^ ditto for me also!--hard to believe an electric motor can be sealed well enough to keep gas out yet still run and have sparks at the armature,brushes,etc,and not have it get hot enough to set the gas on fire--I know they submerge the pump to keep it cool,and primed,but what happens when your down to 1/8th of a tank ?....one seal leaks,then what..I would think today's oxogenated fuels would have enough O2 in them alone to at least pop off an explosion in the tank..
But I also agree we tend to think cars blow up like firecrackers after seeing them do so in many movies--as noted above,its a freak thing to have something blow up,even when your intending to do so,Mythbusters proved that..still doesn't mean we can feel 100% "safe" though either..looking back at how many cars we cut apart with torches at the junkyard,there was only a few incidents of any troubles,most caused by being in a rush or getting too complacent,not being careful enough..
Not only does it suck to replace an in the tank electric fuel pump,I always have an uneasy feeling about any electric motor running in something liquid,especially flammables--even a submersible 110V utility pump can electrocute you if its not properly grounded if you touched the water..
I have used a old GM in tank fuel pump as a fuel transfer pump ,like when I needed to add diesel fuel to my house oil tank when I was unable to buy the minimum amount of gallons to get a delivery,I was getting diesel at the pump and adding 5-10 gallons every day--it sucked trying to pour 5 gallon cans into the tank ,especially the outside filler,you must stand on a ladder and spill some ,hold the fuel can still till its empty--no fun when its snowy..
--I took a plug out of the top of the tank and used that GM pump to suck the diesel into the big house tank,it takes only a minute or so to empty a 5 gallon can,but every time I've used it I cringe and feel ready to run if I see a flash..
..It is just stuffed in a 4 foot length of heater hose on the inlet side of the pump,and a 3/8" hose on the output,I put a universal fuel filter in that line..
I've only been brave enough to use it on gasoline to transfer gas to one of my tractors from a gas can or drain the tanks for storage,I'm not sure I'd trust that setup on a car or truck sized gas tank..
Diesel has a higher flash point,gas can go whoof a lot faster in warm weather..
I have seen what a metal gas tank on an older small engine can do when it catches fire--one Briggs & Stratton engine a friend had had a weepy tank and it caught fire when it backfired..we tried to put it out,but the pressure built up in the tank,flaming gas came squirting out of the vent hole on the tank,then we decided it was time to RUN..
The thing burned about 30 seconds before it went "pop"...shards of metal from the tank went by us,we could hear them buzzing when they flew past us
..the engine burnt badly enough to ruin the ignition coil,recoil starter.and some aluminum fins on the cylinder were blown off,and some were melted from heat..When we removed the remains of the gas tank,the side facing the engine was what ruptured first,and it caved in the block there and cracked it..!
). Haven’t you watched how hard the Mythbusters had to work to make some explosions happen?
