What to do with my glowing rods?

S

sircantaloupe

Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
399
I found an old exit sign in a dumpster - it was full of tritium rods! So now I have a nice collection of different sized rods and I can't seem to find a good way to use them.

Here's the problem - they are fragile (hollow glass) and full of radioactive gas! I've tried filling a glass test tube with clear liquid resin and putting a rod inside, but the attempt was scrubbed because I couldn't keep the rod stable and centered. Now, I remember seeing a forums member who was making and selling rods encased in a sweet milled metal housing (they were featured in an EDC thread) and he had some very sophisticated process he'd come up with. My question is, keeping things as simple as possible, how can I get these rods safely inside of a protecting coating/container of some kind?

They are 1/4 in thick and vary from 2 1/2 in long to nearly 6 in long.

Not sure if it's allowed but if it is I'd love to try and sell a few, these are really cool things to have around and I probably can't use 'em all.
 
1. Go to CandlePowerForums.com

2. Post them for sale

3.????

4. Profit!

By the way, you're my hero for finding radioactive material in a dumpster.
 
I would be wary about mailing something like that. It could set off alarms and have unintended consequences... like a no-knock warrant.
 
AS long as you don't ship outside of the USA (as its illegal to import or export) you should be fine.

Word to the wise I wouldn't sell them all to one person as that would set off some alarms...Limit 1 per person and your good to go.
 
If you want to keep some for yourself, for fobs, you could try inserting them in PVC tubing, or maybe copper tubing. another option would be to seal them in a two part epoxy. My dad used to make coffee table out of a brand called deca-pour, it is what a lot of people use to seal different objects like coins and such in bar and counter tops.
 
i don't understand.

do current exit signs still use tritium tubes? or is this like a very antique exit sign?

and if it's very old, does the tritium still glow? my understanding is tritium has a 13 year half life, so do they still glow well? if not, then these tubes may not be usable for practical purpose.

nonetheless, i'm very glad that you rescued it from the garbage, and however you choose to dispose of them, please do so properly. ;)


and good work looking out, btw!
 
Midget said:
i don't understand.

do current exit signs still use tritium tubes? or is this like a very antique exit sign?

and if it's very old, does the tritium still glow? my understanding is tritium has a 13 year half life, so do they still glow well? if not, then these tubes may not be usable for practical purpose.

nonetheless, i'm very glad that you rescued it from the garbage, and however you choose to dispose of them, please do so properly. ;)


and good work looking out, btw!
Click to expand...

They still have Trit exit signs, though they aren't as common. It could be old or it could be new...anyones guess, but I'm thinking if it was trashed its older.

Really you need photos of all the rods to see what the yield is on them and if they are fading.

Oh and word to the wise, you break the tube it loses pressure and it won't glow anymore. If you do break it and ingest the contents it won't kill you, depending on dose it will about the same radiation as a x-ray.
 
These rods are at least 5-8 years old but they glow strongly. Get a couple of the larger ones together and you can read a book no problem with the light they provide.
 
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