At 11:48 12/10/99 +1300, you wrote:
{Quote hidden}>>Actually, amazingly enough, one of my certifiable friends is so
>>confident in the safety of gasoline that he actually extinguished
>>his cigarette in it! I've seen it done, and in disbelief, no
>>explosion, and no flame. So if the heat of the cigarette is not
>>hot enough to ignite gasoline, would the spark from a dropped cell
>>phone?
>
>I feel certain that you could ignite petrol fumes with cellphone sparks
>under some conditions.
>BECAUSE-
>
>Petrol liquid is NOT flammable.
>ie Petrol is not a "mono-propellant"
>If you can keep the air out you will not ignite petrol (liquid or vapour),
>even with an oxy-acetylene flame.
>
>Petrol vapour mixed with air (ideally 14:1 ratio) is highly flammable, as
>we all know.
>
>Properly mixed with air you MAY ignite the vapour with the smallest of
>sparks.
>YMMV
>
>Long ago, we used to weld motorcycle petrol-tanks, on the bike, while
>partially filled with petrol by RIGOROUSLY excluding air from the tank while
>welding - I won't tell you our "safe" method less you do it wrong and die.
>
>BUT People die regularly while attempting to weld petrol tanks which have
>been "scrupulously" cleaned and dried first. An airforce fitter died here
>from a petrol explosion while gas-axing open a petrol drum which had sat
>"empty" and uncapped for MONTHS on a storage heap.
>
>
>regards,
>
There are some methods for welding tanks, one of them is to connect the
tank to a vacum cleaner, another is to connect it to a exhaust, and yet
another is to fill it with water, and then there is the fill it completly
with petro. All of these methods will at one time or another cause the
welder to be painted onto the roof of the welding room! (Much like a
painting my Mr. Heart)
The *only* common in use method that works is to hot tank, the tank in
caustic for 12 hours!
Dennis
>
>
> Russell McMahon
>_____________________________
>
>