Surge tank explosion
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 2,875
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From: Olive Branch (Memphis suburb) MS
Cruise-In II Veteran
Surge tank explosion
Somehow the AC line came loose and sprayed the surge tank while doing 75 mph down the interstate. Here are the results. 
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 2
From: Little Rock Arkansas
Originally Posted by Ramrod92
Somehow the AC line came loose and sprayed the surge tank while doing 75 mph down the interstate. Here are the results.
Dude...I FU&KING HATE YOUR CAR!!! Why do you think I dubbed it "Christine???"
BTW: I have the surge tank off of my car that I'm not using, I was going to put it on Ebay or the For Sale section here...
-Jeb
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 2
From: Little Rock Arkansas
Dude...I FU&KING HATE YOUR CAR!!! Why do you think I dubbed it "Christine???"
BTW: I have the surge tank off of my car that I'm not using, I was going to put it on Ebay or the For Sale section here...
-Jeb
PS- Whoops...Double post... See, when it comes to your car it messes EVERYTHING up!!!!
BTW: I have the surge tank off of my car that I'm not using, I was going to put it on Ebay or the For Sale section here...
-Jeb
PS- Whoops...Double post... See, when it comes to your car it messes EVERYTHING up!!!!
Drifting
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,730
Likes: 1
From: Charlotte NC
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by Ramrod92
Somehow the AC line came loose and sprayed the surge tank while doing 75 mph down the interstate. Here are the results.
The coolest the refrigerant should have gotten was around -32 F if I remeber from my properties table correctly.
Looks like a grenade was in your surge tank.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 40,156
Likes: 45
From: San Pedro CA
Originally Posted by mseven
WHOA! HOLLY CRAP, is the AC line only held w/dum dum (black crap)or did it break as well?
Alvin - calling this an "unusual" failure is the understatement of the decade!!!
Drifting
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,730
Likes: 1
From: Charlotte NC
St. Jude Donor '05
It ruptured outward though is my point and the temperature 134a makes when you let it sit at atmoshpere isn't that cold at all.... Why did it do this? and why didn't it blow a coolant hose first if it had that much pressure in it.
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 2,875
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From: Olive Branch (Memphis suburb) MS
Cruise-In II Veteran
Originally Posted by Alvin
It ruptured outward though is my point and the temperature 134a makes when you let it sit at atmoshpere isn't that cold at all.... Why did it do this? and why didn't it blow a coolant hose first if it had that much pressure in it.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 40,156
Likes: 45
From: San Pedro CA
I am guessing... lets say the AC line broke a little, letting a high pressure jet of gas make it's way out and essentually burn a hole into the plastic, causing the plastic to rupture.
Toss in a weak spot in the plastic... and BAM! You have a broken surge tank.
Toss in a weak spot in the plastic... and BAM! You have a broken surge tank.
Large Impressive Member
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From: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Here's my highly technical explanation. The combination of the hot tank under pressure getting hit with a cold blast in one spot freaked out the molecules in the plastic! 
I would say now I've seen it all. But I know better than that.
I would say now I've seen it all. But I know better than that.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 3,504
Likes: 4
From: Mexico Beach FL
Originally Posted by Corvette Kid
...The combination of the hot tank under pressure getting hit with a cold blast in one spot ....
If I remember correctly, R12 will burn under the right circumstances and create phosgen gas.
Could it have ignited?
Tom Piper
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From: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Originally Posted by Tom Piper
I think you are right about the surge tank being under pressure causing it to push outward, but this looks like the tank got too hot instead of too cold.
If I remember correctly, R12 will burn under the right circumstances and create phosgen gas.
Could it have ignited?
Tom Piper
If I remember correctly, R12 will burn under the right circumstances and create phosgen gas.
Could it have ignited?
Tom Piper
And if that's indeed what happened, of course it would burst outward when the material failed as the tank was under pressure. Am I missing something here?
Last edited by Corvette Kid; Jul 23, 2006 at 07:16 PM.