At 11:58 10/4/2004, George Goff wrote:
>I have to wonder what keeps the thing from going KA-BOOM as the system is
>filling or when it is running out of fuel.

Gasoline has high vapor pressure, about 1E4 times diesel fuel and in the
same order of magnitude as atmospheric pressure, and gasoline U.E.L. is
~7.5%; so I would expect that tank headspace would be over-rich and not
ignitible under most circumstances.

I also imagine that the inlet filter screen on the pump acts as a flame
arrestor -- it's stainless steel, isn't it?  If there were also one on the
outlet it would confine such things to the inside of the pump which appears
pretty strong.  If not it's still limited to the fuel ring...perhaps they
nitrogen-purge the system at the factory before the first fill?  I always
wondered about that big button on the dash labelled Do Not Push....

Curious...the transition state doesn't happen very often, but it *does*
happen.  Enough that I doubt they're allowed to write it off as "Can't take
a joke, shouldn't have bought our car..."

david

--
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage," '85 GL "Poor Relation"