Exploding coconuts

[nosuni]

Hey kavaforums! So I've bought multiple coconut shells to drink kava from, and after a while they all explode. Literally, they jump in the air with a loud pop and the bottom cracks. I live high in the mountains of Colorado. What's up with that? Maybe it's the altitude? Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[Groggy]

That's odd, maybe a sudden temp change from hot to cold could do that, I have never head of it.

 

[Deleted User01]

Ive got a lovely bunch of coconuts
There they are, all standing in a row
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head
Give them a twist a flick of the wrist
Thats what the showman said

Read more: Monty Python - I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts Lyrics | MetroLyrics

 

[Edward]

Hey kavaforums! So I've bought multiple coconut shells to drink kava from, and after a while they all explode. Literally, they jump in the air with a loud pop and the bottom cracks. I live high in the mountains of Colorado. What's up with that? Maybe it's the altitude? Has anyone else had this happen?

Never heard of that. Maybe an idea to pierce a hole in them before you go home to release any pressure build up. Just make sure to save the lovely water.

 

[kasa_balavu]

Never heard of that. Maybe an idea to pierce a hole in them before you go home to release any pressure build up. Just make sure to save the lovely water.

As I understood it, he bought half-shells.

@nosuni do you have pics of the shells? Are they just cracked, or completely shattered?
What's the temperature like over there?

 

[nabanga]

Weird. Poltergeists?

 

[Edward]

As I understood it, he bought half-shells.

@nosuni do you have pics of the shells? Are they just cracked, or completely shattered?
What's the temperature like over there?

My mistake.

 

[nosuni]

I don't have pics of them anymore, but they're the ones that bula kava house sells. The entire bottom eventually falls off as it cracks around in a complete circle. The first POP just makes a little leak. The temperature fluctuates a lot here, one day it's 90F, the next it's snowing (during June).

 

[verticity]

It has to be the altitude. I would guess there are pockets of air and water trapped in the shell that expand at the altitude in the mountains. I live on the Front Range at about 5000 feet, and oftentimes when I buy some product like yogurt at the grocery store that is packaged with an airtight seal, it is inflated and distended because of the lower atmospheric pressure here compared to wherever it shipped from. I've never had anything literally explode, though. In the mountains at 10,000 feet or so, that effect would be even more pronounced.

The shells from Bula are probably coated with some kind of sealant, which could be keeping the air in. You could try drilling some small holes in the outside of the shell to let the air out, maybe. (That is holes in the outside that do not go all the way through, obviously)

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I've got to say, I wasn't expecting this topic to come up.

 

[verticity]

I've got to say, I wasn't expecting this topic to come up.

It's an explosive topic

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Lol

 

[nosuni]

It has to be the altitude. I would guess there are pockets of air and water trapped in the shell that expand at the altitude in the mountains. I live on the Front Range at about 5000 feet, and oftentimes when I buy some product like yogurt at the grocery store that is packaged with an airtight seal, it is inflated and distended because of the lower atmospheric pressure here compared to wherever it shipped from. I've never had anything literally explode, though. In the mountains at 10,000 feet or so, that effect would be even more pronounced.

The shells from Bula are probably coated with some kind of sealant, which could be keeping the air in. You could try drilling some small holes in the outside of the shell to let the air out, maybe. (That is holes in the outside that do not go all the way through, obviously)

I think you're right. Maybe if I make my own coconut shell cup very thin, it won't explode! I wish I had a vacuum chamber to pump all of the air out.

 

[HeadHodge]

Hey kavaforums! So I've bought multiple coconut shells to drink kava from, and after a while they all explode. Literally, they jump in the air with a loud pop and the bottom cracks. I live high in the mountains of Colorado. What's up with that? Maybe it's the altitude? Has anyone else had this happen?

Put the lime in the coconut and call me in the morning.

 

[Edward]

http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/my-homemade-shell.8065/

 

[nosuni]

http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/my-homemade-shell.8065/

Very cool, I will do mine similarly!

 

[verticity]

I think you're right. Maybe if I make my own coconut shell cup very thin, it won't explode! I wish I had a vacuum chamber to pump all of the air out.

lol I think the coconut would explode in the vacuum chamber! If you make your own shell where you live I expect it would be fine, since I bet the air is trapped in when you coat the shell with sealant.
However, if you brought your homemade shell with you to a lower elevation, there would be the danger of Coconut IMplosion!

 

[verticity]

@Bula Kava House , @Judd Rench - Um... I was just wondering ... if the kava drinking shells you sell are coated with some kind of sealant? Possibly an air-tight type of sealant?

 

[Bula Kava House]

@Bula Kava House , @Judd Rench - Um... I was just wondering ... if the kava drinking shells you sell are coated with some kind of sealant? Possibly an air-tight type of sealant?

They are sealed, though I doubt they're perfectly air tight.

@nosuni Sorry about the exploding coconut shells. That's pretty crazy! I've never heard of that before. Obviously they break from time to time but they're pretty durable. We use them at the kava bar and they last quite a while, even though they're regularly put through a high temp commercial dishwasher. And the shells have exploded like this on more than one occasion? Stay safe over there.

 

[F3TU5]

For future shell owners, don't put them in the fridge. Don't know if that's what destroyed mine. Broke after a week of daily use. But the massive one i got from bula is still going stong.