Searching_Ut wrote:
wilber1 wrote:
down home wrote:
We leave the car running. Costco demands you cut it off.
The engine is at one end and the fill at the other. Smoking and filling a no no.
Cellphones not generally a problem but I've seen long sparks from just dry air, plastic shoes and starting to touch around the filler cap or door or other parts, of the car.
Usually there is no problem but touch the car with the other hand and insert the nozzle, maybe. One time I felt the charge build up and travel up leg then body and down arm finger then bang. I had no idea that static charge would build that slwoly, such as a second or so.
Wife didn't like it won old plastic seat covers. You could count on a charge just about every type movement then slowly approach her with the finger and zap.
Both Shell Canada and Costco say it is the law in Canada because the National Fire Code requires it. Same goes for not smoking near a pump.
I'm surprised static isn't more of a problem, the law requires aircraft to be grounded before refuelling.
With aircraft, both the aircraft, and truck if used are required to be grounded and I too have often wondered why they don't have similar requirements for autos since static sparks will likely be in the area of the nozzle and subsequent fumes if they occur.
I've often found it interesting how the recommendation on how to ground aircraft keeps changing over the years. Sometimes, the guidelines are connect aircraft first, then attach to the ground point since it is a little bit away from the aircraft most of the time. Then they change it to earth ground point fist since it is down low where the fuel vapors might be, then connect to the aircraft. They seem to change the recommendation every decade or so.
When I lived on the prairies with the cold dry winters, I got used to getting zapped by everything I touched, including car door handles on occasion.
With aircraft, you are either grounding the truck/pump or the aircraft and you could have vapors at either end. In reality, most ground cables are on a reel attached to the pump or truck so they are already attached at that end, not leaving much of an option.
