Torch + fuel pump=BOOM !!

I don,t know if anyone else has run into this or not . I was attempting to dissasenble my very stuck Novo fuel pump. the piston and packing gland were not coming out without some heat so I put it in a vise,took out the drain plug to keep pressure from accumilating(so I thought) and put the torch to it. About the time the housing started to show a little red, POW ! Sounded like a pistol shot! The packing gland and packing blew out so violsntly that the gland disentergrated and peppered the tin wall on my barn with a sound like bird shot. Luckily I or no one else was in the line of fire. I assume there was moisture or hydrocarbon residue trapped below the packing.So, anyone attempting to dissasemble a fuel pump with a torch,beware! Afterwards the piston came out only after getting most of the housing dull red. Havin' fun (and excitement) Wayne Z.

Wayne

I am laughing my butt off, here. I did the same thing, this afternoon working on my 3 HP. Novo fuel pump. How can this happen to two people in the same day ????

Parts seemed to go all over the shop. Can we get a parts breakdown from anyone to see what we lost ?? I have no idea what was in that pump.

AND, you are correct. Sounded like a gun shot.

What is in there to cause this to happen ????? Certainly not fuel as mine has not run for more than 30 years.

In this case, also, no damage to fellow beings, either. Scared the Hell out of the dog, which is VERY gunshy. I still can't him her. TRUE STORY !!!!

How ironic for this to happen to two people on the same day.

Thanks,

Jim

It might have been moisture but more likely the heat of the torch vaporized or cracked (like in a refinery) some old hydrocarbons then ignited the products. I've heard of a similar thing happening to an old gasoline storage thak that had been "empty" and open for a couple of years. Never a good idea to use a torch around any gasoline handling equipment.

Glad to hear that you're both uninjured.

Jim,Glad your ordeal turned out o.k. too. The only thing that goes in there is the piston, the packing and the packing gland. All of which you can get from Hit n Miss or Starbolt. Have you pulled the engine's piston yet? If so, did you notice what positon the rings were in? Mine were all on the same side as the oiler, slightly staggered, with half-lap joints at the gap. Were they spaced like this to let oil get behind the rings to help lube the other side of the bore? Thanks, Wayne Z.

Could any of the parts been made of magnesium??

Wayne

I marked the rings and the piston after I pulled the cylinder with a paint stick. I will reinstall in the same way.

I did not notice the arrangement of the ring gaps. If you need this info, I will check it for you in the next couple of days. OK ? My rings are square cut ends. Not a half lap design. 2 rings per groove. I did notice that the ends of the rings in each groove were offset.

I noticed something else, toward the bottom of the skirt, there is 2 small grooves machined in the piston and there are no rings in them. ???????? Anyone know why ???? Is this for oiling purposes ?? To small for a ring, anyway.

Jim

I would have expected a fire but probably not an explosion if there were magnesium parts.

Heard a similar ? story some time ago regarding the removal of a piston from open crank engine using a small charge of dynamite I think,I know it was pretty severe.The piston come out ok taking the bearing mounts with it.If memmory serves me right it was something like a hornsby TRUE STORY.Air is not to good either. Regards Phillip