electric wires in gas tank?

[another69]

I'm sure its ok 99% of the time, but there is always POTENTIAL for an explosion. I run a mech now, but will switch to an external pump in the future when I convert to F. I., but I still will not feel great about it. Just because the OEs do it sure doesn't make most of our aftermarket fuel systems as safe. And yeah- I remember a story of an airliner going down due to an electrical problem in the fuel tank.

[David Pozzi]

Fuel gauge senders work on super low voltage, that's why you can't use a test light to troubleshoot the gauge wire.
Gas tanks run too rich for ignition, Diesel tanks run too lean for ignition, there is danger for tanks that are mis-fueled & have a gas/diesel mixture, those fumes can ignite. Also on the farm we used to mix gas & diesel to ignite brush piles. This is a very dangerous mix to handle or transport, even static electricity can set it off.
David

[alfatwin]

hey I like this one, when I worked at a shop in WA, there was a guy that would throw a lit cigarette into a 50 gallon drum of fuel just to scare the sh*t out of any one he could. people would drop, roll, run, scream but nothing would ever happen, the cig would just go "FTTT" and go out just like putting it in water. He was a pretty smart (albeit a little left of center) dude and explained that to EXPLODE, gasoline needs the perfect conditions...the correct fuel/air ratio, enough heat in the ignition, and PRESSURE. The conditions are perfect in a properly tuned cylinder, but not in an open (or closed) tank of gas.. the point I am trying to make is the spark that the pumps must make to light UNpressurized fuel is more than the electric circuit is capable of producing. If you watch a puddle of gasoline that is burning, the only thing actually on fire is the atomized fuel particles evaporating from the puddle, if you were to change the oxygen content of the air around it, it would also change its burn rate, if you added pressure, it would intensify as well. Think of what it takes to ignite the fuel in an engine cylinder, how many KilliVolts (volts x 1000) does the ignition system spike to to touch it off? how does the coil produce this? it MAGNAFIES the current going through the coil hundreds of times, and if it is too weak, it won't fire! so next time you walk next to a drum of gasoline, smile and think of how safe you really are!

[The WidowMaker]

If you watch a puddle of gasoline that is burning, the only thing actually on fire is the atomized fuel particles evaporating from the puddle

someone may correct me, but thats how everything burns (wood, fiber etc). the heat causes a reaction and releases gases that burn through a process called pyrolysis.

you are very correct that it has to be the PERFECT mixture. it may be somewhat hard to achieve, but when it does its scary.