There won't be enough oxygen in there. There is a bulb filled with carbon on each side that a flame could not get past if it got that far. That's for starters. You're looking for a problem that just does not exist.
The bulbs are filled with carbon? Ive read these were just empty expansion areas for fuel to condensate and flow back down. I wouldn’t say I’m looking for a problem, I’m looking for proof that a pipe filled with petrol fumes would not be capable of being ignited by a flame. I did actually have my breather venting to my filter before it was brought to my attention that this might be problematic. I’ve yet to read why it wouldn’t, other than here-say.
If you're not happy about it don't do it, but until you can prove it's a danger perhaps you shouldn't spread needless worry about something tens of thousands of people have been doing for 40-50 years without problem.
So it’s not safe because someone told you it isn’t; yet lots of people tell you it is perfectly safe; and you ignore them? Just checking.
I prefer to err on the safe side. It just goes against my better judgment that offering a flame to petrol fumes may cause an issue.
Your erring on the side of a problem that doesn’t exist. You come across as someone who won’t take advice when it’s freely given though; so knock yourself out.
I’ll happily take advice if and when there’s something to back up that advice. I seem to have ruffled a few feathers so I’ll bow out. Thanks for the replies, it honestly is appreciated.
We're just baffled. I'm tempted to hold a lighter to the end of my tank breather and video what happens.
I think it's good to consider these things. Buses do burn and often the cause goes undiscovered, but... they don't start with the tank blowing up, we'd definitely hear about that if it happened.
It seems to me that it is you condemned to fumbling in the wilderness of ignorance. There is no risk of fumes from the breather igniting within the ait filter, the fumes are too hydrocarbon rich to burn, and if you are suggesting that a flame from a backfire could pass through the vent system into the fuel tank you might want to think about that a bit more. VW vented millions of fuel tanks into the air filter (oil bath and paper element), it’s perfectly safe. You are at more risk by allowing the fumes to escape into your garage where there might theoretically be an explosive mixture. My MGB fuel tank is vented through the filler cap, like many hundreds of thousands of other cars of the period, it shares the same garage as the bus which has the tank vented to the air filter. One is slightly kinder to the environment but neither are likely to burst into flames. Question for you: Where do you have the crankcase vented to?
