yooperdave said:
putting coals into galvanized cans (in or outside) runs the risk of creating phosgene gas...toxic and deadly. the gas is created when the zinc-plating is burned off. this is why galvanized cans should never be used to cook in!
Phosgene has chlorine in it, there is no zinc in phosgene. Avoid burning PVC plastics in order to avoid making phosgene gas.
there maybe no zinc in phosgene gas. the zinc is part of the galvanized process. the metal is hot dipped in a zinc bath...this is where the zinc comes from and is evident by noticing the spangle pattern of the metal-kinda like the jack frost patterns of the old single pane windows. the galvanized metal is used for temps not to exceed about 400f. thats when the trouble starts. there is also lead used in the dipping process to promote fluidity. all kinds of good stuff to think about.
somewhere, earlier in this thread, someone stated that anything that burns creates CO. i still have a problem with this belief based on the definition of combustion. if everything that burned created CO, please help explain the use of gas ranges...and for pete's sake, where would the ladies be without their candles constantly burning??? and of course, the infamous vent-less space heaters that people always ask if its ok to put in a bedroom??? i just can't see getting overly concerned about any emissions that would be created by warm coals in an ash bucket-especially when the people that practice this have them in a covered container.
this post is not to create an argument or debate, its just that i don't see where the issue with CO is? if everything that burns is a source of CO, seems that we should be less worried about a few covered buckets on fireproof surfaces and more concerned about educating the masses about the dangers of CO emitting from everyday uses of above mentioned items and the like. i am very safety concerned and aware of anything harmful such as CO and fire dangers, so please don't think that i'm a careless bum. the last 3 paragraphs are posted by yooperdave. battenkiller has a partial quote of his post starting with "phosgene has chlorine..." and ending with "making phosgene gas." i just didn't know how to quote a partial thread