I was just surfing the BCP fuel forum, and I remembered a fueling mishap that could have resulted in a far worse disaster.

This guy, a few hangars over from me, had an aircraft. He was trying to save a few bucks just like us all. He was buying 100LL Avgas at another location in a plastic food grade drum and keeping it in his hangar ( an insurance policy, and hangar lease violation). He would pump it out with some kind of a big food industry hand pump. ( looks like the kind on a hand soap container, only much bigger ).

Then one day it sounded like a rifle shot or airplane backfiring. “Ka-blam!” He left his hangar and drove off quickly. Line service from the FBO came over and found that the ungrounded hand pump had exploded and shot the round plastic disc you place the palm of your hand on straight up in to the insulated ceiling. It was smoldering with light smoke still visible coming from the insulation. The smell of Avgas was in the air as well. A little smoke haze filled the hangar. Everyone retreated. No further fire, thank god.

Later, it was noted that the pump was labeled “Not for petroleum products or fuels” ( or something like that ). He sustained burns to his hair, face and hand.

Could have been worse.

Comments?

Edit: Like this, only really big:

Can't say anything more than that. ROFL!!!

Almost a Darwin Award winner.

The best of all possible outcomes for this story. Ha! It illustrates perfectly the principle of LEL or lower explosive level. There wasn't enough oxygen for the explosion to get beyond the pump itself. The alternative outcomes are all very much worse.

H---- f----. Lesson the hard way.

What did they figure set off the explosion-- static electricity?

What did they figure set off the explosion-- static electricity?

Maybe that but primarily sheer stupidity. See: http://www.darwinawards.com/

As they say, half a boom can spoil your whole day.

Cary

TomD wrote:

What did they figure set off the explosion-- static electricity?

Maybe that but primarily sheer stupidity. See: http://www.darwinawards.com/

I get the whole Darwin award thing but I have yet to see stupidity actually be the cause of a fire. An act of stupidity will do it though....what was the actual act of stupidity that caused the explosion-- using an ungrounded plastic pump apparatus?

I actually used to teach this stuff to hundreds of bored and angry construction workers prior to any open pipeline projects for Alyeska. Yes, the explosion was caused by static electricity, no you don't put a ground strap on a plastic pump, and three, static electricity is made by the relative motions of dissimilar materials past one another. Even wind blowing over a piece of pipe hanging from a crane on a riggers strap. Electrons (negative charge) are stripped off of molecules because of the different valences of the materials in question. With enough motion, for enough time, a certain number of electrons will become "orphaned" and have no place to go. They are eager to find a place to bond and migrate throughout the material even if it's not a conductor. They will gang up together and jump gaps in order to get equalized. They want to get back home to earth. All fueling hoses and the pumps and tanks they are hooked up to are "grounded" through a variety of measures. Hose has a wire mesh woven into the rubber and fabric from which it is made, pumps are usually metallic and groundable, and in the case of plastic tanks or gas cans they are firmly in contact with conductive materials and made secure to the earth.

Use materials and processes approved for the purpose and you'll be fine. Don't ever as in NEVER fuel gas cans and plastic drums sitting in the bed of the pickup. Especially ones with a bed liner. I don't know why we don't have a ground lead from the gas station pump to the pickup. We should. Some types of plastics are far more suitable because they allow "orphaned" electrons to migrate more easily. A plastic tank, firmly in contact with a metallic trailer which in turn is firmly grounded by way of a ground lead back to the fuel island's ground point can work. The NTSB has recorded roughly 100 static electricity fueling explosions per year. That's about one ever 3 days or so eh? Don't be so lucky.

hotrod180 wrote:

TomD wrote:

What did they figure set off the explosion-- static electricity?

Maybe that but primarily sheer stupidity. See: http://www.darwinawards.com/

I get the whole Darwin award thing but I have yet to see stupidity actually be the cause of a fire. An act of stupidity will do it though....what was the actual act of stupidity that caused the explosion-- using an ungrounded plastic pump apparatus?

Let he who has never screwed up and then realized, "Gosh! That was really, heinously stupid, and I could be dead or maimed now." hand out the first award.

Let he who has never screwed up and then realized,

Never said I was innocent of doing stupid things, gawd knows I have done my fair share. So far have not offed myself or any innocent bystanders. I do have a very healthy respect for things that go boom.

TD

Mister701 wrote:I actually used to teach this stuff to hundreds of bored and angry construction workers prior to any open pipeline projects for Alyeska. Yes, the explosion was caused by static electricity, no you don't put a ground strap on a plastic pump, and three, static electricity is made by the relative motions of dissimilar materials past one another. Even wind blowing over a piece of pipe hanging from a crane on a riggers strap. Electrons (negative charge) are stripped off of molecules because of the different valences of the materials in question. With enough motion, for enough time, a certain number of electrons will become "orphaned" and have no place to go. They are eager to find a place to bond and migrate throughout the material even if it's not a conductor. They will gang up together and jump gaps in order to get equalized. They want to get back home to earth. All fueling hoses and the pumps and tanks they are hooked up to are "grounded" through a variety of measures. Hose has a wire mesh woven into the rubber and fabric from which it is made, pumps are usually metallic and groundable, and in the case of plastic tanks or gas cans they are firmly in contact with conductive materials and made secure to the earth.

Use materials and processes approved for the purpose and you'll be fine. Don't ever as in NEVER fuel gas cans and plastic drums sitting in the bed of the pickup. Especially ones with a bed liner. I don't know why we don't have a ground lead from the gas station pump to the pickup. We should. Some types of plastics are far more suitable because they allow "orphaned" electrons to migrate more easily. A plastic tank, firmly in contact with a metallic trailer which in turn is firmly grounded by way of a ground lead back to the fuel island's ground point can work. The NTSB has recorded roughly 100 static electricity fueling explosions per year. That's about one ever 3 days or so eh? Don't be so lucky.

Interesting stat. I wonder during that same time period how many fuelings take place? Ten's of thousands, millions, tens of millions? In other words, they happen, but a lot of the times, most of the time, they don't. Even once is too often of course, but the odds seem to be up there with being struck by lightning (poor analogy). I do make an effort to put my plastic jugs on the ground, but what about the BushBags? Put them on the ground also. I also make sure to have a real wire mesh fuel hose on my bulk tank at home. Since the advent of plastic fuel jugs, they have at least done away with the rust issue, anybody remember that? I'll take plastic any day.

I self-fuel with mogas using plastic jerry cans. I take them out of the back of my CRV and set them on the concrete to fill. I used to fill them while still in the back of my pickup, before I sold the pickup. I understand that touching the fuel nozzle to the pickup bed before starting to fuel & while fueling prevented any static. I put the cans up on the wing to fuel the airplane-- again, I understand that having the cans touch the airplane while fueling prevents static from being created.
I've been doing it like this for nigh onto 20 years, haven't kaboomed myself yet.

In my opinion the bags should be treated just like the plastic jerry jugs. The way these items get to market is that they need that DOT approval on them. That means that they are made of plastics that resist the process I've just described and with any luck have been through some testing. I suppose a guy could carry his gas in a hefty bag if he needed to but I doubt any of us would do it right?

Hot Rod: That's the way I do it. If you understand the physics going on you'll do the right thing by way of common sense. Like I said, the orphans are EAGER to get off the jug or bag so a brief set down on the pavement or dirt should do it.

We're not looking for a conductor in the classic sense here. EVERYTHING conducts. On the slope (1% humidity sometimes) the door knobs in the hotels were all wrapped with gobs of electrical tape to ward off the one inch arc that would greet you after walking down the damn hallway at the end of the day. It didn't work. It would get you anyway. Those doorknobs were not grounded folks, but a potential would travel between the rug on the floor and the knob, right up the sheetrock wall. Meanwhile you're stripping trillions of electrons off the rug with your shoes as you walk along. Loads of fun. Makes you paranoid.

Luckily for me, I guess, the pacific northwest rarely has the extremely low humidity that apparently promotes static electricity.

Some good BCP history here:

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/ ... s-cans-887

Zzz wrote:Some good BCP history here:

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/ ... s-cans-887

An interesting and informative read. A lot of opinion too. Here's what the industry says. There's no reason I suppose, to believe what they say over your own experience. I do though.


Portable Containers

( http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas- ... -safe-pump )

When dispensing gasoline into a container, use only an approved portable container and place it on the ground to avoid a possible static electricity ignition of fuel vapors. Containers should never be filled while inside a vehicle or its trunk, the bed of a pickup truck or the floor of a trailer.
When filling a portable container, manually control the nozzle valve throughout the filling process. Fill a portable container slowly to decrease the chance of static electricity buildup and minimize spilling or splattering. Keep the nozzle in contact with the rim of the container opening while refueling.
Fill container no more than 95 percent full to allow for expansion.
Place cap tightly on the container after filling - do not use containers that do not seal properly.
Only store gasoline in approved containers as required by federal or state authorities. Never store gasoline in glass or any other unapproved container.
If gasoline spills on the container, make sure that it has evaporated before you place the container in your vehicle.Report spills to the attendant.
When transporting gasoline in a portable container make sure it is secured against tipping and sliding, and never leave it in direct sunlight or in the trunk of a car.

Why would they say use containers approved for the purpose and omit that they needed to be metal? Did they make that up? Same question goes with funnels or any other fuel handling equipment for that matter. They suggest setting the container on the ground and not in the bed of a pickup truck too. Why? All materials including plastics, glasses, and air conduct electricity. Especially static (high voltage) electricity. If you prefer setting a steel Jerry Can on the top of your wing, why go ahead. This precaution will do NOTHING to eliminate arcs though. I'll stand by the training I had and taught in the oil patch. Use approve materials, understand how static electricity is created by the relative motion of one material past the other, and provide some reasonable opportunity and path for charges to equalize. You'll be fine.

If you have your container sitting on the wing while transferring fuel, isn't it geounded to the wing, therefore giving it a reasonable path to equalize? I'm asking out of honesty, but it seems to make sense to me.