A whipped cream charger (colloquially called a whippet, nos or nang when used recreationally[1]) is a steel cylinder or cartridge filled with nitrous oxide (N2O) that is used as a whipping agent in whipped cream. The narrow end of a charger has a foil covering that is broken to release the gas. This is usually done by a sharp pin inside the whipping siphon.

Nitrous oxide is a popular recreational drug, and whipped cream chargers are a convenient source of the gas.

Description

A box of chargers, showing their foil sealed ends that release the gas after being punctured

The cylinders are about 6.3 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) long by 1.8 cm (3⁄4 in) wide, with a volume of 10 cubic centimetres (0.6 cu in) and capacity for most brands of 8 grams (1⁄4 oz) of pressurized N2O. Their walls are about 2 millimetres (1⁄16 in) thick to withstand the pressure of the gas, and they are rounded at one end with a narrow tip at the other end. While refillable chargers were once available, all chargers are now non-refillable; the latter consist entirely of recyclable steel.