Gasoline storage

[AirOpsMgr]

So are you guys filling them from the bed of your truck?

I do, mine are on a wooden pallet & I attach the grounding cable to the bed of my truck just to be extra safe.

 

[3Ts]

For gasoline, you will almost always see a warning like this, which defeats the purpose of using a large tank.

• When filling a container, always place the container on the ground.
• Never fill a container when it is in a trunk, in the bed of a truck, in a trailer, boat, utility vehicle, or on top of a vehicle.

I've seen that, however, I believe it applies only to those tanks that are not permanently mounted to the vehicle. I had a 30 gallon gasoline aux tank bolted into the bed of my pickup and did not have a problem with the service stations, and I did get asked if it was permanently mounted.

 

[MossRoad]

...Anyone know what the difference between a gasoline one and a diesel one?

Probably how much the manufacturer pays for liability insurance.

Seriously. Gas is so much more dangerous than diesel.

 

[MossRoad]

I suspect it's more a matter of certification of the tank itself, vapor recovery, and pump construction rather than the tank material itself.
I previously stored gasoline in a 55g drum with a manual crank pump. The purpose of storing my gasoline was for emergency generator use, and I cycled it into my vehicles every 2 years. Now that I have a pto generator, I store gasoline in (6) 5 gallon Jerry Cans for use each season in my walk behind and various trimmers.

I did the same thing for a while in a 55 gallon drum. It's just easier for me to handle my 6 gallon cans now.

 

[MossRoad]

Is static during filling the container an issue? I’ve never experienced this filling 5 gallon cans but I keep reading that it’s a thing.

Think of it this way...

Have you ever slid out of the seat of a car that had cloth seats, put your feet on the ground and then gotten a static shock when you touched the door? That's why they tell you to stay out of the vehicle when fueling. If you start filling the tank, then slide back into the seat, then get out and don't touch anything before you put your hand on the pump, you could generate a spark.

Or have you ever been in the bed of a pickup with a plastic liner and felt the hair in your arms tingle as you slide things around in there?

Or rubbed a ballon on your head of hair (no baldies need apply) and then stick the ballon to your face?

The action of gasoline flowing over plastic generates static on the can. If it's not sitting on the ground, that static can build up. All it takes is a spark to ignite the fumes.

Of course, fires at gas station pumps are very rare. But why take a chance?

When I worked fueling aircraft, both gas and jet fuel (glorified fuel oil), everything had to be grounded.

 

[MossRoad]

I do, mine are on a wooden pallet & I attach the grounding cable to the bed of my truck just to be extra safe.

I wouldn't think that would accomplish much as your truck is still on tires, which insulates it from ground. I guess it would make the tank and truck equal potential, though, so no spark between them. I'd still be leery as I've had a pickup with plastic bed liner. Super staticky.

 

[AirOpsMgr]

I wouldn't think that would accomplish much as your truck is still on tires, which insulates it from ground. I guess it would make the tank and truck equal potential, though, so no spark between them. I'd still be leery as I've had a pickup with plastic bed liner. Super staticky.

I too have often thought about this for many years, but I keep coming back to the fact that my Ground equipment maintenance guys at work all fill their bed-mounted gas and diesel tanks several times a week without issue (most of which don't use the provided grounding cables eventhough we have to put a warning sticker on all of their bed-mounted tanks stating they must "always use a grounding cable during any fuel transfer").

And yes, a bed mounted tank is certainly different than skid mounted in the bed, but shouldn't be an issue with a grounding cable linked from the tank to the bed, yes? Or am I just lucky? Lol

In any event, I've never seen an issue occur in either case, but I'm always open to learning new safety measures to protect my staff and I! I'm not an OSHA brown-noser, but I'd rather not end up like Fire Marshall Bill ....

Edited to add: The airport fire Marshall has to sign off on each of our fuel dispensing units at work, usually annually, but depends on location .... they have never disqualified a bed-mounted unit as long as it has the proper markings, grounding cable reel, rated fire extinguisher, etc.

The same applies to our airport equipment dolly-mounted 500 gal GSE Fueling tanks, all of which are sitting on rubber wheels - these are $17K+ fueling specific carts, coming from the manufacturer with all the required ratings, etc .... and we still have to pump from high-flow gas & Jet-A pump outlets into them.... so still "insulated".

I say all that to say this, if there was an issue filling truck bed-mounted tanks, I'm thinking I would have heard of certification issues, but who knows, it's the government, and they're here to help

 

[jyoutz]

Think of it this way...

Have you ever slid out of the seat of a car that had cloth seats, put your feet on the ground and then gotten a static shock when you touched the door? That's why they tell you to stay out of the vehicle when fueling. If you start filling the tank, then slide back into the seat, then get out and don't touch anything before you put your hand on the pump, you could generate a spark.

Or have you ever been in the bed of a pickup with a plastic liner and felt the hair in your arms tingle as you slide things around in there?

Or rubbed a ballon on your head of hair (no baldies need apply) and then stick the ballon to your face?

The action of gasoline flowing over plastic generates static on the can. If it's not sitting on the ground, that static can build up. All it takes is a spark to ignite the fumes.

Of course, fires at gas station pumps are very rare. But why take a chance?

When I worked fueling aircraft, both gas and jet fuel (glorified fuel oil), everything had to be grounded.

I know someone who filled a gas can in the bed of his truck with a plastic bed liner. It flashed up and he went to the burn unit. He’s had several facial plastic surgeries since then.

 

[lman]

I have two of these. One for gas, one for diesel.

Amazon.com

How do you fill those?

 

[strykerAKAmack]

I put a chain on my hitch to the ground when I fill gas from back of pickup using 5 gallon jerry cans