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David Chapman
Guest
Here is my 2 Euro cents on this.
One of the biggest risks, and the easiest to fix, is that original fuse line,
with age it becomes brittle, you must change it every 10 years.
Another modification is to change the fuel pickup so it comes from the top of
the tank, that means if there is a leak it's just a line full of fuel in the
bilge, not a tank full, also it lets you get rid of that silly leaking tap
thing.
On my car, about 15 years ago I had a new tank made of Aluminium, it's pressure
tested for marine use and filled with a mesh material called Explosafe, this
means that in a nightmare situation, if it was to burn, the fire is controlled
so it wouldn't explode. All fittings are at the top of the tank and the fuel
filler is an external marine type, much more convenient.
I've put a photo here:
www.amphicars.com/actec.htm
If your nervous about a spark causing an explosion a good tip is to remove the
backup light switch on the transmission, that could be a source of a spark. UK
cars don't have backup lights, they are used instead as turn signals, the
concept of flashing a stoplight to show you want to turn has been illegal here
for decades !
I here what's been said about a bilge blower, it does have some value but look
at the size of the fan and outlet compared with the volume of air it has to
clear, I doubt it's really effective - it was an afterthought to get the US
Marine certification, it was never part of the original design and was never
fitted to the hundreds of non US cars, much better to make sure the fuel doesn't
leak in the first place !
David Chapman
One of the biggest risks, and the easiest to fix, is that original fuse line,
with age it becomes brittle, you must change it every 10 years.
Another modification is to change the fuel pickup so it comes from the top of
the tank, that means if there is a leak it's just a line full of fuel in the
bilge, not a tank full, also it lets you get rid of that silly leaking tap
thing.
On my car, about 15 years ago I had a new tank made of Aluminium, it's pressure
tested for marine use and filled with a mesh material called Explosafe, this
means that in a nightmare situation, if it was to burn, the fire is controlled
so it wouldn't explode. All fittings are at the top of the tank and the fuel
filler is an external marine type, much more convenient.
I've put a photo here:
www.amphicars.com/actec.htm
If your nervous about a spark causing an explosion a good tip is to remove the
backup light switch on the transmission, that could be a source of a spark. UK
cars don't have backup lights, they are used instead as turn signals, the
concept of flashing a stoplight to show you want to turn has been illegal here
for decades !
I here what's been said about a bilge blower, it does have some value but look
at the size of the fan and outlet compared with the volume of air it has to
clear, I doubt it's really effective - it was an afterthought to get the US
Marine certification, it was never part of the original design and was never
fitted to the hundreds of non US cars, much better to make sure the fuel doesn't
leak in the first place !
David Chapman
