CDNROCKIES

I can't believe that this is an actual discussion...lol

Apparently common sense no longer exists.

xfirechief

Being a professional firefighter for over 33 years I want you & everyone else too to know IT IS NOT SAFE to run your car while refueling. For u to tell people it is OK is just plain stupid, don't want to sugar coat what I am saying so once more "IT is just plain stupid" Sure u have done it many times but that one time when everything is right, BAM, your dead. Easy to say just don't spill gas but accidents happen, I bet even in Minn, so everyone else up there, DON"T DO IT!.

sup_lexio

I have no words.. You are insane dont ever do that again.

tshelly

I would say that unless you want to be the next story on the Darwin Award's: http://www.darwinawards.com/ that you should turn it off. If you want to take your own life that is one thing, but you should think of your fellow human beings that you may be taking with you! Plus can you imagine the lawsuits your family will have to deal with after you are gone.

grouch

You can tell someone not to do something, like touch a flame or your tongue to a frozen pole, but some body will do it and I think half of them are on this forum.

Static electricity is the main cause of gas tank fires. It mostly occurs when the driver puts the nozzle in the tank and then returns to the drivers seat. A combination of clothing and seat material build up an electrical charge.

The original charge was discharged when you first touched the gas pump, which is grounded. The second charge is discharged when you reach for the nozzle that's in your tank.

I recently watch a gas station video of a restored Ferrari that burnt to the ground. The driver had minor burns but was sick about his car.

Dose a running car add to the static electricity, I don't know. But I'll bet it's a question an Insurance agent will ask...

howdybob22

I voted, but I was not going to comment because it seems kinda obvious. Some of us kinda knock the thread as being lame even to discuss, but forget that Triplecore is young. I'm almost sure he asked it for learning purposes - God knows how smart we were in the teens and early twenties years. I guess sometimes it's good to ask stupid question rather than learning it the hard way.

catdaddylo

Ever seen someone burned so bad they look like a swollen hot dog and yet they are still alive. I see that 2 morons voted to keep the engine running while refueling. See ya in ICU ...... if you are lucky.

biff44

Lets review WHY you turn off the engine when you refuel. When you are fueling, there are gas vapors around. Even with the most conscious refueler, you do not know if the previous customer spilled a cup full of fuel on the pavement.

Gasoline vaporizes, and tends to stay pretty low. So there are plenty of fumes near the ground level. All those fumes need is a spark source to ignite.

What is the most likely spark source? Your causing static electricity is the biggest one. Hence the rules about not getting back into and out of your car during refueling--you can spark when your feet touch the ground, or even worse when you retouch the nozzle. Same with the rule about only filling an approved portable gas tank when it is sitting on the gound--less likely to spark.

What is the 2nd most likely spark source--well let me think. Is there anyting in the car might cause 8 high voltage arcs every, say, 1000 times per second? Gee, maybe the car's ignition system? If the gas vapor gets into a distributor cap, or there is a worn ignition wire with some secondary sparking--there you are. The only way to insure that an ignition spark will not cause trouble is if the car is turned off.

Why don't we have explosions with cars that are running during refueling? Because the gas is not always spilled when refueling, the wind might be blowing in a direction to waft the fumes away from the engine compartment, the engine compartment is at the other end of the car from where you are refueling--which lets the gas fumes dissipate, there might be too much OR too little gas content in the air (you need the right fuel/air mixture for explosion), and you need for the gas fumes to get into the distributor or to be externally arcing due to a worn/defective part. That means that you can get away with fueling while the engine is running MOST of the time, and never have trouble. Heck, you can go for a week-long hike in the Grand Canyon, walk by perhaps 1000 rattle snakes but never see them or get bit, and think "there is no way to get bit by a snake out here"! Then the next day just carelessly sit down on a log and get bit in the azz.

It really helps to understand the science behind these things and do your best whenever you can to increase your odds of seeing a social security check someday.

tawm

Although it may be "common sense" to most of you, thanks for the patient explanations and reminders of why this is important.

tfischer

"Common sense" is an attribute whose distinguishing characteristic is supposed to be that everyone has it.
From reading these posts, taking two seconds to shut off the engine while refueling does not fall into this category.
Or maybe we are dealing with those few, and I think they are out there, who for one reason or another, lack those basic instincts inherent to self-preservation.
I just don't know anymore.

steiner

I have been reading this thread for a few days with amazament. this moring I stopped at a gas station, with my baby on board. The guy next at the pump next to me was filling up a Lexus RX AND smoking a cigarette. I pulled the hell out the station in a hurry. I go home and starting to wish I can fill up my tank online.

garrard

Yesterday I noticed quite a few people standing around talking on cells while fueling, in spite of the little sign directing otherwise. How big of a risk are cells?

tfischer

I don't know; how big a risk are you willing to take?

xfirechief

Great job, only I would have ask him to PLEASE put out that cancer stick while he was refueling for his good as well as mine.

ecount00

When your cell rings it is a source of static electricity which could lead to a small electrical spark. certainly low odds, as with many other things but calls aren't that important IMO.