this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2024
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There was a whole Mythbusters episode where they tried TONS of stuff to get a gas station to go up in flames (they couldn't, not even smoking a cigarette -- under near ideal conditions for an ignition of nearby vapors -- per my recollection).
So yeah, I'm sitting in my car (especially if it's cold outside).
"Static electricity" isn't somehow more of a concern sitting in your car than standing outside one in a fuzzy jacket.
What about gasoline fights? Did they account for those?
Cool, here's a video of a known static electricity ignition.
https://youtu.be/T6VKxmUPb3g?si=qmnptZLv2S1RgJvf
Hey look... a fuzzy sweater.
I'm still getting in and out of my car. I get in, shut the door, get back out, and close the door. Plenty of metal touched. Sometimes gloves.
Here's another one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JMfxPooeybg
Probably 1 in 10 million (and 2/2 videos where they didn't shut the car door)... I'll take that chance.
Edit: also think about it, if this was a real problem with a high enough frequency they'd engineer the fuel handles to prevent it. Heck, maybe they already did (accidentally or intentionally) plenty of them increasingly have a ton of plastic.
Dude your name is literally Dark_Arc. Just accept that your destiny is dying in a static electricity fire
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://m.piped.video/watch?v=JMfxPooeybg
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
They do engineer the pumps to ground the static charge. That's what can cause the arc.
You discharge yourself the first time you touch the pump before you fill up.
Getting back into the car defeats the purpose by then grounding you in the presence of fuel vapors, rather than before.
What you're saying doesn't make any sense. If you're engineering something to prevent a spark from a static charge, you engineer it to prevent a spark from a static charge. You don't engineer it to "ground you at first and then fail" if you pick up a static charge for some reason.
EDIT: And there are a lot more ways to become statically charged than getting in and out of a car (which in a lot of cases isn't going to give you a static charge anyways -- e.g. leather seats on cotton clothes is extremely unlikely to generate a static charge).
Yes, which is why the recommendation is to keep your hand on the handle while pumping or touch a metal part of your car prior to returning to the pump, and don't get back into a car.
I have a real life degree in automotive technology and engineering, and you saw a Mythbusters episode.
We can keep doing this forever if you like, but you're still very poorly informed on how safety is engineered into your vehicle fuel system and the mechanisms that support it.
Here is some reading to help you, API recommended fuel procedures (if you're not familiar with the API just read any gas pump or bottle of oil until you are): https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/consumer-information/consumer-resources/staying-safe-pump
I have a degree in computer science, I've worked on electrical engineering projects, my father is an electrician, I have a close friend and mentor that's a forensic electrical engineer, etc.
If y'all in the automotive space think this is a real problem, fix it. It is trivial to shield something from static electricity; TRIVIAL. Frankly it's unacceptable it hasn't been fixed if you're so adamant there's a serious risk to the public.
This reads to me as an "ass covering" article for a very very very rare event. At 1/10,000,000 estimated probability I'd have to live thousands of lives at the rate I fill up my car to ever see this.
I'm not going to worry about this more than I'm going to worry about winning the lottery or spontaneous combustion frankly; the probabilities do not warrant concern. Which I'm sure is the real reason nothing has been done here.
Citing your dad's job is a wild way to claim expertise.
I question your ability as an engineer if you can't understand how to shield something from static electricity. Hint: use non-conducive material to create an isolated ground that never makes contact with the gasoline, they've been doing it for all kinds of sensitive electronics for decades. This technique is also used to prevent your metal kitchen mixer from killing you if there's a short.
Am I "the expert" in this domain? No. Do I have plenty of exposure to it and other engineering disciplines to make a judgement call on the facts; absolutely.
Watch out entire industry that's been operating for more than a century, Dark Arc's dad is an engineer and he has correctly interpreted the facts you can't even seem to grasp.
Quick, now do perpetual motion! Those simpletons have barely even tried.
Not that this will mean anything to you, but this feels a lot like when someone says "why don't we just run lean so we save fuel?".
🙄
Thank you for your concern for my safety. I'm not interested.
My advice to you is, if you're worried about this, never get in a car again.
They need some signs, ‘No pumping gas in fuzzy jackets’
The concern (especially when it's cold since that usually implies dry air) is that a buildup of static energy occurs when your body rubs up against your cars interior.
This concern is usually a bit bigger for younger folks because they tend to not touch any metal parts of their car when getting up, which would discharge the energy while still a decent distance from the nozzle that's leaking gas vapors.