a petrol pump hit my car

[Creag]

no thanks... I like my eyebrows just the way they are. I don't have a deathwish

I'm with you 100% on this one

 

[Telkomisaloser]

Title should be renamed to "My car hit a petrol pump"

 

[Sapcat]

Looks like the OP is outta here.....thats what happens when you post dumb ****

 

[Creag]

No ways can a cig ignite petrol, take a little petrol and put it in a coke bottle cap and put a cig in it and the cig dies try it you will see.

Have never heard of anything, okay but static is a a discharge(that tiny spark of electricity is enough to light the fumes) of energy that can ignite the fumes but we talking about a cigarette here.

I am sorry to dig up what is potentially an old and dying thread but I had an interesting chat a colleague (he's one of the top surveyors for commercial and short term insurance in the country)of mine about the risks of fire on the forecourt. He's quite knowledgeable on the risks associated to fire.

Here's what he had to say:

It is true that you could extinguish your cig in petrol (if you are willing to risk it). It's not the petrol itself that will do the damage but the vapour evaporating off of it. So if the mix of vapour above the petrol is right, your cig ain't going to make it into the liquid to put it out. (www.darwinawards.com)

It is said that concentration of petrol vapour to air needs to be in a +/- 1.4% to 6% range and you will experience the "woof"!

Petrol vapour is heavier than air and will always sink to the ground.

When you fill up with petrol, the vapour in your tank is displaced, leaves the tank and sinks to the ground. A radius of approx. 6 to 10 metres around that point is shares the highest class of risk. Check out SANS10108 for more on the forecourt risk.

If this vapour was ignited then it would accelerate back to the car and open tank and "woof". As it was described to me, the vapour is what burns. But the heat given off heats the petrol which in turn gives off more vapour and the process accelerates.

Most bowsers in SA have safety features built in to stop the fire accelerating down to the underground storage tanks. It is the car however which has no such protection and any other open tanks/cars in close proximity will probably also go "woof".

The flash point of petrol is around 246C, although my colleague suggests is approx. 306C. So whichever it is ... the heat generated by the cig is much hotter.

Temperature without drawing:
Side of the lit portion: 400 deg C (or 752 deg F)
Middle of the lit portion: 580 deg C (or 1112 deg F)

Temperature during drawing:
Middle of the lit portion: 700 deg C (or 1292 deg F)

Respectfully, if your cig happens to "hook" up with the vapour you will have an explosion. You will not have time to put it out. Drop it and it happens to hit the right mix of petrol vapour to air and it's tickets.

Another interesting point. Static seems to be a problem. The temp of a spark from static is cooler than the cig but appears it is a more common cause of fire on the forecourt. Nylon particularly is a source and cause of static.

Bottom line ... if you're going to smoke on the forecourt, you are Darwin Award material. But please don't do it when I am there. I would rather take off in a hurry and leave you to risk it by yourself!

 

[Hosehead]

If I saw a hose from a petrol pipe laying on the ground I would be absolutely terrified of driving over it and setting the entire creation on fire.

I'm petrified of Petrol stations. If someone drives in and carries on smoking I pay quick and leave even if my tank is not full.

driving over a petrol hose = suicide IMHO

Well you would have enjoyed being with me yesterday when the idiots filled my car with diesel instead of unleaded, then upon realizing their stuff up, proceeded to drain about 20 liters from my tanks onto the filling station forecourt then and there, getting drenched in the process

 

[Creag]

Well you would have enjoyed being with me yesterday when the idiots filled my car with diesel instead of unleaded, then upon realizing their stuff up, proceeded to drain about 20 liters from my tanks onto the filling station forecourt then and there, getting drenched in the process

Is your car alright?

 

[Hosehead]

Is your car alright?

Indeed But only because I didn't crank the starter and drive off. Lucky for me. Letting the car piss all over the forecourt and refilling properly on the house solved the problem.

 

[Creag]

Indeed But only because I didn't crank the starter and drive off. Lucky for me. Letting the car piss all over the forecourt and refilling properly on the house solved the problem.

Good to hear it.

They will be liable for any damages caused, as it sounds like it is their negligence.

 

[Fazda]

Sorry, just to chuck a Spaniard in the works...anybody who sits in his car and hands the petrol tank keys to the petrol guy and tells him to fill up without standing there and checking, deserves whatever comes his way!!

You are supposed to stand and CHECK that the correct fuel is going in.........sorry, no sympathy from me!

 

[Hosehead]

You are supposed to stand and CHECK that the correct fuel is going in.........sorry, no sympathy from me!

Well I did say unleaded Luckily I checked in my side mirror when it was about 11 liters into the diesel before I yanked the hose out. From what I can understand it was a new employee who couldn't read
But anyway, most people have more important things to do during a fuel stop that have to stand around watching...

 

[Fazda]

Well I did say unleaded Luckily I checked in my side mirror when it was about 11 liters into the diesel before I yanked the hose out. From what I can understand it was a new employee who couldn't read
But anyway, most people have more important things to do during a fuel stop that have to stand around watching...

Pump attendants are not chosen on their academic ability or their superb intelligence...anyone who is too goddam lazy to get out of the driver's seat and watch what is being put in the tank...and making sure that the right stuff is going in, deserves whatever he ends up with!

 

[Hosehead]

Pump attendants are not chosen on their academic ability or their superb intelligence...anyone who is too goddam lazy to get out of the driver's seat and watch what is being put in the tank...and making sure that the right stuff is going in, deserves whatever he ends up with!

*Yawn* Don't go all emo now.

 

[Fazda]

*Yawn* Don't go all emo now.

I won't go emo if you stop blaming the petrol attendant for something that you could have prevented in the first place!

 

[UtterNutter]

Q: "Why would you drive over the hose? Blah blah"

A: Who would think their car would get a dent from driving over a hose?

How was he to know that the pump's cover would fall off and onto his car?

 

[UtterNutter]

driving over a petrol hose = suicide IMHO

Dude... exaggerate a little why don't you?

It's a piece of rubber. There's AIR inside the hose.

The only time there's petrol inside the hose is when the pump is running and the handle is squeezed. And of course no one would drive over a hose lying on the ground spewing petrol all over the place, that is a different story.

 

[SlinkyMike]

How is this thread still running?

Dude. You hit a petrol pump with your car.