Lead balls in gas tank "WHAT ?"

[shifter4]

And all this time I thought lead was removed because it damaged catalitic converters. And yes I have big lead sinkers in all my gas tanks. I talked with 2 different chemists. One in pharmicuticals,the other in the field of neuclear power. Both said the lead would dissolve into the gas,but neither could say how quickly.

Well..how about a quality glass jar ,filled with gasoline ,sealed , but allowing for temp expansion/contraction etc ,and a pre-weighed sinker. Shake occasionally. After
6 months , weigh the sinker again.
BTW , at Harbor Freight , I bought a 1000g x 0.1g digital scale, that seems to be of decent quality. I am associated with a CMT Engrg company
and soon will compare it with the NIST scales in our lab .
Not only has lead accumulated near the roadways , but the where does the rubber , and whatever tires also are now made from go ?
Maybe Mythbusters has already been here done that .

[WCP]

Lead absorption by children will lower their IQ - another unsubstantiated myth? I don't believe children today sport higher IQ's than those of my era, some seven decades back.
Anyways, that aside, I have used lead shot in an empty fuel tank to remove dried fuel crud and found it very effective.With this technique there is no concern of igniting fuel vapours and the inner tank surface isn't altered. I sure wouldn't leave it in there and expect any performance improvement.

[Dougie]

True story...I visited an old Goodyear plant in Canada many years ago and was told that one of their dirty little secrets was that back in the early 1900's they made baby bottle nipples at that plant and that one of the fillers used in the nipples was lead.

[Skip Lackie]

And all this time I thought lead was removed because it damaged catalitic converters.

That is my recollection, too. The SCHEDULE of the changeover was driven by the EPA requirement to install catalytic converters beginning with 1975 model year cars. Some 1971 and all 1972 model cars were designed to run on no-lead, as leaded gas was expected to be phased out by the end of the decade. But in fact, low-lead regular was still available in many rural areas much longer than that.

I do remember that the health benefits for kids was also discussed -- an argument that I felt was exaggerated at the time, as I couldn't see how anyone would ingest much lead unless they purposely ate roadside dirt. But apparently I was wrong, as the lead levels in kids in urban areas dropped almost immediately. That success led to the phasing out of leaded paint in 1978.

[fastfritz]

had a friend whose father put some large ball bearings in his gas tank. the gas guage was not working, so when the fuel level dropped low enough, he would hear the balls rolling in the tank. time for a fill-up. BRILLIANT!

[JBOYLE]

A statistically significant correlation has been found between the usage rate of leaded gasoline and violent crime: taking into account a 22-year time lag, the violent crime curve virtually tracks the lead exposure curve.[21][19] After the ban on TEL, blood lead levels in US children dramatically decreased.[19]

Although leaded gasoline is largely gone in North America, it has left high concentrations of lead in the soil adjacent to roads that were constructed prior to its phaseout. Children are particularly at risk if they consume this"

Just a question...Has anyone told their kids NOT to eat dirt and paint chips?
And don't confuse lead fishing sinkers for Tootsie Roll pops.

Problem solved.

[plwindish]

MythBusters could check out two myths, one for the lead being absorbed by the gas in the tank and the other about moth balls raising the octane. I'd like to see Jamie's scientific method for collecting moth balls. One assumes a very steady hand is needed and a very large supply of male moths. He could also do a study on how much higher the moths fly after the procedure(less weight and drag, etc).

[63 R2 Hawk]

Actually, Mythbusters did check out the mothball legend and deemed it "plausible". They are talking about the old napthalene mothballs, not the paradichlorobenzene ones or the ones rendered by male moths.....

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode15

[GEEMAC]

For sure for sure, lead balls rolling around in your gas tank should keep all the crud and whatever loosend up so it can flow to your inline filter a whole lot easier!! just a thought for today. Mac