Exploding seltzer bottle update.

If you missed the original, riveting post...
Last Thursday evening I was refilling/charging my plastic seltzer bottle. You know that thing that Harpo chased people around with, squirting them? Makes a great Scotch & soda (if you add some Scotch).

Anyway, I've done this a hundred (thousand?) times. Just as I screwed the CO2 cylinder in, to put the nice bubbles in the water, the damn thing exploded.
Hair, teeth, and eyeballs all over the place. Well, almost.

It did blow a quarter sized hole/flap in my right (natch, I'm a rightie) palm. In the fleshy part, about halfway between the base of my right pinky and my wrist. I did my "stuck pig" imitation.

Miz t. was in the other end of the house and said she thought it was a gunshot. She came a-running even before I started hollering.
So...trip to the ER and 7 stitches. Doing better now, but some numbness in the pinky, in places. Stitches come out in another week. Trust me on this. If you should somehow get to choose where you get stitches? Don't say "in the palm". LOTS of very sensitive nerve endings there. ouch

I've used seltzer bottles for about 30 years. The others were either cast aluminum or heavy glass with a kind of chain mail cover. When my last one gave out, I found this neat (relatively cheap) plastic one on line. Never again.

Friday I sent an e-mail to the vendor:
last evening, as i was charging the below indicated leland soda siphon, it
exploded in my hand. a trip to the emergency room and 7 stitches later,
here i sit. i guess i'm lucky it wasn't near my eye. i don't know yet if
there's any permanent nerve damage. evidently this is not a safe product.
massey lambard
foley, alabama

I got this reply:

Mr. Lambard

I am sincerely sorry for your injury. I trust and pray there will be no permanent damage. Please know that we do not sell inherently dangerous products. Like all kitchen appliances there is some risk just due to the nature of the process involved, i.e.. motorized blades, pressurized containers, etc. I realize this doesn't help much if I'm in your situation.

I would be happy to replace the siphon with another one of your choice. I am forwarding your email to the importer of the product as well. If you would like to return the siphon, we can send it to the importer for inspection. It might be helpful in determining what went wrong. We would of course reimburse you for the shipping cost.

Again, please accept my apology.

My reply:
Mr. XXXX,

Thanks for your reply.
No, I do not think I want another of these plastic siphons. In fact, I now must seriously question if they should be on the market at all.

I have used soda siphons for the last 30 or so years. They were either metal (aluminum, I think), or heavy glass with a sort of chain mail covering. I always wondered what would happen if one of the glass ones blew. I now understand that the plastic is deadly enough.

My main concern is that the plastic ones are not safe. After my wife and I returned from the ER at 1 a.m., we found I had a head wound. Superficial, but still...

I have tried to reconstruct what happened . As you can imagine, it happened in an instant, and I was initially in a state of shock.
The blast was loud enough that my wife heard it in the other end of the house, before I began to shout "HELP". I just remember cupping my hands to try and keep the blood from spilling over onto the floor until I could make it to the sink. I was not successful.

Evidently the upper collar of the bottle blew. Did it blow up because the cartridge was defective, charged too high? Or was there a flaw in the bottle. I have no idea. Given a day to try and figure out what happened, here's what I see:

1. There is a dent in the ceiling where I was standing when the bottle exploded. I can only assume that the nozzle and "plumbing" blew straight up and then ricocheted into my head.
2. The source of the wound to my hand is evident. The bottle just exploded when I pressurized it. As I said, I've used siphons for many years. I did not overfill the bottle.
3. The ring of the neck of the bottle, together with the nozzle and "plumbing" tube was blown out in one piece. The bottle itself is now in three pieces. The overfill collar is cracked. I'll have some photos made and send them. I don't think I want to get rid of the "evidence" just yet.

I realize that this is the worst nightmare of a vendor. Believe me, I'm not looking for this incident to make me wealthy.
On the other hand, until I have fully recovered from this injury I certainly will keep my options open. I have numbness in the base of the little finger affected. The ER physician explained to me that there could be some permanent nerve damage. The stitches will be removed in ten days, and we'll know more then.

In the meantime, this is damned uncomfortable and inconvenient. Imagine not being able to use your dominant hand for several days. Personal hygiene, etc.

I did a google search on Leland (the manufacturer) and could find nothing. I'd very much like to know who and where they are. If you can supply that information, I'd appreciate it.

Last night at a party, I talked to an attorney AND a judge. They both said this won't make me rich. That's not what I guess I want. (OK, I DO, but I won't use this poor bastard to do it.) I just want any out of pocket expense covered and these things off the market.

I'm pretty impressed with the vendor's response. I think you should push for getting these things off the market....the vendor sounds 'responsible' and shouldn't/probably won't (especially if you push a little) keep such a potentially dangerous item in his/her product line.

You should ask for out of pocket expense, imho.

Someone else COULD/will lose an eye...social responsiblity, and all of that.

I hope you mend quickly and completely! Good luck with 'fighting the good fight' in your corner of the world...we ALL need to do it!

Gotta beat 'em off.
Where's my stick?
;-)

with a white cane and a dog.

Peace

wouldn't have these problems! ;)

Seriously, I hope it all turns out okay.

but when the guy replied that you took risk just by using the product, which was OBVIOUSLY defective!, he has no responsibility to you.

Sue this crappy company! See a lawyer tomorrow! (Didn't you say in your first post about this that your son in law is an attorney?)

I am glad you are ok, but these bastards need to take responsiblity for their shoddy products.

Be glad you aren't in Mississippi, which has some of the most stringent tort-reform legislation in the nation.

Again, glad you are ok. :loveya:

Found the manufacturer's website:
http://www.lelandltd.com/
and sent them an e-mail.
Now awaiting reply from vendor and manufacturer.
The judge suggested a small claims lawsuit, which I could bring on my own behalf.

Lots of Chinese stuff is damn dangerous.
My father had his father's seltzer bottle, glass with metal webbing and it made bubbly water for decades.

At least the cartridges were.
Can find no label on the bottle.

I'm so sorry that happened to you. (And I know exactly what you mean about stuck-pig. Count me in among the people who seem to bleed profusely from even the smallest wound.)

I have a CO2 activated seltzer bottle as well... only it's solid aluminum. The screw-on cap and the dip-tube and the trigger mechanism are all hardbaked plastic... but the bottle itself is enameled aluminum.

We picked it up at Bed Bath & Beyond (Or Lechter's... or some other kitchen gadget store) and it works fine. Maybe you can find a metal one whenever you get brave enough to consider replacing the one that attacked you.

I hope you heal quickly! That sounds dreadful!!!

-- Allen

It was a scarey night.
Scared the pee-waddin' out of me.
Surprised I didn't have a coronary to boot.