Re: [DML] Fuel Cell Question.

["Walter Coe" <Whalt@xxxx>]

> Was the mounting of the fuel pump inside of the fuel tank to save
> space, or was it a safety concern? In other words, if the pump
> was mounted outside of the tank, is there a possibility that it
> could be punctured, and the electrical connections exposed?

The biggest reason for the pump being mounted in the tank is that all
electric fuel pumps in general are better at pushing fuel than sucking it.
In fact, they suck so badly [sic] that they try to get them as close to the
bottom of the tank as possible.

There is another list member, Andrei Cular, who mounted his fuel pump
outside of the tank. I think his goal was to save on buying a new fuel pump
boot, so he made his own that was basically a cap. I haven't heard him give
any complaints with this arrangement. So perhaps these fuel pumps suck well
[sic] after all.

I doubt that locating the fuel pump in the tank has anything to do with
safety or saving space. My biggest concern with what Andrei did is that I
question whether or not a Bosch fuel pump can reliably suck that good [sic
again!]. I have looked through a lot of high performance automotive
catalogues and have yet to see anything that can begin to replace the pump
used in the DeLorean who's Bosch continuous injection requires fuel
pressures in the range of 72-81 psi. As fuel systems go, that is extremely
high. As a comparison, the Bosch intermittent injection requires 31-40 psi,
domestic throttle-body injection uses 10-11 psi, and typical carburetor
systems use 1-2 psi.

For what it's worth, my humble opinion is to just use the OEM setup with all
it's quirks. But if you can come up with something that makes less noise
and doesn't require an exotic fuel suction hose, then I would like to see
that.

Walt Tampa, FL