| Author |
Message |
    
KJ
| | Posted on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 10:39 pm: | 
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I was watching the local D.C. news this morning, and there was a report about the kind of static electricity induced fire we were talking about a couple of weeks ago. A gas station on Dupont Circle was the location as I recall. The great news was only the gas pump handle was damaged, and no human injuries occurred. They showed another lady's truck that had really been fried in the same sort of fueling accident. This stuff does happen, so everyone remember to be careful and ground yourself before you touch that gas pump handle.
Karen |
Carter Simcoe (Carter)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 12:34 am: |
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Hmmmmmm..... sounds like some sort of higher power might really be in on this whole What-Would-Jesus-Drive campaign after all  |
Kyle
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 01:43 pm: |
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I think they are kinda screwing up that whole scenario there. Its not the charge from your body but rater the chare your car is holding as it is not grounded. The pump however is. The act of Fueling even buids static that can arch when removing the filler. You can go around touching all over everything but it aint gonna help. Car rolls in all full of static from cruising along in the damp air. You roll up to the pump that is grounded and the car drains its charge to ground as soon as the nozzle gets close enough...
Kyle |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 03:39 pm: |
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"Car rolls in all full of static from cruising along in the damp air. "
Damp air huh? |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 06:02 pm: |
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we used to ground the helos with a strap when we refueled them at sea, maybe they should add a grounding strap to the pump nozzle.
mike w |
Carter Simcoe (Carter)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 06:05 pm: |
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then instead of that picture w/ the dumb lady draging the gas hose along the insterstate she will be dragging the whole damn gas station |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 06:24 pm: |
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Steel belted tires with straps that go to the wheel (steel wheels of course) and big metal spikes (studs are for whimps) sticking out of the tread area. Great for traction, airating the lawn, grounding your vehicle and turning members of ELF into minced meat when they try to destroy your vehicle with bumper stickers. |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 06:36 pm: |
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would the new curb feelers i got for christmas help? |
Carter Simcoe (Carter)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 06:54 pm: |
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All this means is that someone is going to make a fortune selling "grounding key chains" or some crap, probablly the same guy that came up w/ the cell phone signal booster stickers. Damn, just gave away another million-dollar-idea, oh well. |
KJ
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:08 am: |
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All I know is in the initial report I saw on GMA they showed close-up film of the spark coming off the finger of the person onto the pump handle. (They had a segment using fire fighters demonstrating how it happens and what to do and not do if it does) It certainly looked to me like it was person-to-pump interaction. The lady they interviewed on yesterday's report (the one who totally fried her truck) stated she'd gone back into her car to get her credit card and brushed against the upholstery creating a new charge as they told it. I know some of the strongest "zaps" I've ever gotten have been upon exiting my cars and touching the door to close it.
Karen |
Peter Bullock (Downunderdisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 06:39 am: |
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Karen,
This is a REALLY easy fix.
Simply get into the habit of keeping hold of the window frame of the door as you exit the car, unitl your feet/foot is on the floor. In this way you will link the car to the ground through yourself, ground it and eliminate any chance of a spark. If it becomes habit, youll never get zapped again, regardless of what car you drive. 
Pete |
Kyle
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 07:57 am: |
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Yes karen but is the charge being dumped from the car to you? Or from you to the car ?
Kyle |
Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 08:14 am: |
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The vehicle, the human, and the fuel pump are 3 self contained, electric static charge carriers. However, unwittingly, the cell phone using, smoking at the pump human becomes the problem. Peter Bullock is correct in his statement above.
Now, Laugh all you want at Kyle's statement of "damp air," but it's true. A metallic (steel / aluminium) vehicle passing through humid air, builds a static charge. Why does the vehicle maintain the charge? Because the charge cannot bleed off or disipate throught your rubber tires.
So, having said that; Everbody knows that Fuel Pumps are safely grounded to the Earth. But, if the first thing the pump nozzle comes in contact with is the vehicle, guess what? That's right folks, a spark will fly causing your day to go to shit.
The key is to slow down, and be aware of your surroundings.
Paul
airplane guy |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 08:41 am: |
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That's it, I'm moving back to Tucson where damp air is as common as a 3 dollar bill so I'm sure there will be no static there. I'll driving with a ground strap on my wrist and bolt the other end to the frame. Before filling up I'm going to take a 2" copper ground strap and bolt one end to the frame and attatch the other end to the pump before filling the tank. And I'll convert all my vehicles to Diesel.
It's a good thing our vehicles don't have any carbon fiber or travel at 150mph. Just think of the discharge on that puppy. |
Greg P. (Gparrish)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 08:50 am: |
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Well, you could just install some of those spark inducing rods below your rear bumper............. That way you would look really fly when cruising down the road, and you would be grounded when pumping gas. I hear Garrett has some with his curb feelers.
gp |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 09:02 am: |
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I wonder if that was Garrett's curb feeler I found on the trail a couple months back in GWNF. |
Paul Long
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 09:36 am: |
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Another reason for LR to go diesel in the states. |
Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 09:38 am: |
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That's why composite vehicles have a layer of copper mesh bonded in. Ground strap on your wrist Al? Do you play with avionics gear or ordnance? |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:32 am: |
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I work in IT so we use stuff like that when working in computer rooms.
Come to think of it I'll also replace my rubber floor mats with anti-static mats and ground them to the frame of the vehicle. |
Eric N (Grnrvr)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:34 am: |
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I think I'll hand out balloons next time I'm getting gas and see if I can find some folks that will rub the balloons on their head for 3 minutes and then hold it against the pump while filling their car up with gas in the same hand as the pump hand. I'll bring my camera. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:50 am: |
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lol... might be worth getting a high speed video camera |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:14 pm: |
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curb feelers are way old school man and are great for rock crawling. don't want to damage my kick ass white letters on the Coopers!! sheeeeeet man.
so paul are you saying that i should not walk so fast to the gas pump from my truck? super slow mo and i will be all coolio? right on. will do.
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Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:18 pm: |
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Hey Garrett,
Just keep your lucky's and your 40 in the truck. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:21 pm: |
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And DON'T EVER wear Corduroy pants on days you have to fill up! These should be banned and anyone who is over weight and walking up to a fuel pump wearing corduroy pants should be considered a terrorist and shot on sight! |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:41 pm: |
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haha. and i just gave away my last Ole E 40 this weekend. just in that giving mood this weekend i guess. |
KJ
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 12:30 am: |
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LOL, hate to move this even remotely back on topic, but....
Kyle, to me it doesn't matter where *I* get the charge. If the charge then GOES from my finger to the pump and I'm a crispy critter, it's all bad. The film showed very clearly what looked like a tiny strike of lightening going from the finger of the human to the gas pump. Toast be toast, no?
Paul, isn't St. Elmo's Fire static electricity? My dad used to tell me about it bouncing off the windshield of the airplanes he flew. One question about the damp air thing though, I thought we created more static "zaps" in the winter because the relative humidity was lower? I don't seem to get shocked in the summer months like I do in winter. Also, running a humidifier in your house reduces the shocking. Comments?
Karen |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 12:47 am: |
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http://www.howstuffworks.com/vdg1.htm |
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