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Re: Engine Installation - FIRE HAZARD !

Subject: Re: Engine Installation - FIRE HAZARD !
From: ALLEN Peter <allenp@tds.com.au>
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 12:02:00
If a non-builder may add something from his motor sport days,
 ----------
Graham wrote

>>> fuel would almost certainly spill on to the red hot pipes (via the
overflow
pipe) causing a fire, if not an explosion.<<<

>> petrol would not ignite even on red hot pipes, far worse
he says is oil, which will ignite and is harder to extinguish.<<


Graham is quite right here, petrol, even Avgas, will boil away quite
happily and cause no problems.  In fact petrol, of all octanes, is not
very volatile at all.  You could fire a bullet into a full petrol tank
without causing an explosion.  The property to watch out for with petrol
is its very, very low flash point.  Introduce any sort of spark to
petrol VAPOURS and you will get a very powerful explosion.

Fire the same bullet into a half full steel petrol tank and you may
cause a spark into the vapours in the top of the tank.

Motor oil, diesel (including Jet A1) and modern brake fluids are far
more volatile and dangerous.

So,  I suppose the practical application of these thoughts is, ensure
the oil lines to the Rotax dry sump arrangement are well protected and
in good condition. 


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