Fire in Gas Tank!

[Mondo]

Well I've been having problems with the fuel hose between the internal fuel pump and the plumbing coming out of the tank coming loose (and leaving me stranded 3 times).

 

After the 2nd time, I had installed a new sump to help keep fuel near the pump along with a bigger access hole to get into the tank. I think the pump moving around works the hose loose. I have foam in there to minimize this. Well this time (last Wednesday), again in the middle of nowhere, the hose came off. I was now able to have better access to the loose hose and reconnected it myself.

 

Apparently while doing this, I got the two wires to the fuel pump to touch somehow.... as I had my arm inside the tank to make sure the connection was tight, I had my friend (who was following on his motorcycle) turn on the battery switch... all of the sudden POOF! A nice size fireball shoots out the access whole, past my arm, and now there's fire coming out the tank. Me, a retired fireman, without an extinguisher! Luckily it went out when I put the access lid back on (though it was a bit hot holding it there).

 

I now have one arm with no hair on it from the elbow down;) And today, a fuel pump and fuel filters are mounted outside the tank. Hopefully, the fuel hose, dangling by itself, shouldn't come loose (plus there's 2 hose clamps on it now).

 

I've had a few little teething problems, but this gas tank issue has been my only serious problem with the car so far... the honda drivetrain has been perfect... when it has fuel;)

[solder_guy]

:ack::willy_nilly: lucky man! 2nd or 3rd degree burns could have been catastrophic!

[Croc]

How lucky can you be with saving the car! An actual fire in the tank :ack: and you save the car with quick thinking. I am not sure I would have the presence of mind to put the cover back on the tank and hope to starve the fire of oxygen.

[Hank]

Accessory #1 for any Se7en = FIRE EXTINGUISHER!

 

You are a lucky man.

[gjslutz]

Great save, with fast thinking!

 

It could be worthwhile to go to A&N fittings and lines. It will cost much more, but the problem is gone. The hose clamps are only worth what you pay for them. There is also other problems here, non supported weight, vibration, incorrect hose / fitting size, hose type or hose material. Was the hose over tight fitting barbs made for hose? I have been guilty of all.

 

Too many of us, "me included" do mods that can create other problems we have not thought of. You and others of us all can thank our lucky stars for some of the things we got away with.

 

The question we need to ask our self is: Would I want to fly or ride in an airplane with this set-up? We can’t pull over and fix them. I have refused to fly many aircraft of all types due to bad workmanship.

 

If you would see some of the “Ultralite” class aircraft construction, no pun attended, you would understand the high frequency of forced landings / crashes from them. Many result in serious injury and some in death. The ones you don’t read about are just gathered up and taken home. Take a close look at some.

 

I hope after I finish enclosing my trailer, I don’t create a parts trail on the first long trip! This is another creation of doing something I know little of!

[MHKflyer52]

Wow....your very LUCKY....did you go buy a LOTO TICKET when you arrived back home....I guess you did not have to as you really did win by not being seriously hurt or losing your car to the fire.....I guess you will be installing a fire extinguisher as an option in your car.....good to hear everything is OK and you’re not hurt except for some missing arm hair.....

So are you going to shave the other arm to match or just tell people that the lack of hair on that arm is from putting that arm up into the air flow while driving your 7 and having the friction of the air passing over your arm remove the hair.....:rofl:....:driving:

[slngsht]

did the two leads touch inside the tank? I'm surprised a fire even started if that's the case - seems like there shouldn't be enough Oxygen for it to get going.

 

But since it did actually ignite, you're very lucky it wasn't MUCH worse. Glad you were able to contain it, and quick thinking to cut off its O2 supply.

[WestTexasS2K]

The problem with fuel pump coming off is not that uncommon. The in tank fuel pump has a taper to it and is not barbed to hold the hose on even with a clamp. On my car i welded a bar on the access lid and the fuel pump was clamped to the bar. This keeps the fuel pump getting wiggled off the hose when fuel sloshes back and forth. I have a picture somewhere.

[Mondo]

The car came with that fuel tank set up. I drove the car all of 10 minutes the first time the hose came off.. thought it was a fluke.

Actually I'm surprised the air/fuel mixture was correct enough to flash inside the tank (the wires that touched were actually at the top of the tank).

I'm sure there's pros and cons about having a fuel pump in the tank or outside. There's not a lot of room for things in these cars, but while a little exposed, I like the ability to see if something is wrong; check/clean the fuel filters and reach the fuel pump without having my hands in a tank of gas. There's not a lot of room to work inside the tank, even with this bigger access hole. I like Loren's solution to keep the fuel pump from sloshing around too.

And yes, I will have a fire extinguisher mounted before my next blat.

[WestTexasS2K]

Mondo I found the pictures of my set up. It worked pretty well until you got to a really long sweeper. I think I just needed my trap doors to be about 1" or 2 higher so that it would hold more fuel.

[Mondo]

Nice set up.... wish I would of seen that a couple months ago. I put one of these in the tank. Hope it works

 

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/category/Fuel_Safe_Surge_Tank_Collector