View Full Version : So do you consider a water heater cover, or concealment?...
50 gallon, gas fired water heater - cover, or concealment?
K.L. Davis
07-23-09, 00:21
I actually read this post... expecting a punch line.
RancidSumo
07-23-09, 01:49
I would say concealment but I have never shot one so I can't be sure. Anyone want to buy one for me to shoot at?
That could give someone some good IDEAS.
Think outside the box.
That could give someone some good IDEAS.
Think outside the box.
I'm leaning towards the water part being cover and the gas part being BAD.
To preface: I count pills for a living...so...this is just a personal, not professional, and certainly not a tested opinion.
I'd consider it concealment, not cover. Yes, the water take would probably do great for stopping/slowing rounds. However the close proximity of gas lines, etc, mean that it would be a bad place to be when bullets started flying. One nick on those, and then one shot back would lead to a kaboom.
And, simply put: Cover, that could explode, is not cover at all.
-Adam
I've never seen one mounted where it could be effectively used for either.
30 cal slut
07-23-09, 08:08
filled with water?
or empty, like in a scrap yard?
filled with water?
or empty, like in a scrap yard?
filled with water...
Thomas M-4
07-23-09, 08:45
Neither scalding steam=BAD
gas =BAD
You know water heaters on occasion do explode http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=water+heater+explosion&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=HGVoSvOqMZSltgfQ69SlDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4
I'd rather not cram myself into the small dark closet where I wouldn't be able to move to try and consider it either cover or concealment. Sure, it might conceal me pretty good, but what good is that if you have to call the fire department to extricate you from your hidey spot? :)
If I was being shot at I wouldn't go near a water heater. Burning all of my exposed skin, and possibly more doesn't seem appealing to me.
What is a water heater good for? In an emergency it is 50 gallons of purified water that is located on your property. Most people over look this water source. Off topic but just thought I would share that.
Filled with concrete, good?
Buckaroo
Filled with concrete, good?
Buckaroo
so you think you can shoot through one filled only with water?
I actually read this post... expecting a punch line.
a punch line you say???
:cool:
so you think you can shoot through one filled only with water?
If I had a choice of which to be counting on to stop incoming rounds I would choose concrete personally.
However, I would think that water would suffice.
Buckaroo (who is also waiting for the punch line!)
Try it, let us know how it goes!
Try it, let us know how it goes!
oh, it's been tried...
:(
30 cal slut
07-23-09, 10:16
sounds like a job for box o' truth ... or mythbusters.
CarlosDJackal
07-23-09, 10:42
If the shot doesn't get you; the escaping hot water probably will. I'd move. :D
There is a line from some movie that says something like "What is cover to a .223 is concealment to a .308."
sounds like a job for box o' truth ... or mythbusters.
Pound for pound, my favorite episode of Mythbusters was when they overpressurized one of those things. The had close-up slo-mo of the water heater punching through the roof of the little shack they'd built for it was fantastic.
I wanna say it popped about 200'+ in the air. It definitely went out of frame from the long-range camera. Hilarious to a simpleton like me.
Mr I'm not so normal, (Normal is by who's standards anyway) and went outside the box and started thinking concealment of some kind for my weapons in an old WH. After all what thief ? would think to try and even look at an old WH to see what might be in it. Just an old one someone never hauled out and hey it looks like it still has the insulation cover on it.
Personally I could hide behind mine in the basement, BUT it is right next to the gas furnace too, and I would not choose the gas part at all!
If you could see that someone was behind one and you wanted to eliminate them, and you saw the little flexible copper gas line, would you think about shooting it? Remember you are there too, but how far from that gas line are you too?
It's good to pre think these things and train before it's to late.
I actually read this post... expecting a punch line.
So did I.
i suspect making one detonate/light on fire with small arms fire would be harder than in the movies. so kinda cover... more concealment. having it on your side of the room would be a better tactical advantage than say an easy chair. but not as good as a cement wall.
also-second question-whose house are we in? mine or the perp's?
MisterWilson
07-23-09, 21:42
These types of inane posts shouldn't be tolerated here.
Though there is another website I can think of that this line of discussion would suit perfectly...
I think th OP meant your house. I would for training purposes look at it from my point and from the perps point. Cover as many angles and train for the best one that suits your needs.
These types of inane posts shouldn't be tolerated here.
Though there is another website I can think of that this line of discussion would suit perfectly...
Then don't read.
These types of inane posts shouldn't be tolerated here.
Though there is another website I can think of that this line of discussion would suit perfectly...
I thought it neither inane or intolerable. I thought it was a valid question! I have no "cover" where I'm at and I thought 30" of water could slow projectiles down. Someone astutely mentioned the hot water and steam would be a bad thing to get sprayed with and what do you know, I learned something.
Don't take this the wrong way, but you really didn't think about that?
It'd be easy to forget about the scalding water, what with the thing called something as misleading as "hot water heater."
It would probably stop a high velocity rifle round but not a pistol. Rifle rounds basicly desentigrate uppon contact with water.
Please...everyone...stop.
More than enough. A new Michael Jackson thread might be more appealing at this point.
This thread definitely needs pics!
snip...also-second question-whose house are we in? mine or the perp's?
I'm thinking that if you're in someone else's house when shooting breaks out, you probably are the perp.
Ya know, just sayin'.
I would prefer, I think, to hide behind an electric water heater rather than a gas one.
As for steam/scalding water, if the tank of water does stop the bullet, the leak should be on the other side of the thing.
Just make sure you remember that the more bullets that hit the tank, the quicker it's gonna drain and not do any good so you better be shootin' back sooner rather than later.
Don't take this the wrong way, but you really didn't think about that?
Nope, not immediately! Gimme a break, I'm slow sometimes!!! :D:D:D
These types of inane posts shouldn't be tolerated here.
Though there is another website I can think of that this line of discussion would suit perfectly...
why so serious??? no one was hurt in the filming of this discussion. it's just some guys chewing the fat, OK? this is the General Discussion Forum after all...
I could have asked the question - "does anyone think a Federal M193 round from a 16" barrel would penetrate both sides of a water heater filled with water?" but what kind of thought would that have provoked?
the answers might have gone like this: "yes", "no", "I don't know, will it?" too boring...
at least two people here were sharp enough to see the "punchline" almost immediately. I rather enjoyed all the various trains of thought my question produced, from the safety of the gas line involved (that one got my heart beating fast all over again :eek: ) to the potential of being scalded by the water.
anyway, short answer is, No, it will not penetrate through both sides of a 50-gallon water heater filled with water. if that information helps you, thank an armed service person today for their service...
RogerinTPA
07-24-09, 10:07
I shot an old empty water heater in the past in a foreign country, along with fully pressurized tires to test pistol round effectiveness and stopped after the rounds were bouncing off the tank and the tires. Big dents, with the occasional one side penetration and not complete penetration. If it had been full of water, I doubt any penetration would have occurred. Even with a sub gun, you would be surprised at how resilient vehicle tires are if not shot in the right place.
To answer the question, that would depend on all kinds of variables. Model, size of tank, when it was made, etc... Since a water tank has an internal metal tank that contains the water, within an outer metal shell, that's 4 metal walls + approximately 2 feet of water (depending on the size), I'd consider it cover. Escaping water and steam, if you could pierce the water vessel, would exit in the direction of the shooter.
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