On Sat, 3 Dec 2011 16:57:40 +0000 (UTC), worker bee
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:17:03 -0500, Smokey Burns wrote:

Here's an interesting story about a guy siphoning gas from his boat when
a static spark ignited the fumes.

Your login of 'smoky burns' is apropos!

I agree that the biggest danger is fire, either from the fueling itself
or from wildlands catching on fire and then the gas can burning.

And, the biggest danger are the fumes catching fire. The story doesn't
say it was a 'static spark' so we really don't know WHAT caused the
vapors or fuel to ignite. I find it hard to believe there was enough
static charge built up 'just' from siphoning - what? Maybe twenty
gallons? (How much does a boat hold?).

But, the boat might not have been grounded. Maybe it was up on blocks? It
doesn't say. So maybe without that grounding, enough static electricity
built up from the fuel going down the rubber hose - but most of us would
at least put the containers being filled on the ground if the boat wasn't
grounded.

Let's hope he wasn't smoking cigarettes, or that he didn't turn on some
other more likely ignition source.

How many incidents like these are there daily in the USA? I'd bet one a
day is likely (just guessing). But still, I'm more likely to die from a
flu or a car accident, each of which kills something like 30 thousand
people a year so we should put it all into perspective.

Does anyone know the number of people killed a year in refueling
accidents?
Don't know the numbers, but thedanger is VERY REAL and a significant
static charge can build up in a hose transfering only a few gallons of
fuel under the "wrong" conditions. You want the tank being filled and
the tank you are filling from (and the nozzle) at the same potential -
which is why ALL fuel dispensers use metallic nozzles and metal
braided rubber hoses - and ALL vehicles have metal (or at least
conductive) fillers, which are grounded to the body.
Most plastic fuel tanks on equipment are also "conductive" plastic.