3000W Chinese Gensets Info.
professor95 wrote: EDIT ADDED 45/5/2013- When this thread started in March of 2005, I never expected to see it survive this long or amass the quantity of information that has been shared here. In...
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skyzoomer wrote:
PS: Now I wonder how hot the gas gets in the tank with an unmodified generator sitting in the sun? I know the solar heaters for our home can heat the water up to 140 degrees or so on a hot day. Is the gas tank acting as a solar heater? Maybe a roof on top of the frame would be a good thing to have even without a sound enclosure.
Darn good question.
I'm not sure I can completely answer it, we would most likely need the expertise of a Chemical Engineer.
But, this is what I believe I do know:
Gasoline in liquid form is NOT flammable. Yep, liquid gasoline will not burn. You can actually throw a lit cigarette into a pail of gasoline and it will extinguish the cigarette. (Do not try this at home!) I know, I've seen some fools actually do it.
Gasoline must be atomized with oxygen (like fuel injection) or vaporized with oxygen to burn.
Gasoline will begin to vaporize at -43 degrees C. It would have to be darn cold for the "fumes" not to be present for ignition.
On the flip side, some components in gasoline will actually begin to boil at 50 degrees C (120 degrees F, sea level, no pressure). This chacteristic once produced vapor lock in older carbureted engines.
If the gas in your tank is reaching 140 degrees F or higher, you can bet that it is rapidly vaporizing. Pressure will build and fumes can escape into the surrounding atmosphere. If they collect (they are heavier than air) in enough density and an ignition source comes along, you could have trouble.
The gas tank on your genset is NOT sealed like a modern automobile fuel system. It is an atmospherically vented system.
IMHO, I would exercise caution at those temps. Any thing you can do to keep the gas tank cooler would be smart.
