[Shop-talk] Mythbusters sucks! [rant] (was: water heater (grandfinale?))

[Nolan]

Oh I don't know.  For some years I worked as a test lab engineer for Black 
and Decker over in their power tool accessory division.  A whole lot of 
testing is not as impressively rigorous as you'd think.  I recognize a whole 
lot of what they do.  They don't have a perfect record (and neither did we), 
they sometimes jump to conclusions, and ignore or miss key variables (like 
using scale models).  But all in all, it ain't bad.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne" <wmc_st at xxiii.com>
To: "Shop Talk List" <shop-talk at autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 7:04 AM
Subject: [Shop-talk] Mythbusters sucks! [rant] (was: water heater 
(grandfinale?))


> On 1/26/2010 11:19 PM, Doug Braun wrote:
>> Maybe we should end this thread with a bang.
>> Here is the classic MythBusters exploding water heater experiment:
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q
>
> Anyone else loathe Mythbusters as much as me?!  Don't get me wrong -- I 
> like "watching shit blow up" as much as the next guy and Kari is an 
> extreme babe.  But it really ticks me off that they present their garbage 
> as "science".  Testing everything brute-fore empirically may make for nice 
> TV, but please don't try to pass it off as legit science.
>
> C'mon -- how much welding did they do on that water heater tank to sustain 
> over 300psi?  Even if the pressure relief valve was stuck (or welded over) 
> any number of other weak points in the tank or home plumbing system would 
> have blown out and vented it with much less drama.
>
> And how did that tank launch itself so perfectly straight up?  Should have 
> blown at a weld on the end caps or fittings and gone sideways-ish. Did 
> they create a weak spot right on the bottom center to blow out and launch 
> it vertically?
>
> Oh well -- it dun blowed up real good!
>
> -Wayne
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