The fire trap as you have described would work but would need to hold some amount of pressure. I am thinking one in-line one-way check valves with steel wool stuffed in a larger pipe in between might also work and hold more pressure.
Steel wool packed pipe No steel wool ________________________ _______________ ________________________SX>_______________ <----- Flow of gas X>="One-way" check valves S="spring"
Steel wool has the advantage of slowing down an explosion, allowing the pressure to
build slowly, this would allow the one way check valve to close. The pipe may need to
be the next size larger than the normal carburetor feed line so that when the steel wool is
added it doesn't restrict the flow. Use as coarse a steel wool as you can find that will fit
the pipe. You don't want it burning or melting. Small pipes can hold an extremely large
amount of pressure. This technique has the advantage of minimizing the water adsorbed
in the methane gas. The explosion trap should be the last thing in line as it goes to the
carburetor. It should be as close to the carburetor as is possible.
Water would be partly removed with appropriate water traps upon compression in the
previous stages. As gas cools off (usually from expansion of lower pressure) it will
drop out water, so after the regulator would be another opportunity for a water
separator. A water separator is nothing more than a large chamber (as compared to the
input pipe size) with a drain in the bottom. Gas comes in fast mixed with water, its flow
rate slows down enough for the water to fall out, and puddle in the bottom. The drain is
opened once in a while to let the water out.
Offered by Mike.