Emptying A Russian Gas Mask Filter

[Aldarith]

Does anyone know of a way to open and empty out the old metal filters for Russian gas masks?

I'm aware that there may be asbestos or other dangerous materials inside and I'd like to keep the look of the old style filter without the hazardous exposure. I can't think of a way to get inside them without tearing apart the metal like a tin can, though.

 

[TJackFx]

I know you'd probably prefer to have a metal one, but what about molding it and making a resin cast?

 

[Mike J.]

Or use a cut down coffee can and just make a resin top cap for it?

 

[Aldarith]

I had considered a replica but i'm not set up to fabricate one myself and I assume that emptying an original would be more cost-effective (if it's even possibl without wrecking it).

If it was a replica there's also the problem that it would prevent breathing at all if it wasn't fabricated with a passage for air.

Heh, coffee cans are pretty commonplace since I live across the road from a college campus

 

[squidsicle]

I could be wrong, but lt looks like they sealed it the same way cans are (rolled lip). Have you tried one of those bladeless can openers that pinch the seal?
just an idea.

like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UERTYQ?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_2

 

[tommin]

If there are potentially hazardous materials inside that can, you may be doing more harm than good by breaking its seal. For starters, It may be completely safe in its current state. In a damaged or broken state, it may be deemed hazardous. Also, if you remove any hazardous materials from it, you have to consider what are the proper methods for disposing those hazardous materials. Taking harmful material that is safe in a sealed can and introducing that material into the open environment, landfill, etc. to make you feel better about the can makes a minor problem into a much bigger one.

With that being said, the cleanest way to open a Russian can is to use a Russian survivalist method. Here is a link to a how to video for that one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH2NahLjx-Y

 

[Aldarith]

Have you tried one of those bladeless can openers that pinch the seal?

^ I hadn't thought of this, but it looks like a feasable method to use. Thank you for that!

You have to consider what are the proper methods for disposing those hazardous materials. Taking harmful material that is safe in a sealed can and introducing that material into the open environment, landfill, etc. to make you feel better about the can makes a minor problem into a much bigger one.

Tommin, thank you for bringing that up - that's definitely an important consideration.
It's been said somewhere that 35% or so of the gas mask canisters contain hazardous materiel like asbestos or otherwise. I'm planning to acquire a type that may or may not have that materiel inside, so I'm hoping that the 65% chance will be on my side. What I do want to do is remove the contents of the can both to ensure for myself that I'm not using something that may give me health problems later and secondarily to just make life easier by "faking" the look of a functional gas mask when really the canister is operationally a straw. In not-insignificant 35% chance that the canister I end up with DOES contain blue asbestos or similarly hazardous materials, I'd like to learn how I can do away with them safely.

On the other hand, I'm completely amenable to a resin or 3d-printed alternative as mentioned above as long as the threads are compatible with the mask I want to use (all 40mm threads will work, I believe). The trouble with this method is that I don't know where to begin finding a model that I can print to suit my needs....

 

[joberg]

Lots of product contain asbestos (even by today's standards, lots of it is still in use: construction, pipe insulation, military equipment of any kind) be wary of product saying that they're asbestos free. You're better off making a copy of it.

 

[Rogviler]

Not that I'm saying you should crack it open and then huff the contents, but do know that brief exposure here and there, and even living in a house with an asbestos popcorn ceiling, is not going to make you drop dead. The commercials you see on TV are for people who had severe and chronic exposure on an industrial level. Which is why there's still asbestos in things. I was watching a DIY show where a guy redoing his house accidentally cracked an asbestos tile and he was white with terror as he evacuated the house for fear of instant death, but it's just not like that.

If I had the correct channel for disposal then I would just do it, wearing PPE of course because you might as well.

Also, putting asbestos IN a thing you're going to be breathing through, seriously WTF? I know, hindsight is 20/20...

-Rog