Fueling from plastic containers

"Roger" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 18:40:03 GMT, "Ralph Nesbitt"
wrote:


"Bertie the Bunyip" wrote in message
...
How about it Ralph? Know anything abou this?

He is correct re static electricity causeing fires while filling
containers
with gasoline, especially Plastic one's. The dispenser nozzle is
grounded,
but there is no continuity of ground to small containers, ie 5 gallons or
less.

I'm not so sure it's especially plastic ones. In the "old days" we
refueled tractors out of 5 gallon metal cans. You learned early on to
*always* put the can against the metal funnel and never just pour down
into a funnel.

Metal to metal forms a ground to the tractor alowing any static electricity
to bleed off.

I only know of two fires, as I mentioned in another post, but I
understand they were fairly common. However out in an open field, you
just put the cap back on the tank and carried the can away from the
tractor. That is unless you splashed gas all over. The putting out
the fire became a much more hurried proposition.

Gas fumes are strange animals.
My dad was getting some work done at the local welding shop. They
were working on a tanker (tractor trailer) at the time. They had
filled and drained the tanker twice using water to flush it out.

The tank was drained when they struck an arc. It blew out part of the
back end of the trailer. Unfortunately that caused the trailer to
jump forward and there was a guy standing on the rear of the tractor.
Whether it sheared off the 5th wheel or what happened I'm not sure,
but it squashed the guy between the tank and back of the cab like a
bug

Common practice is to fill any container with water & leave the water in it
while doing "Hot Work" on any container/vessel/tank that has contained a
"Flamable Liquid" irrespective of class. Gasoline vapours between the LEL &
UEL have the explosive potential of 1 stick of dynamite per 10 cubic feet of
vapours. There are more people injure/killed doing/being in the vicinity of
hot work on 55 gallon drums that have contained flamable liquids than any
other cause associated with hot work on flamable liquid containers.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Ralph Nesbitt
Professional FD/CFR/ARFF Type
Posting From ADA