There are consequences from this kind of heat.
These are the remains of a Freon airhorn that we had kept in the cockpit, for decades. It says right there on the can, "protect from temperatures above 120°F". Well, sitting there in the fully enclosed cockpit, under the dodger windows, in the sun...
Yeah, it exploded.
And in doing so, some pretty significant damage occurred. In a forensic reconstruction (by me...), when the pressure became too much, the bottom seam on the can came unwrapped. The bottom disk (not that crumpled piece in the picture at the bottom of the canister - that's the diaphragm for the horn) stayed attached to the top edge just a tiny bit longer than the rest of the canister. As a consequence, it flew upward, punched a hole in the dodger roof, and left the boat completely.
The canister, now propelled by a liquid/vapor explosion, rocketed forward with enough force to completely trash the 4 foot long teak 1x2 cleat to which the bottom of the dodger window is attached, breaking it into several pieces. The top of the canister was severely dented in the process, and the plastic airhorn was completely destroyed.
The rocket exhaust from the exploding canister did more damage in the cockpit.
Thank heavens this was not a can of spray paint, or sunscreen, or even worse propane or butane. At least the non-flammable Freon evaporated leaving no trace.
Those of you who are out in the southern climes probably already take precautions with aerosol cans. But just in case, I hope that you will take this to heart. Aside from the damage, someone could have been seriously hurt by this explosion. And the way Murphy works with sailors, the canister would have exploded just as someone disturbed it by picking it up to put it in a shady place.
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