Static electricity and how do you fill your fuel cans?

arctictraveller · 12-20-2016, 10:35 AM

For several years I have carried three metal fuel cans on top of my Aluminess storage box. As most everyone knows, filling fuel cans in the back of a pickup truck with a bed liner is not recommended and can result in a fire due to static electricity causing a spark. A friend once had a fire while filling his snowmobile from a jerry can while it was parked on his cement floor. So, I wonder what I should do when filling my cans? Removing them from the top of the box is a royal pain, so almost always I have simply climbed up on the back bumper and filled the cans where they live. My thought process says they are as well grounded as the fuel tank in the van since they sit on metal which is bolted to the frame of the van. Still, the van is sitting on rubber tires, so it's not really grounded either. I would assume that the fuel nozzle has a ground wire, and as long as it's touching the metal can, it should be a great place for static to drain. I'm considering making a ground wire with a clamp to attach to each can as I fill it, but where do I connect the other end of the wire? Anyone have thoughts about this? Electricity is not always your friend...............

**BroncoHauler** · 12-20-2016, 10:41 AM

Just buy a diesel Sportsmobile instead

shenrie · 12-20-2016, 10:58 AM

ive seen quite a few vehicles dragging ground straps. doesn't seem like it would be the best ground, but its better than nothing I suppose.

rallypanam · 12-20-2016, 11:01 AM

Nobody lives forever.

boywonder · 12-20-2016, 12:06 PM

I usually touch the pump nozzle to the container before squeezing the pump nozzle......away from the opening...haven't seen a spark yet but it seems like a good idea....I do it on my motorcycle's plastic tanks as well.

...and I always put the plastic gas cans on the ground....

arctictraveller · 12-20-2016, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Nobody lives forever.

True enough, but I'm not ready to go yet, and definately not in a ball of flame.

86Scotty · 12-20-2016, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Nobody lives forever.

All these hijinx at the pump means I'm gonna have to put out my cigarette. No bueno.

Just kidding. I don't smoke.

On a similar note, why is static worse in winter? That's the only time I ever notice the car-door-shocking-me thing. I think it has to do with a bad ground or something.

**BroncoHauler** · 12-20-2016, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

...On a similar note, why is static worse in winter? That's the only time I ever notice the car-door-shocking-me thing. I think it has to do with a bad ground or something.

Drier air. Higher levels of humidity allow some of the built-up electric charge to bleed off. When it's dry, the charges can continue to build until there's close contact with another surface (I prefer my son's ear to discharge my built up carpet electricity).

Herb

86Scotty · 12-20-2016, 07:14 PM

Lol Herb. I'll be he appreciates that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ShuttlePilot · 12-20-2016, 07:25 PM

My quick answer is that you would connect your ground cable from your can to the pump itself. This assumes the pump housing is connected to a suitable ground rod and that the hose and nozzle are connected by a wire.

An example of where you will see this procedure done is at an airport. If a pilot is fueling from a stationary pump there will be a retractable ground cable that one would clip to the plane, some planes it's even marked where, before fueling. That cable is connected to every part of the pump, hose, nozzle and a ground rod. Another example is fueling a plane from a fuel truck. Same procedure the fueller will connect the plane, the truck and a ground. I've seen fueling operations involving exotic fuels where the person fueling will be wearing a bracelet and wire to connect themselves to the ground circuit.

Here is the part some folks miss. Testing. And people do test. Where ever the spark gap can happen and you've established a safety ground you want to test that with at least a multi meter, don't assume. It should show zero resistance. Not just a continuity tone but zero ohms. I've seen fuellers that were unsure test each connection starting from the "vehicle" working back to the ground rod.

You might get some inquisitive looks/questioning doing any of this in a gas station. I'm the most comfortable to just sit the can on the ground no mater how inconvenient it is. And in some locations it can be a hefty fine if an incident happened and the fire department had to respond. Not to mention a ruined trip.

-Eric