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Originally Posted by MooseMan3000
Now, unless I'm mistaken (which I may be - don't take my word for it) the gas tank can't simply "combust." If you fuck up a seal, the most you'll have is unintentional discharge, in the wrong direction. Now that could be pretty bad too - imagine, if you will, being shot in the back by your own tank. However, the ball of death described as above shouldn't happen. Gas doesn't work like that - it has to be misted into a piston chamber to explode correctly, and that doesn't change if it's in a backpack.
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The problem is, when the fuel runs low, the tank is almost *exactly* like an engine cylinder, only with MUCH more fuel, and under MUCH more pressure.
Whenever the fuel level gets to a point where air is escaping along with the (now) atomized gasoline, flashback is quite easy. And once it reaches the tank, well, someone gets injured. Badly. And since that someone would be me, its double bad
The reason military flamethrowers didn't have this problem is because they used a flammable gas, usually butane, to pressurize the fuel tank. Seems counterintuitive, but it works because while the butane will burn, it can't trace back very easily without oxygen. So when they ran out of fuel, their flame characteristics changed because it was shooting burning butane rather than burning gasoline.
Now, my worries would be greatly reduced if I got a tank of Argon or something inert that doesn't allow things to burn (no oxygen). Or, I could just say to hell with it, hook up a 100lb tank of propane to the sucker, and be done with it.
Regarding flamethrowers made out of squirtguns and pvc pipe: Bad idea.
I wish those videos had never been made. Somebody HAS to have hurt themselves trying to imitate that. While I can't say that what I've done is safe, or sane, I did know the dangers before I built it. Also, I've never used it indoors, or near anything living that didn't agree to be there after I told them about the possibility of it blowing up.