Flamethrowers? Hear me out please

[LordKhaine]

Not even when fired at with tracers?

The flammable liquid isn't stored at any high pressure, so the worst that's going to happen is flaming liquid will leak out of the punctured canister. Certainly not a good thing for the guy wearing the flame thrower pack, but it won't explode showering everyone nearby in flames like you see in Saving Private Ryan.

 

[slyder73]

I am just wondering why the oil tank would explode if you shot it.......

The fuel inside is not flammable, it is the evaporating vapour that burns. The vapour has to be mixed with oxygen at a particular ratio to burn.
The surface of the liquid, whether in the tank or being propelled through the air has heat to cause evaporation and burns, very hot. But, a bullet going through the tank would do just that, puncture through the tank, just a piece of metal tunneling through the liquid, no oxygen mix or ignition source.
The bullet would not likely spark on impact and even a tracer round would only ignite the tank under ideal conditions and would then, only drizzle out.

 

[Homuth]

The fuel inside is not flammable, it is the evaporating vapour that burns. The vapour has to be mixed with oxygen at a particular ratio to burn.
The surface of the liquid, whether in the tank or being propelled through the air has heat to cause evaporation and burns, very hot. But, a bullet going through the tank would do just that, puncture through the tank, just a piece of metal tunneling through the liquid, no oxygen mix or ignition source.
The bullet would not likely spark on impact and even a tracer round would only ignite the tank under ideal conditions and would then, only drizzle out.

Exactly,

Here's just a simple video demonstrating just that.

Gasoline barrel shoot out experiment - YouTube

 

[Andrew Blake]

The fuel inside is not flammable, it is the evaporating vapour that burns. The vapour has to be mixed with oxygen at a particular ratio to burn.
The surface of the liquid, whether in the tank or being propelled through the air has heat to cause evaporation and burns, very hot. But, a bullet going through the tank would do just that, puncture through the tank, just a piece of metal tunneling through the liquid, no oxygen mix or ignition source.
The bullet would not likely spark on impact and even a tracer round would only ignite the tank under ideal conditions and would then, only drizzle out.

I do know this, IIRC the ratio for a ignition which can lead to an explosion excactly 40% air and 60% fuel. It could no variate much from that, otherwise no explosion. Which leads to-they "won't" explode it shot.

 

[Jaesperson]

video with the guys shooting a full, half an empty and an "empty" barrel of gasoline explains it. the last barrel explodes, because there is a mixture of oxygen air and gasoline-gasses in it. anything between 0,6% and 8% of gas is ignitable, which was only the case with the barrel that they once filled up with gasoline, but then took it out before they closed the barrel again and then shot it.