I've heard this urban myth for a long time, but never had a car that
vapor-locked to test it out. My WAG though, is that the clothespin acts as
a heat sink, drawing just enough heat out of the line to overcome the vapor
lock. It sure does look silly though.
-----Original Message-----
From: dresden@tiac.net [mailto:dresden@tiac.net]
>In a message dated 5/17/99 10:22:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
bugide@tfs.net
>writes:
>
><< An easy test for vapor lock is a simple wooden
> clothes pin. Clamp it on the visible part of the line (before the carbs)
and
> off you go. Yes, it is odd but it works. >>
>
OK, how about a really far out SWAG on this one; when you put the
clothespin on the line, it isn't strong enough to cut off the gas, but does
change the diameter and shape of the line, creating some sort of Bernoulli
effect, which makes the gasoline more able to either break up or move past
the "vapour" locked portion?
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