Gas Caddy Question????

[BiXLL]

I have a 29 gal gas caddy with the hand pump. I kind of fell into it when buying my boat and only have $75.00 tied up in it as it originally didn't have the pump. This is my first year of actual boating, preceded by 10 years of jet skis. I had always fueled my 7 gal cans in the back of my truck without even thinking about static electricity with no problems. (probably lucky?) I have read bits and pieces about static electricity dangers, and plastic fuel cans from different forums I frequent. What are the facts? Can I fuel the caddy while still in the back of the truck (with bed liner). If static electricity if a problem, can I attach a ground wire from say the metal pump on the caddy, to the steel part of bed? What is my safe solution here?<br /><br />Also, I can not fuel at my slip. I must move boat into open water away from slip. Do I encounter the same static electricity problem with the caddy on the boat? I have a Catamaran Cruiser, which is basically a fiberglass pontoon boat. Wheeling the caddy on, and stowing it is not a problem, but would it need some sort of grounding on the boat? If so, to what?<br /><br />I really want to use the caddy, as the single source of on water gas is almost twice the price of gas at any of the local stations. I don't want to do this carelessly though, and have found I am not knowledgeable on this subject at all. Any and all suggestions, and guidance here would be very appreciated!

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

Hi BiXLL, In many states it is illegal to fuel portable canisters in the back of pickups. You have to take it out and put it on the ground. As for the grounding issue, simply grounding the caddy pump to the truck frame will do nothing. You would have to ground the truck frame to the gas pump at the gas station. Not sure what the station owners are gonna think when you start hooking up grounding straps to their fuel pumps. I would just put it on the ground to be safe. Using your caddy on the boat is not a problem the way you're doing it now assuming your pump runs off 12V. If it is 120V and your using a generator, just make sure the plug is the 3 pronged kind.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

Yeah, around here (where we're not allowed to pump our own gas ) they won't pump anything in the be of the truck...

 

[BiXLL]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

the way you're doing it now assuming your pump runs off 12V.

It is a manual hand pump.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

It is difficult to ignite gas fumes with static electricity from everyday life. But it does happen! As far as I know, there still has never been a confirmed case of cell phones igniting gas fumes. Last week’s gas station fire involving a cell phone may be the first and if so I‘m guessing arcing was involved and not static electricity. More likely, the timing of the cell ring was coincidental to what actually ignited the fumes.<br /><br />Nonetheless… there are two main sources of static electricity when pumping gas, 1) you and your clothing, and 2) the gas flowing through the hose.<br /><br />Gas pump fuel hose have a grounding path that runs internally from the metal nozzle to a grounding system inside the pump’s housing. When you grab the nozzle handle you are discharging any static electricity that built up in you/your clothing BEFORE you ever start pumping.<br /><br />Once pumping, the friction of the fuel moving inside the hose can build up a static charge. Fueling hose is now designed to prevent the build up of static electricity from friction. If it should happen, it is discharged through the hose’s grounding system. The nozzle spout could be made out of some high-tech synthetic this is cheaper and easier to replace, but it’s not…it is a conductive metal for a reason.<br /><br />Another way to look at: if there wasn’t a really, really good grounding system in place, we would be entertained with a whole lot more gas stations burning. <br /><br />You probably can’t tell I’ve visited fueling nozzle and hose manufacturer’s websites, can you? A while back I was considering options for fueling in the US and Mexico and was looking at these items to see what was involved. If you need fueling hose/nozzle items, there are a ton of them on Ebay.<br /><br />The current recommendation for fueling your boat is a carry over from the old hoses and may still apply in isolated places and foreign countries. Probably applies to your manual fuel pump if it doesn't have a grounding system. Place the fuel nozzle in contact with the metal ring of the boat’s fuel fitting/port prior to starting the flow of fuel. Keep it in contact during the whole fueling process. Your boat’s fuel fill plate should be grounded. If it’s not, DO IT regardless of your fueling methodology. That should solve any static problems.<br /><br />NOTE: both the fuel filling port and any metal parts in the fuel tank venting system should be connected to the boat's grounding system.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

Oops! Double post deleted.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

Originally posted by 18rabbit:<br /> It is difficult to ignite gas fumes with static electricity from everyday life. But it does happen! As far as I know, there still has never been a confirmed case of cell phones igniting gas fumes. Last week’s gas station fire involving a cell phone may be the first and if so I‘m guessing arcing was involved and not static electricity. More likely, the timing of the cell ring was coincidental to what actually ignited the fumes.<br />

Yeah, I'd be willing to bet alot of money it had nothing to do with the cell phone. Cell phones ringing do not make static electricity. Even if they did, you'd have to try REALLY hard to use one to light something on fire.

 

[fireship1]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

Hello, Anyone watch Mythbusters on the Discovery channel? They featured this myth a few episodes back. They could not duplicate an explosion with a cell phone no matter how hard they tried. And they put a ringing phone inside a closed chamber saturated with gas vapors and pumped in air. Nothing! If that couldn't cause an explosion how can the small amount of vapor present during fueling cause one?

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Gas Caddy Question????

Yeah, I saw that. They couldn’t get it to blow so they rigged everything in an unreal way to specifically make it blow…TV entertainment, what can you say? <br /><br />The question here has to do with static electricity and the safety issue it presents. Unlike a cell phone, a spark from static discharge when fueling with gasoline can definitely light up your life. <br /><br />The small amount of vapor ignites and consumes anything volatile in the vicinity…that means the stuff in the fuel tank. Usually it is women that start the fires in gas stations during the winter months when the air is dryer and a bigger static charge can build. Women start the fueling process then hop back in their car where it is warm and to put on makeup. When they hop back out the friction of their clothing sliding across the car’s seat created a static charge that is transferred to the grounded nozzle handle as a spark when they reach for it. That’s all it takes. <br /><br />Btw, you know when your tank is full the nozzle automatically stops pumping? You thought that feature was to prevent fuel spills, right? Nope! It’s there originally to prevent a continuing flow of fuel in the event of a fire. It’s kind of like the anti-siphon device on your boat’s fuel tank.