On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 18:20:02 GMT, "William Wixon"
wrote:
"Roy" wrote in message
.. .
There seems to be differences of opinions on the properties of carbon
monoxide gas. One source says its heavier than air another says its
lighter, so.......is it heavier or lighter than air?
To be honest I rather trust the info from this forum than various
websites and media types.
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this is something i don't understand and have been wanting to ask here.
there have been posts about filling vessels with internal combustion engine
exhaust fumes as a in-a-pinch back purge. thing i was wondering was, isn't
carbon monoxide (as a component of exhaust gases) flammable/explosive?
isn't carbon monoxide what is produced as "fuel" in a wood gassification
generator?
b.w.
=============
Yes but only if oxygen is present. The idea is that you fill the
tank with motor exhaust fumes which are effectively depleted of
oxygen thus any explosive/flamable vapor can ignite because there
is no oxygen present. Many people get the same results by
purging with c02 fir extinguisher. I don't know how effective it
was [tank did not explode] but I have seen several welders squirt
the shielding gas from their metal-arc systems to displace the
air before tig welding on a gas tank.

Same idea is used in many military aircraft. After the fuel tank
explosion on flight 800 aircraft civilian aircraft were supposed
to do this also. Should be accomplished by about 2050.

Uncle George