire in a wastebasket.

We need to set a fire
exactly when we want to.

And that means we're gonna use
our favorite ignition source --

The 15,000-volt
neon transformer.

Now, if everything
goes according to plan,

Pushing this button should start
a fire in this bucket.



And there it is.

Wait.

That's it.

I think that's enough said.
Oh. Wait.

There's one last detail.

Everyone has
a nice little bit of a throw

They put over the arm
of their couch.

Diabolical.

The house is now
a disaster waiting to happen.

But to contain it,
Jamie is digging the dirt.

One of the problems
with setting a house on fire

Is the question

Of what else you might set
on fire if you do that.

Well, it's fire season
here in california,

And our experiment is gonna make
the fire department

A little, well, nervous.

So to put their minds at ease,

I'm gonna dig a nice firebreak.

And with that,
their house is ready to burn.

A visitor.

Who could it be?

I think we're done.

Not yet.
Stand back just a little bit.

Now we're done.

Wipe your feet.

The carpet's all nice.

It's a silent-movie classic

That plays a devastating tune.

But could this domestic disaster
be fictional physics?

Okay. So far
we haven't had any luck

Punching through the roof
with our upright piano

Just like in the movies.

But we're not giving up.

We're going to upgrade
to this baby grand piano.

It has twice the weight
of the upright

And, therefore,
twice the energy.

We'll find a new part
of the roof to drop it on,

Because the one we just used
is compromised,

And we'll give it another shot.

So, will a grander
piano weighing 1,400 pounds

Get the shingles to shatter?

Though having a bigger piano
gives us more kinetic energy...

...i'm thinking here

That, since it's spread out
over a larger surface area,

We're still gonna get a bounce.

I don't think
this one's going through.

After seeing that last piano,
I just am less optimistic.

But this is "Mythbusters."

We've got to cover
all our bases.

We already had an upright piano.

Now we've got to have
one of these big boys.

What are you
doing back there?

I'm serenading.

Pins out.

This is gonna be good.

This is gonna be
real good.

- Wow.
- Wow.

Makes me very uncomfortable,

Seeing something that heavy
that high in the air.

Dangling 50 feet above the roof,

Will it be an instrument
of massive destruction?

All right. This is
"grand piano through a roof"

In 3... 2...1.

Ohhh.
Ohhh!

Oh!

Yeah!

It's stuck!
That's awesome!

I thought
it was going through.

That was awesome.

That was hilarious!

It didn't put a hole,
but it stuck to the roof.

That was awesome.
All right.

Let's go take a look.

That was amazing.

Amazing, but this myth
is on its last legs,

As they're the only things
that penetrated the roof.

Well, there's something
you don't see every day.

Nope.

It just stuck to the roof.
That's awesome.

I think, at this point,

We can pretty much call
this one busted.

We tried twice with
two different kind of pianos,

And we didn't get a hole.

No. And this is kind of
an old, rotten house.

All right.
So, we had the grand piano

Suspended 50 feet
above the roof.

We let it go, and I thought
for sure it was going through.

But as you can see here,
only the legs made it through.

The rest of the piano
is still on the roof.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work
like it does in the movies.

This one is busted.

Busted,

But it ain't over until
the piano goes through the roof.

Welcome back to the Mythbusters
experimental music program.

But now we are going
to introduce sand.



This is gonna fill every nook
and cranny of the piano

And hopefully give us
an advantage,

'Cause right now,
the score is roof 2, piano 0.

In other words,

They're stacking the odds
by stacking the piano with sand.

And with a little fine tuning...

That sounds better.

There will be
a lot of musicians out there

That hate me right now, but...

The now-packed piano
is ready for a jam session.

Anybody know any beach boys?

Uh, gross.

I can't "sand" it.

You guys, let's just --

Let's just get
this thing in the air.

Oh, my god.
That was great.

I want you to drop the piano
on my head, though.

All right.
Bring in the crane.

This is gonna put a hole
through the roof for sure.

Now, the first time
we tried this,

The upright piano
weighed about 700 pounds.

We've upped the weight
of this one to 2,600 pounds,

Or 3.7 times more.

It seems to be holding
the sand.

You guys want
to get into position?

Additionally,
we're raising our height

From 50 feet to 75 feet.

We're gonna raise up
right from there.

That's going to result
in an impact force

Of over 55,000 pounds.

Now, bear in mind, that roof

Is only rated for a static load
of 2,100 pounds.

There's no doubt about it --
This thing is going through.

All right.
We're clear of the trees.

Now dangling
at 75 feet above the roof,

It's time for the final movement
as this myth faces the music.

All right.

So, this is "heavier piano
from a higher height"

In 3, 2, 1.

Yeah!
Yeah!

Whoa-h*-h*!
Whoa!

Through the roof!

No resistance whatsoever.

That put
a hole in the roof.

Awesome.

Holy mackerel.
That was awesome.

Good shot.

Like a cartoon anvil...

Whoa-h*-h*!

...the piano
drops straight through the roof.

Yeah!
Check out the new skylight.

That was sweet.

Whoa!

This is kind of what I thought

Was gonna happen
with the first piano.

It was just gonna punch
a hole through the roof

And land on the floor.

Luckily, this piano had a couple
extra things going for it.

Height.
We had it much, much higher.

It was much, much heavier.

And smaller surface area,

Compacting all that weight
into a nice little -- Boof --

Just demolition ball.

It was awesome.

All right.
It might have taken a few tries,

But we finally got a hole
in the roof with the piano.

But this one's
still busted.

Yeah. I mean,
that was an upright piano

Weighing 2,600 pounds

Stuffed with sand,
raised to 75 feet.

That's not
a normal situation.

Well, I'm pretty sure

Nobody's calling Mythbusters
piano movers, are they?

I'm sure
someone would hire us.

Somebody
who wants a skylight.

Eagle-eyed viewers,
this is for you.

Oh. You want to know why
i'm wearing a cast on my hand.

Sure.
Of course you do.

Well, when we first got
to this location,

Before we even started
sh**ting anything,

We had to move around a bunch of
things and pieces of equipment.

And among them were our
blast chamber section panels.

These are
an inch and a half thick.

They weigh 150 pounds apiece.

And one of them fell on my hand,

Actually crushing
my second metacarpal

At the first knuckle
of my index finger.

Ow!

What am I doing up
at the crack of dawn?

I asked myself the same question
this morning.

But here's the thing.

We are in northern california
gold country,

And it is smack in the middle
of prime fire season.

The fire department
has a real concern

That when we set fire
to our house

And explode
that hot water heater,

That we could cause a wildfire.

They have given us permission
to do this experiment,

But only at 8:00
or 9:00 in the morning.

So we have shown up
at the ungodly hour of 5:00 a.m.

To get all of our ducks
in a row

So that at 8:00 a.m.,

We can push the button
and set fire to the house

And detonate
this hot water heater

And get done
with this experiment,

All without causing a fire,
of course.

Yep.
And with the switch flicked...

And here we go.

...and the water heater heating,

The sun rises,

And the emergency crews prepare
for the worst-case scenario.

We expect that the building

May simply, like, not be
an interior structure anymore.

And be aware that that's
a dangerous structure

That could drop
on anybody that goes in.

I would recommend watching
for large objects

Like that furniture
that's traveling some distance.

That's the worst thing
that we can see that happens,

As far
as putting the fire out there.

The sun is up.

It's nice and early morning.

And we are pretty much
at "go" time.

The hot water heater
is pressured to 105 PSI.,

Which is
within its safety rating.

But that is time for us

To all get under the safety
of a bunker.

I'm sitting at ground zero
at the couch

Where my wastepaper basket

Is properly fueled
with some newspaper,

Ready to set fire
to the couch and the curtains.

We're not much more
than 10 minutes away.

I must admit,
i'm a little excited.

The Mythbusters
fall back to the bunker

Because, soon, that water heater
is gonna blow.

We are at 200 PSI.

the question is,

Will it extinguish
the impending fire?

This is command central.

We've got
a view of the ignition point.

We've got a view of the room

Where we expect the fire
to occur.

We've got our ignition switch
and our pressure meter.

We're all set.

It's nice when our gauges match.

I personally think the fire's

Gonna take
about 2, 2 1/2 minutes

To get
to the point of no return.

And I think
that our hot water heater

Is going to put it out
when it explodes,

But I think it's also
going to destroy the house.

This is the most tense part
of the operation.

So, I think it will be
a plus and a minus

All at the same time,
but we'll find out soon enough.

After 1 1/2 hours,

The tank is closing in
on the expl*sive butter zone.

So it's over
to our fire starter.

All right.
Here we go.

Setting the fire.



Uh.
- Oh.

Worked like a charm.

That worked --
Holy crap.

Wow.

Inside the house,
the flames quickly take hold.

The smoke is obscuring.

It's still going strong,

But it's obscuring
my upper camera.

And with the fire raging and
the water heater at 300 PSI.,

They're ready to fight
one disaster with another.

All right.

Jamie, I'm gonna give you
the countdown.

Are you ready?
You got a good fire?

Yeah.
I've got a good fire.

All right.
Here we go.

Fire in the hole.

We are going to blow
this hot water heater

In 5...









Come on back in.

Come on.
Come on, water heater.

Whoa!

It's up.
It's up. It's up.

I don't --
I see it.

I see it.
It's coming down.

Wham!

It landed on the land.

There's no house left.

I don't see any fire,
though.

I see some smoke.

That was
clearly a household disaster,

And initially,
it looks like the water heater

Extinguished the fire.

However,
once the dust settles...

Looks like we still have
a little bit of a fire.

Doesn't look like the water
heater helped out very much.

Fire chief,
for your information,

We have extinguished the fire,

But there's still
some smoldering.

So a little water here and there

Would take care
of finishing it off.

And as the fire crew

Put out
the smoldering wreckage...

This is
why we can't have nice things.

...it's clear
an exploding water heater

Is not a fire extinguisher.

That could not have been
more spectacular.

We had one household disaster,

A small fire
started in a wastebasket,

Compounded by a second
household disaster,

An exploding hot water heater...

That caused a third,

And ultimately fatal
to the house, disaster --

That is,
completely destroying the house.

Remember,
the whole point of this

Was to find out if one household
disaster, the water heater,

Could countermand the other one,
the fire.

Not only didn't it --

It also took the entire house
out while it went.

Fantastic result.

I can't make an okay sign
with this hand.

Yes!

What amazes me

Is that there were
no expl*sives involved here.

This little piece of sheet
metal, though, did that.

Did it put out the fire?

Some of it.

Did we save the house?

Oops.

Well, I think
it's pretty obvious

That we should call this.

What do you think?
Yep.

What do you think, guys?

Busted!

Let's go home.