Product Manual

Important Safety Rules
9
• Gasoline storage. Store gasoline in a cool, dry place in an UL-approved, tightly sealed
container away from children.
SPECIAL SAFETY INFORMATION ON STATIC ELECTRICITY
Static electricity and filling gasoline:
Static electricity can initiate from ungrounded gasoline tanks or containers, from flowing gasoline, and
from persons carrying a static electric charge
Static electricity on numerous occasions has explosively ignited gasoline vapors that were present during fueling
processes, resulting in serious burns to nearby persons. To avoid static electricity while fueling, certain steps must be
followed before and during the fueling process in order to minimize and safely dissipate static charge build-up.
Filling Portable Containers at Service Stations:
Use a portable container to fill truck loader vac tank. Never fill the truck loader vac gas tank directly from the
service station’s fuel dispenser pump – the truck loader vac tank is not grounded and the high velocity flow of
gasoline from a fuel pump can cause static electric build-up. Use an approved portable container to transfer
gasoline to the truck loader vac tank.
• Use a portable container made of metal or conductive plastic. It will dissipate charge to ground more readily.
• Fill container on the ground. Never fill the portable gas container while it is sitting inside a vehicle, trailer,
trunk, or pick-up truck bed. ALWAYS place container on the ground to be filled.
• Touch a grounded metal object before starting. Always dissipate static charge from your body before beginning
the fueling process by touching a grounded metal object at a safe distance away from fuel sources.
• Keep nozzle in contact with container. Keep fuel dispenser nozzle in contact with the portable container at all
times while filling at a service station. Do not use the nozzle lock-open device on the dispenser hose.
About static electricity and fueling
Many common objects can accumulate and retain a static electric charge. Objects made of non-conductive materials
(e.g. plastics) easily accumulate and retain static electric charge, as can objects made of conductive material (e.g.
metal, water) if they are not electrically grounded. The static electric charge on an object, such as a human body or
plastic fuel tank/container, can reach as high as several thousand volts!
A static electric spark can be generated if the static electric charge stored on an object “jumps” to another, less
charged object. Such a spark can ignite invisible gasoline vapors that are present during fueling situations.
Typical sources of static electric hazards during fueling
The following objects can accumulate a static electric charge and cause an ignition spark in typical fueling situations:
• Ungrounded tanks/containers. Any ungrounded fuel tank or container can accumulate a static electric charge as a
result of contact with other objects or friction during transportation. This static electricity can discharge as a spark
to the grounded gasoline dispenser nozzle, as the nozzle is first brought close to the tank/container at the
beginning of the fueling process.
• Flowing gasoline. Most people are not aware that gasoline accumulates static electric charge while flowing
through a hose or pipe. This charge then transfers to and accumulates in the gas tank or container that is being
filled. The total amount of charge accumulation depends on the amount of gas pumped into the container, the
speed with which it is pumped, and whether or not the tank/container is grounded. If sufficient static electric
charge accumulates in the fuel tank or container during the fueling process, the tank/container may discharge a
spark to the grounded gasoline dispenser nozzle.
• Persons. A person dispensing the gasoline can carry a static electric charge on their body, typically resulting from
contact with their car seat or electronics. The static electricity can discharge as a spark between that person’s hand
and either the grounded dispenser nozzle or the fuel tank opening.
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