Is there a safe way to pump gasoline into a plastic tank in the bed of a truck?

[newbury]

There are signs at several gas pumps in the area that say not to do this, but I see people doing it all the time.

I've seen that also. Both the signs and people ignoring the signs.

 

[FullMetalBucket]

Ignorance is bliss!
Empty/partially full gas containers can explode because the vapors are within the flammable limits. A full container will not explode because the vapors are too rich/above the flammable limit.

Yup. This was back before the newer style pumps that let more fumes out.

Same situation with the guy that got burned flicking a cig at the gas can. He thought it was empty, it was the fumes that got him.

 

[ultrarunner]

Might be urban legend but a guy was badly burned doing what he always did until one day.

He was a smoker and when ambient is below zero my guess the volume of fumes is greatly reduced… his luck changed in Spring.

 

[Jstpssng]

In 1980 at the local Chevrolet dealership, a newly hired salesman was sent out to help clean the service area. He was filling a repurposed 55 gallon drum with water and leaned out over it with a cigarette lighter to see how full it was.

That was the last thing he ever did. Supposedly it took his head off on the way up, and bounced off the ceiling.

 

[RayIN]

In my younger years, I always took the containers out of the truck and filled them on the ground. At some point, those 5 gal jugs got too heavy to comfortably hoist back into the truck, so I began filling them in the bed. There are signs at several gas pumps in the area that say not to do this, but I see people doing it all the time. I'm sure there have been accidents, but I've never seen or heard of one in this area.

Eventually, I got smart and switched from 5 gal jugs to much lighter 2.5 gal containers, which I fill on the ground. The way my back feels, I may be using 1 gal containers before long.

Who says a 5G container must be filled to capacity? I put 4G in my 5G cans(I have 9) for much easier handling; when that gets to be too heavy I'll file them with 3G.
I don't buy the new idiot-designed fuel cans.

 

[RjCorazza]

I suspect the nozzle can be touched to the container prior to opening, equalizing the potential static charge. The nozzle would also need to be in constant contact with the container while filling.
There's just too many opportunities for a mistake to take the chance. I always remove my Jerry Cans from the bed while filling, and horse them back in the truck, but that is getting more taxing as I age.
I did ask a high volume filling station if they would have a problem with a grounded anti static mat in the pickup bed, and their reply was that would be fine as long as it was a commercial device and not a home made setup.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Who says a 5G container must be filled to capacity? I put 4G in my 5G cans(I have 9) for much easier handling; when that gets to be too heavy I'll file them with 3G.
I don't buy the new idiot-designed fuel cans.

This is a good point and certainly an option.

In my case though, the 5 gal cans I used were WWII surplus Jeep cans with a substantial 10+ pound empty weight. Partially filling them helped, but I saw no sense in storing a bunch of half empty gas cans. Just wasted space.

Back in the 1990's I was lucky enough to find a supply of heavy duty 2.5 gal polyethylene jugs. The spouts eventually wore out but the jugs still seal properly. I'm still using them with a battery powered hand pump to fuel my small engines.

 

[lman]

Who says a 5G container must be filled to capacity? I put 4G in my 5G cans(I have 9) for much easier handling; when that gets to be too heavy I'll file them with 3G.
I don't buy the new idiot-designed fuel cans.

I'm lazy and don't like dumping fuel any more than necessary so I fill my tractors with full 6 gal. containers.