why is mobile phone use banned in petrol (gas) station

TXgolfer said:
a small travel trailer.....The phone was busted but static blew it to smithereens. The ran a line to the trailer which was filed with gas cans. Built up static....touched the line BOOM!
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Awesome, now why is it that I always miss the good episodes???
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw6-PhvcS3M]YouTube - Mythbusters- Cell Phone Gas Station MiniMyth[/ame]

The guy at the gas station gives a demo in his white van. The key is that when you get out of a car (van) and not touch the outside part of the car which would've dissipated any built up static charge you may have you then run the risk of igniting gasoline fumes once you touch the metal part of the gas hose that's dispensing gas into your gas tank.
 
kokonut said:
A cell phone does not and cannot emit a electrical discharge to ignite the gaseous fumes of gasoline. The problem is that its the driver that builds up an electrical (static) charge. This happens only after the nozzle is put into the gas tank. The driver already touched nozzle's first before inserting into the tank. The person then goes back into the car while its being pumped and sits on the car seat, rubbing it and build up static charge. Then the driver gets out without touching the outside of his car or other metal objects outside that are grounded which can help dissipate the built up electrical (static) charge. If the driver's static charge hasn't dissipated by the time he touched the nozzle, then his touching will be the source of ignition....not the cell phone. The cell phone thing is a big myth.
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Jiro said:
the handle for gas nozzle = it's made of rubber or plastic
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I had felt static electricity to touch my SUV's door from seat during cold and dry weather. The build up of static electricity is most likely when the climate is cold and dry. The buildup is less likely when the climate is humid. If you have static electricity in your vehicle during winter season, never get back into the vehicle while refueling--even when using the nozzle's automatic hold-open latch. If you must re-enter the vehicle, discharge static electricity build up when you get out by touching the outside metal portion of the vehicle, away from the filling point, before attempting to remove the nozzle.
 
I just found out few days ago --

I bought a new sneaker. I was wearing a sweater with polyester jacket on top. Routinely I get static spark when I touched any metal part of car. I hate it.

Now, I went to gas station then got out of car, I avoided any contact with metal part of car. I opened the gas door, removed the cap, inserted the gas nozzle into the gas tank, I touched the metal part of gas notch, I FELT the BIG spark! Luckily for me it didn't ignite the gas.

Point in this story is rarity, it doesn't happen to many of us, it is probable that what happened to me HAPPENED to them, not the cell phones? People saw them on phone, talking before the explosion, blamed all on phone but in reality it is actually the way they are wearing, charging themselves up with so much static electricity, then when they discharged somewhere near gas nozzle that gas exploded?
 
LinuxGold said:
I just found out few days ago --

I bought a new sneaker. I was wearing a sweater with polyester jacket on top. Routinely I get static spark when I touched any metal part of car. I hate it.

Now, I went to gas station then got out of car, I avoided any contact with metal part of car. I opened the gas door, removed the cap, inserted the gas nozzle into the gas tank, I touched the metal part of gas notch, I FELT the BIG spark! Luckily for me it didn't ignite the gas.

Point in this story is rarity, it doesn't happen to many of us, it is probable that what happened to me HAPPENED to them, not the cell phones? People saw them on phone, talking before the explosion, blamed all on phone but in reality it is actually the way they are wearing, charging themselves up with so much static electricity, then when they discharged somewhere near gas nozzle that gas exploded?
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Show video:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuZxFL9cGkI]YouTube - Gas Station Fire, Static Electricity Starts a Flash Fire.[/ame]

Her woolen sweater static electricity gas station ferments the fire.
 
Chevy57 said:
Show video:
YouTube - Gas Station Fire, Static Electricity Starts a Flash Fire.

Her woolen sweater static electricity gas station ferments the fire.
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Note the sequence. First she gets out and touches everything before putting the nozzle into her gas tank. She begins pumping gas. Walks back into her car. Sits down on her car seat, moves around and builds up a static charge. She then gets out without touching anything except the nozzle. With air mixing with the fuel vapor coming out of the gas tank/nozzle along with an ignition source which is a static discharge, you get fire.

Air + fuel + heat source = fire.

She should've touched the outside part of the car first when she got out before touching the nozzle. Had she done that there would be no fire in the first place.
 
kokonut said:
Note the sequence. First she gets out and touches everything before putting the nozzle into her gas tank. She begins pumping gas. Walks back into her car. Sits down on her car seat, moves around and builds up a static charge. She then gets out without touching anything except the nozzle. With air mixing with the fuel vapor coming out of the gas tank/nozzle along with an ignition source which is a static discharge, you get fire.

Air + fuel + heat source = fire.

She should've touched the outside part of the car first when she got out before touching the nozzle. Had she done that there would be no fire in the first place.
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The static electricity is most likely when the climate is cold and dry. Notice video shooting's date of 2/12/2004.. she had touched near car s gas door to cause static electricity.
 
Chevy57 said:
The static electricity is most likely when the climate is cold and dry. Notice video shooting's date of 2/12/2004.. she had touched near car s gas door to cause static electricity.
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Cold has nothing to do with it. It's the dryness, or the amount of humidity. I got shocked all the time when I was living in New Mexico.
 
kokonut said:
Cold has nothing to do with it. It's the dryness, or the amount of humidity. I got shocked all the time when I was living in New Mexico.
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All season? I got shocked in all winter season as cold and dry climate only.
 
Chevy57 said:
All season? I got shocked in all winter season as cold and dry climate only.
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It's the humidity. Try shuffling across a carpet with your shoes on when the humidity is very low and see how much of a charge you can build up versus when the humidity is high. You'll see a difference.

Cooler weather does bring about lower humidity while warmer air raises humidity but it all boils down to humidity. In colder condition you notice it more.

Yes, year round except during the moonsonal season of the summer in south central New Mexico but it stays warm to hot most year anyway. What makes it worse is the dusty conditions, and that helps increase the static charge around a vehicle.
 
Perhaps they need to post a "DO NOT RE-ENTER VEHICLE WHILE FUELING" sign on all pumps?
 
kokonut said:
Cold has nothing to do with it. It's the dryness, or the amount of humidity. I got shocked all the time when I was living in New Mexico.
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That's true. I experience that here a lot during the winter due to the dryness. During the summer, it's more moist.
 
Dixie said:
Perhaps they need to post a "DO NOT RE-ENTER VEHICLE WHILE FUELING" sign on all pumps?
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1926258313_10ce251eb4.jpg

Some gas stations do have those signs.
 
kokonut said:
1926258313_10ce251eb4.jpg

Some gas stations do have those signs.
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Did you notice the bottom portion of that sign?

Did you watch the last part of Mrs. Static Sweater's little ordeal?? I believe that could have become much worse in a split second. Of course the natural instinct is to remove what's flaming from your vehicle, when common sense should tell you not to as the oxygen will sustain a much bigger flame. :shock:
 
Wouldn't it be difficult to cause a fire if the nozzles are coated with rubber? Most gas pumps here has rubber lids. However, in NY state, I noticed the nozzles have wires wrapped around them and they don't have rubber lids.
 
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