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ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:05 am
by jfko6
OK. Today instead of placing the Hot Cocoa Beverage Base Powder in a coffee cup... I placed it into
the tea kettle.

BIG MISTAKE.

By doing so I discovered that it caused a fire. Luckily I walked into the kitchen the moment it happened.
The beverage base rose quickly, provided enough pressure to loosen the tight tea kettle lid; the powdery
contents it turns out is flammable and a large flame rose up. I was able to quickly turn off the gas flame.

But I certainly did not expect that. And there was the smell of a fire that just took place.

So the lesson = don't try to heat the beverage base on the stove in a tea kettle. It causes
a fire.

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:18 am
by kman
Wow! I never would have figured that stuff to so flamable!

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:29 am
by German_EPA
how can this stuff burn? i can imagine something like a "flour dust explosion" but you said you put it in a tea kettle. :?: :?: :?:

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:39 am
by jfko6
The contents floated and leaked. The mess is the powder mixed with the water.

The water rose so did the contents and extracted through the holes on the top which fell to to the side and burned.
The rising flame rose about the tea kettle.

That means Cocoa Beverage Base Powder is Extremely Flammable.

I'm not one to make stuff up.

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:02 pm
by MCIera
It's the sugar and dried milk in the beverage powder that will burn. Calling it "extremely flammable" is a bit exteme and borders on a "Chicken Little" hysteria. The beverage powder is no different than what you might find in a grocery store under the Carnation or Swiss Miss branding, and perfectly safe when used and consumed in the prescribed manner.

Rather than adding the powder to water and boiling it, the correct manner of preparation is to heat the water first and then add the powder base to the boiled water prior to consumption. Same goes for coffee and tea :wink:
jfko6 wrote:The contents floated and leaked. The mess is the powder mixed with the water.

The water rose so did the contents and extracted through the holes on the top which fell to to the side and burned.
The rising flame rose about the tea kettle.

That means Cocoa Beverage Base Powder is Extremely Flammable.

I'm not one to make stuff up.

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:32 am
by jfko6
It only takes a spark to burn your house down.
So a warning to the members is the better part of wisdom.

To lessen the warning is not wise.

But otherwise, you're right, the method of preparation was incorrect.

Instead of saying "about" the tea kettle I meant "Above" the tea kettle.

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:17 am
by hannonmc
Now non-dairy creamer is quite flamable! Care needs to be taken when using that around flames...

Once again, however, one should boil water first, then add the appropriate mix.

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:12 pm
by bishopmarine
Real men take their coffee, whitener, sugar and cocoa and mix them all together in cold water and drink it out of a canteen. At least thats what my son and I do. I tell him it is an mre energy drink. Not too bad really. But then again it is hard to boil water in a tea pot and burn your house down when you are in the woods. :P

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:46 pm
by jfko6
Remember that lady who burned the whole state of Colorado not too many years back. :D

Re: ALERT: What Not To Do With Beverage Base Powder

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:08 pm
by MCIera
Yup, it sure is. The primary ingredient in powdered whiteners is also sugar and dairy solids, along with oil.
hannonmc wrote:Now non-dairy creamer is quite flamable!