All that being said and done, anyone remember my own experience with putting
holes in the top of a europa fuel tank? I posted it here a couple of years
ago. I also used a hot wire to cut the tank. I also had filled the tank with
water the night before. (some drained out) And I still wound up with 1st and
2nd degree burns on my left hand. The plastic will melt just fine, it can
also ignite if you get a drop of it to break away from the iron. (ever see
burning plastic with the flaming drips?) My advice is to BE CAREFUL!
Best Regards,
Jim Thursby
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-europa@post.aviators.net
Subject: Re: Capacitance fuel level sending unit.
>(b) plunge a big copper soldering iron, overheated so it was glowing, into
>a large dish of petrol. Of course it boiled off very quickly but did NOT
>ignite, much to the amazement of the students who were usually trying to
>back away quickly by this time! Great care was taken to insure that the
>soldering iron was very clean, with no sooty particles adhering, as these
>could easily have been well above the ignition temperature. (lots of
>energy, but a relatively low temperature)
>
>Despite that pedantic observation - your advice is worthwhile following
>and certainly errs on the side of safety!
>Rowland
Hard to believe, Rowland but true nevertheless. However, it is worth noting
that if the same experiment is performed with oil ignition will occur, so I
have been told. This is presumably the reason that oil fires are considered
to be worse than fuel fires.
Graham
|