Potential Hazzard

[Pop]

Gas can explosion (http://www.ehs.umaryland.edu/NewsArticles/pr11.htm)

[Andyinchville]

Wow, Good info....I usually fuel my cans on a trailer with a wooden floor...I guess that can be dangerous too since wood may not be a good conductor as well...

Andrew

[Dozerboy]

Never thought of that.

[xkvator]

there are signs on most gas pumps about not filling cans in the truck bed...

[Dwan Hall]

I've seen it happen. 35 years ago, Farm girl filling F250 from overhead gravity tank. She gets out of truck puts nozel it truck and starts to fill it. slides back into truck to listen to radio well truck is been filled. nozel kicks off so she slides back across seat but does not get out, just reaches for nozel. stadic electricity jumps from hand to nozel igniting fumes, truck burns to ground, Tank also burns till it gets real hot then blows. My job was to keep hose on diesel tank next to gas tank to keep it cool so it does not burn. I was on shop roof holding hose when the gas tank went up and was blowen off roof. suffered minor burns but was back on roof with hose in time to keep deisel tank from been part of the problem also.

The girl (who I had a crush on) never got hurt. I made points with the family but didn't do any good in the long run.

[itsgottobegreen]

Since my father is a fire protection engineer and I have a fire science degree, I have been fueling cans on the ground forever. This is also why almost everything I own is diesel. The mowing crew only has a mix can, everything else is diesel powered.

[Countryboy]

I've seen first hand the damage left after several of these accidents from being on the Fire Dept. There are many casual things people do at the fuel pump that can cause things like this.

[digger242j]

I've seen first hand the damage left after several of these accidents from being on the Fire Dept. There are many casual things people do at the fuel pump that can cause things like this.


What about cellphones? I can understand the potential for a spark from the other causes discussed above, but is there really such potential from a cellphone?

[Grader4me]

We were told to turn off our cell phones while fueling, but has it really been proven without a doubt that they could cause an explosion? From what I can understand is that some service stations have signs by their fueling stations warning to turn off your cell phones. Good topic for debate.

[90plow]

myth busters did the cell phone myth and it was proved a myth, The phone did not cause a fire as far as I recall.
-Eric

[Steve Frazier]

The flash point of diesel fuel is not high enough to worry about under most circumstances. A stray spark will not ignite it unless it is somehow turned to a mist, during standard handling it is pretty inert. The vapors will not ignite unless heated to over 140°.

Gasoline is the bad one, very unstable at most temps.

[Countryboy]

Gasoline was what I was referring to. I should have made that clear. Steve is right, there are less flash hazards when dealing with diesel. Cell phones as well as any electrical equipment can cause a flammable vapor to flash. As everybody knows electricity likes to travel through metal but it will also travel through air. Its only a very small distance that it will travel but when it does this is the "arc" that can be seen. Loose connections are a good example of arcing. When you wiggle a loose wire you see a spark. If this spark is "hot" enough, it can ignite the vapors. Another example is an electric motor. When the brushes are spinning against the armature they create small arcs. You can see this when using an electric drill if you look through the vents in the side. My point is that anywhere there is electricity there can be fire. Cellphones use electricity and with the right conditions there could be a flash.

[Grader4me]

I am having a hard time to get the cell phone thing through my head. So there would be no difference if you was talking on a portable two way radio near a gas pump. Take it a step further...a child talking on a walky talky near someone that was fueling up...would it not be the same thing? A transmitter is a transmitter whether it is a two way radio or a cell phone?

[Countryboy]

You are correct that the different devices that use transmitters can cause a flash but it is the electricity the transmitter uses that causes the vapors to flash not the transmitter itself. It could be anything that uses electricity, even just starting your car. Cell phones have been the main thing that has been pointed out because everybody has one. Again, the cases are few and far between and the conditions have to be right but it can and has happened. An example: There was a man in our county filling up his truck with gasoline. He over filled it and spilled a small amount (not enough to even fill up a cup) on the ground. The spill occured behind the cab on the driverside. The car battery is on the front passenger side. He went inside to pay, came out and started his truck and a huge flash rolled out from under the hood. It was strong enough to rip the hood latch from the radiator support. A loose battery cable caused this. The vapor from the small spill had been blown under the truck and when he started the truck the small arc between the battery post and the cable caused the vapors to flash. Again conditions have to be right but this stuff does happen.

[Grader4me]

Makes sense. An eye opener for sure. Thanks for the information :)

[Countryboy]

Any time.:yup