Question: What exactly IS a fuel cell?

[Jand3rson]

May seem like kind of a noob question, but I've never been totally clear on exactly what they are, what purpose they serve, or how they're different from the regular gas tank.

Can someone enlighten me?

[Mr Deagle]

they have a rubber bag inside of them so if they get in a wreck they dont leak.

if you are talking about a hydrogen fuel cell, thats completely different

[fretburnr]

it is a form of a gas tank. the idea is that its a safer alternative to a factory tank; non vented, much more resistant to puncture or failure from an accident/excess gforce etc.



another benefit is that its made of lightweight materials, so for a race car that's a plus - and can be had in smaller capacities, therefore having less fuel weight too. a drag car doesn't need more than 16 gallons :p

[JasonC]

They are safer then a normal gas tank cause a reguler gas tank is just stamped steel. Where the fuel cell has a greater impact resistence and can be mounted in a tighter space. I had two cars so far with fuel cells and the first one was a 70 Dodge Dart 15gal. It was made of polyethylene (plastic). I didn't like that one cause over time it started to cave in on itself. Plus it had no fuel gauge so i had to use a paint stick to see how much gas was in it. Now the Vega i have now has one in it (plastic) thats going to ge changed to a metal unit like in the picture.

[Jand3rson]

they have a rubber bag inside of them so if they get in a wreck they dont leak.

if you are talking about a hydrogen fuel cell, thats completely different

James, can admins put members on ignore?

[Mr Deagle]

why would you want to do that? you asked what a fuel cell is

[Jand3rson]

why would you want to do that? you asked what a fuel cell is

Because your answer was hardly an answer at all. By your answer, I could insert a plastic bladder into my gas tank and it would be a fuel cell.

And I never asked about hydrogen fuel cells.

And just about everything you say is either bullshit or just stupid.

[euroshark]

lol...

Pointless post, but it was funny.

My bad

-1

[Mr Deagle]

Because your answer was hardly an answer at all. By your answer, I could insert a plastic bladder into my gas tank and it would be a fuel cell.

And I never asked about hydrogen fuel cells.

if you put a bladder in your stock tank, it would be considered a "fuel cell" because it has the safety bag in it, i might actually do that for my car

edit: edit: useful link: http://fuelsafe.com/faqs.htm

[euroshark]

I was under the impression that stock tanks are not "just hollow", but have an open celled foam injected into them to prevent sloshing... Is this incorrect? I've never opened a fuel tank other than removing the pump so I'm not real familiar with the innards...

[Mr Deagle]

I was under the impression that stock tanks are not "just hollow", but have an open celled foam injected into them to prevent sloshing... Is this incorrect? I've never opened a fuel tank other than removing the pump so I'm not real familiar with the innards...

ill look into that, i have a stock tank laying around

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

Because your answer was hardly an answer at all. By your answer, I could insert a plastic bladder into my gas tank and it would be a fuel cell.

And I never asked about hydrogen fuel cells.

And just about everything you say is either bullshit or just stupid.

He gave you a simplified version of an answer.

That's basically all a fuel cell is, a metal (or plastic) box, with a thick plastick bladder inside that holds the fuel. If you get into an accident, say, on the track, the tank may be damaged, and crack, but the fuel will still be contained inside the bladder, preventing a leak. Thus, preventing any possible fire hazards.

I also read that fuel cells are used to prevent fuel starvation because of the way the fuel sits in the bag, it doesn't slosh around and so the pump is always pumping fuel.

[JasonC]

I pulled a tank off of a stock 88 325is and it was just a metal tank with some baffles in it. And the plastic fuel cells that i have or had don't have a blatter in them, only foam to keep the fuel from sloshing around.

[Jon325i]

This is on a semi-related note Josh, but being an F1 junkie I find this kind of stuff really cool....

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid340473122/bclid647737970/bctid663500411

Jon

[jbsjunk]

I pulled a tank off of a stock 88 325is and it was just a metal tank with some baffles in it. And the plastic fuel cells that i have or had don't have a blatter in them, only foam to keep the fuel from sloshing around.

Most of your OE and replacement tanks are baffled, plastic or steel is no difference. Good luch getting a bladder to work.

The expensive fuel cells have bladders normally. The more common ones for street and racing do not have a bladder, only foam as mentioned and even some of those are baffled to some degree. I've had several cells over the years (hated the plastic because it always buckled no matter how loose or tight the straps were) and aluminum which worked out very well.