WIFFLE Ball Baffles

[xcarguy]

Well, I called the Whiffle Ball folks in Connecticut and the 4x4 folks at Alltech Motorsports. The Whiffle balls are made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and the Alltech hollow cylindrical baffles are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Chinese Whiffle balls are mostly ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic and should not be used. Further research ‘suggests’ that HPDE would be the preferred baffling material, when compared with using LDPE, due to its superior resistance to gasoline. However, Whiffle is sending me some balls for testing. I’ve included a couple of photo excerpts from a chemical resistance chart regarding LDPE’s resistance to gasoline. Other sources are:

 

http://www.calpaclab.com/chemical-chart-containers/

 

http://www.thermoscientific.com/content/dam/tfs/LPG/LCD/LCD%20Documents/Product%20Manuals%20%26%20Specifications/Filtration%20Products/Filter%20Units%20and%20Bottletop%20Filters/Filter%20Units/D20480~.pdf

 

http://www.newpig.com/wcsstore/NewPigUSCatalogAssetStore/Attachment/documents/ccg/LDPE.pdf

 

http://www.professionalplastics.com/professionalplastics/HDPE-LDPEChemicalResistanceChart.pdf

 

http://www.nationalscientific.com/support/pdf/NS-ChemicalResistanceReferenceCharts.pdf

 

http://www.dynalabcorp.com/files/Physical%20Properties.pdf

 

http://www.premierplastics.com/Adobe/Chemical%20Resistance%20of%20Polyethylene.pdf

 

http://www.tedpella.com/company_html/chem-resistance.htm

 

http://sevierlab.vet.cornell.edu/resources/Chemical-Resistance-Chart-Detail.pdf

 

My conclusion is that I'll end up giving the Whiffle balls to the kids. If I do anything other than foam, it'll be the Alltech baffles. I'll leave the 'wife' ball jokes for Croc. :cheers:

[Croc]

Whiffle is sending me some balls for testing.

 

I must resist. I must resist. I must resist. I must.... :jester:

[xcarguy]

I knew when I referenced 'ball testing' that . . . . :banghead:

Edited December 11, 2014 by xcarguy

[MightyMike]

wife balls - classic!

[WestTexasS2K]

Good find on the Alltech I hadn't seen those before. I will have to save that for future reference.

[wemtd]

This doesn't involve balls but as it relates to fuel what do people think of this?

 

http://bangshift.com/general-news/new-products/must-see-holley-just-changed-fuel-system-game-big-way/

[xcarguy]

This doesn't involve balls but as it relates to fuel what do people think of this?

 

http://bangshift.com/general-news/new-products/must-see-holley-just-changed-fuel-system-game-big-way/

 

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing. Leaves me with a couple of questions regarding long-term exposure to fuel and continued fuel migration toward the pickup during sustained low-fuel, high-g load situations; example, the bowl at NJMP Lightning. :cheers:

[Mondo]

That looks great! I've had a fuel starvation problem on a big bend at Buttonwillow . Put one of those little boxes with ball type trap doors in the tank but I don't let my tank get too low either.

This might just be the ticket

[powderbrake]

A solution may be to buy HDPE containers that do not "nest" (like a tapered cup or glass) and fill the tank with them. You can calculate the size of the tank, and determine how many containers you need to use. I googled HDPE Containers to find these.

 

I would recommend cutting a large hole in the bottom of each container so it cannot capture fuel if it is vertical or near vertical.

 

1 ounce = 1.8 cubic inches

1 gallon =231 cubic inches

1 gallon = 128 ounces

 

So you need 128 ounces of containers for each gallon in your tank.

 

A 15 gallon tank would then need 15 X 128 = 1920 ounces of bottles

 

So for an 8 oz container, you would need 240 containers. Now you would not need that many, because the containers will not stack in there perfectly, and a sphere only takes up 78% of volume of a cube. So likely it would take about

0.78 X 240 = 187 . Actually probably less than that, but 187 8 oz containers is $109 from this link.

 

http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item/J102

 

or $114 from this link

 

http://www.uline.com/BL_8185/Natural-Round-Wide-Mouth-Jars?keywords=hdpe containers

[powderbrake]

That looks great! I've had a fuel starvation problem on a big bend at Buttonwillow . Put one of those little boxes with ball type trap doors in the tank but I don't let my tank get too low either.

This might just be the ticket

 

I have a foam filled tank, and I have had fuel starvation issues on long banked turns. My solution was to always keep between 1/4 and 1/2 full on the tank, which solved the problem.

[ropaSeven]

One stalker owner used gutter down spout pieces cut to length. I think he used 15 pieces. Price is low. I don't know if he still has them in his tank.

[xcarguy]

The Whiffle ball folks in CT backed their play and sent me eight very nice balls of various sizes for testing. I currently have my four smallest balls undergoing a winter soaking in a container of gasoline (92 octane with a ‘possible’ 10% ethanol blend). Upfront report; my balls do not float. I'll provide a follow-up report on this thread sometime next year regarding the condition of my balls.

 

As for my other four balls, they are being shared among household members for their entertainment value.

 

Okay, Mike, surely that’s enough ammunition for a good ball joke or two……I know you’re chomping at the bit to let loose. :jester:

 

. . . . . . :cheers:

[Croc]

Soaking in gasoline? Great balls of fire!

[xcarguy]

The Whiffle ball folks in CT backed their play and sent me eight very nice balls of various sizes for testing. I currently have my four smallest balls undergoing a winter soaking in a container of gasoline (92 octane with a ‘possible’ 10% ethanol blend). Upfront report; my balls do not float. I'll provide a follow-up report on this thread sometime next year regarding the condition of my balls . . . .

 

Okay, as promised, I'm reporting back regarding using Whiffle balls as a possible baffle in your fuel tank. After soaking in gasoline for an excess of seven months, I took one of the Whiffle balls out today and compared it to another identical Whiffle ball that had not been soaking in petrol. I was quite surprised at what I discovered. The fuel-soaked Whiffle ball had grown approximately 1/16” in diameter beyond its original size. In addition, the ball was much softer than the non-soaked ball and had become somewhat brittle (see the squeeze test photos). My consensus; no Whiffle ball baffle recommendation from me or Suave. :cheers:

[MightyMike]

That's a bummer. What's next?

[slomove]

I don't know...I have a Fuel Safe cell now for 11 years with the same foam. Recently I replaced the first filter between the tank and the (external) pump and cut it open because I was curious. And... nothing inside. The filter medium was a bit discolored but no particles, no clogging. Maybe I should not have said that to avoid jinxing but I don't know how you get the foam to disintegrate. Maybe it is the expensive California gas that protects my tank :jester:

[super7guy]

Has anybody tried a Hydramat by Holley for their fuel pickup. The claims are impressive.

 

Wayne

[MightyMike]

Has anybody tried a Hydramat by Holley for their fuel pickup. The claims are impressive.

 

Wayne

 

Sounds interesting. It may be a winter project. Thanks

[xcarguy]

Well, after a two-year hiatus for this thread, I thought I’d bring it back to the table. With the rebuild of the Storker currently under way, it came time to address fuel. After a fair amount of research and consideration, I decided on two tank mods to hopefully ward off fuel starvation during sustained high-G cornering. The mods selected were the HolleyHydramat combined with the fuel cell baffles offered by no2foam. ‘Nuff said…I’ve loaded a few photos on my build thread for review by interested parties: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?7852-Stalker-85-headed-back-to-Arkansas&p=104664#post104664. :troll:

Edited August 18, 2017 by xcarguy