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Bourdon Tubes and Fuel Tank Floats

To: british-cars@autox.team.net (British Cars Mailing List)
Subject: Bourdon Tubes and Fuel Tank Floats
From: "Gregory T. Fieldson" <krikor@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 16:22:45 -0400
A Smattering of Notes:

Phil E. - It is not surprising that a bit of fuel penetrated
the little float for your fuel tank sended.  You can write a 
doctoral dissertation on the penetration of little organic 
molecules in plastics.  Come to think of it, I am, right now.
I imagine that if it really bothers you, you could take the 
float off and put it in a vacuum oven for a couple of days 
at 50-100C (depending on what polymer was used for the float).

?? (about Bourdon temperature gauge) - Bourdon temperature
gauge?  Weird, but then I am too young to truly appreciate all
of engineering.  I seriously doubt it was Diethyl ether (common
name = ether) because ether has a boiling point of only 34.6 C 
(94 F for the unconverted..., but we are talking about a British 
Car here), as compared to MEK which boils at 80 C (176 F).  I
would seriously doubt the use of ether here at all, as ethers
are notoriously  (and explosively) unstable, flammable and
hygroscopic.  But I don't have any good ideas on what was 
in the tube.  I would expect some semi-benign aliphatic, like
the ketone, or some light oil.  I haven't whiffed an ether in
ages, so I can't recall properly what ether smells like.


Greg F.


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