EdDekker
Silver Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2000
- Messages
- 191
- Location
- New Ipswich, New Hampshire
- Tractor
- Kubota B2400, Bobcat 331 Mini-Excavator
We had a thread on plastic diesel fuel drums last week. A question comes to mind: is static electricity is a concern with the plastic (HDPE) drums?
For years I have read the instructions to place fuel containers on the ground before filling them (i.e. don't fill them when they are in the trunk, trailer or on the bed of the pick up). When I learned to fly airplanes I learned to connect the ground cable before gassing up the airplane to prevent a static induced explosion.
The stated reason for concern was a spark igniting the gas fumes, given that the moving gasoline could generate the static charge.
Now commercial plastic (HDPE) gas cans are common and as MikePA has reported, Chevron came as close as possible to recommending them for both gasoline and diesel.
With a 30 (or 55) gallon drum lifting the drum to the ground to ground it for filling and lifting it back into the trailer when full to transport it is not practical.
Is a static induced explosion not a problem with diesel? (Diesel is less volatile than gasoline. ...)
Is a grounding clip to the drum sufficient? (That is the normal HDPE drum sufficiently conductive that a single point connection to ground is sufficient.) Should a wire be placed in the bung hole down to the bottom of the drum and this wire grounded?
Does the HDPE in commercially available gas cans have an additive to make it conductive enough to discharge a static buildup?
I did try an experiment. I do not have a conductance meter (a very high range ohmmeter), I used a digital multimeter and its two probes to measure the resistance of the fuel container materials. I pressed the two probes against the fuel tank while close together (probes not touching). With the commercial plastic gas and diesel cans I get an open circuit, With bare metal I get a low resistance (about an ohm or less). The open circuit may simply indicate a resistance higher than I can measure.
I question the validity of my experiment since I also get an infinite resistance from a painted metal gas can (the paint acting as an insulator). If the 'place the gas can on the ground' technique works than the metal gas can resting on the ground is protected either by: the paint being a high but finite resistance or by the static potential reaching the breakdown potential of the paint and arcing inside the paint before reaching a potential which can spark in the air/fuel vapor mixture. Or is static not really an issue for a gasoline cans?
Ed
For years I have read the instructions to place fuel containers on the ground before filling them (i.e. don't fill them when they are in the trunk, trailer or on the bed of the pick up). When I learned to fly airplanes I learned to connect the ground cable before gassing up the airplane to prevent a static induced explosion.
The stated reason for concern was a spark igniting the gas fumes, given that the moving gasoline could generate the static charge.
Now commercial plastic (HDPE) gas cans are common and as MikePA has reported, Chevron came as close as possible to recommending them for both gasoline and diesel.
With a 30 (or 55) gallon drum lifting the drum to the ground to ground it for filling and lifting it back into the trailer when full to transport it is not practical.
Is a static induced explosion not a problem with diesel? (Diesel is less volatile than gasoline. ...)
Is a grounding clip to the drum sufficient? (That is the normal HDPE drum sufficiently conductive that a single point connection to ground is sufficient.) Should a wire be placed in the bung hole down to the bottom of the drum and this wire grounded?
Does the HDPE in commercially available gas cans have an additive to make it conductive enough to discharge a static buildup?
I did try an experiment. I do not have a conductance meter (a very high range ohmmeter), I used a digital multimeter and its two probes to measure the resistance of the fuel container materials. I pressed the two probes against the fuel tank while close together (probes not touching). With the commercial plastic gas and diesel cans I get an open circuit, With bare metal I get a low resistance (about an ohm or less). The open circuit may simply indicate a resistance higher than I can measure.
I question the validity of my experiment since I also get an infinite resistance from a painted metal gas can (the paint acting as an insulator). If the 'place the gas can on the ground' technique works than the metal gas can resting on the ground is protected either by: the paint being a high but finite resistance or by the static potential reaching the breakdown potential of the paint and arcing inside the paint before reaching a potential which can spark in the air/fuel vapor mixture. Or is static not really an issue for a gasoline cans?
Ed