Person filling empty containers at petrol station.

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Person filling empty containers at petrol station.

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#3222991 26-Apr-2024 09:11

Rikkitic:

Whew! That was a lot of work. I'll just relax and light up a cigarette on the trip home.

If the signs are anything to go by, just using your cellphone would be enough...

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#3222998 26-Apr-2024 09:36

Handsomedan:

If the signs are anything to go by, just using your cellphone would be enough...

Except that its now accepted that the whole "cell phones causing petrol station fires" was really a bit of butt covering by operators,

it came to a head when petrol companies started plastering Covid check in QR codes around the forecourts during the pandemic, people rightfully asked, "but isn't getting my phone out illegal and going to blow the place up?"

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/300403381/mixed-messaging-qr-codes-beside-no-cellphone-signs-at-petrol-pumps-baffle-motorists

Worksafe had no record of a cellphone ever causing a fire or explosion at a petrol station in New Zealand, and Stuff found no signs of any confirmed cases anywhere in the world.

Gull general manager David Bodger said the cellphone warnings stuck around so long because cellphone use was a grey area that had never been specifically covered in hazardous substances regulations.

Petrol companies banned cellphones just to be sure they were complying with the law.

But the legal requirement to display QR codes prompted a rethink, and Gull got specific advice from the Government it was okay to allow cellphone use on the forecourt.

Bodger said Gull would keep its warning signs but only to protect against the risk of people being distracted by their phones around moving vehicles.

Spokespeople from Mobil and Waitomo Fuel said their companies had made similar decisions. Z Energy was removing cellphone ban labels from their forecourt signs all together.

Handsomedan

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#3223005 26-Apr-2024 10:09

wellygary:

Handsomedan:

If the signs are anything to go by, just using your cellphone would be enough...

Except that its now accepted that the whole "cell phones causing petrol station fires" was really a bit of butt covering by operators,

it came to a head when petrol companies started plastering Covid check in QR codes around the forecourts during the pandemic, people rightfully asked, "but isn't getting my phone out illegal and going to blow the place up?"

Mythbusters did a whole episode on it once - they also included aeroplanes in that episode - it was basically a small possibility of an old-school phone signal ineterfering with avionics in certain situations, but more than a little unlikely and an absolute myth that cellphone use could cause a conflagration at a petrol station.

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Bung

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#3223019 26-Apr-2024 10:53

At the pump isn't the place to be catching up on emails. I have been at one station where something went wrong while a car was filling and about 10l of petrol was spilled on the ground while nobody was paying attention.

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#3223023 26-Apr-2024 11:03

Handsomedan:

Mythbusters did a whole episode on it once - they also included aeroplanes in that episode - it was basically a small possibility of an old-school phone signal ineterfering with avionics in certain situations, but more than a little unlikely and an absolute myth that cellphone use could cause a conflagration at a petrol station.

I dont think it has ever had anything to do with phone signals interfering. More a case of pulling things out of your pocket like a cell phone can cause static electricity buildup to be released, you dont want that happening right next to your tank when filling. No its not going to cause a fire if you using it.

johno1234

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#3223043 26-Apr-2024 11:39

Airports also ban using your phone on the tarmac for the reason that they are refueling aircraft there. Yet you could throw a lit match onto a bucket of Jet A1 and it will simply go out. There's no chance a cellphone cause any issues around aircraft fuel.

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#3223044 26-Apr-2024 11:40

Wombat1:

Handsomedan:

Mythbusters did a whole episode on it once - they also included aeroplanes in that episode - it was basically a small possibility of an old-school phone signal ineterfering with avionics in certain situations, but more than a little unlikely and an absolute myth that cellphone use could cause a conflagration at a petrol station.

I dont think it has ever had anything to do with phone signals interfering. More a case of pulling things out of your pocket like a cell phone can cause static electricity buildup to be released, you dont want that happening right next to your tank when filling. No its not going to cause a fire if you using it.

Yip.

Consumer electronics arn't ex rated, and as such, it is assumed that they could potentially generate a spark (Either in normal operation, or via a fault situation).

Hazardous area classifications are done be engineers (I used to do it in a prior role), and essentially classify area's where a potentially flammable atmosphere could exist. Basic theory is that you should keep non ex rated electronics out of those area's.

Should note that car's aren't ex rated either, but the area around the fill port will be designed to be clear of spark risk (where one could potentially hold a cell phone), and they are too big to be dropped into drains (where fumes from spilt fuel would accumulate.

Of course the risks that are being mitigated are extremely low. Unless there is a spill, it is only really the area immediately around fill nozzle / car fill port and the around the fuel tank vents (and only if the truck is on site refilling the station and even then they get built high to keep them away from people ) that have a resorbable risk of crossing over the threshold of becoming flammable. And while not EX rated, in reality, modern cell phones are extremely unlikely to generate a spark.

A lot of it comes down to that it more manageable to say "no phones on forcourt" than it would be to publish an engineering drawing...

I have only ever felt the need to tell somebody not to to use a cellphone for flammability risk once, and we were on the roof of a aerosol can factory, right next to the discharge vent's of the rooms where propellent gas in injected into the cans. Propellent is LPG (which in this case was a custom blend of propane and butane and was un-odourised), it is not possible to valve on and off fast enough, so the gas just leaks into the room between bottle fills on the production line. Room had monitoring, but alarms due to approaching lower explosive limit were common. Of course the guy didn't know all this, and had obviously ignored clear instructions that bringing electronics wasn't allowed on site at all without a hot work permit.

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#3223079 26-Apr-2024 13:41

Airports also ban using your phone on the tarmac

Human nature being what is is, if the ban is removed it won't be long before someone walks in front of something..

johno1234

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#3223099 26-Apr-2024 15:34

gzt:
Airports also ban using your phone on the tarmac

Human nature being what is is, if the ban is removed it won't be long before someone walks in front of something..

Bound to... although they do put out tape barriers to keep the sheep on the path.

MadEngineer

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#3223106 26-Apr-2024 15:59

gzt:
Airports also ban using your phone on the tarmac

Human nature being what is is, if the ban is removed it won't be long before someone walks in front of something..

I thought it was due to the risk of not paying full attention to the walk to the aircraft with the hazards in that area or people stopping in groups to take photos causing the queue to bunch up, risk of FOD, etc etc.

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Zeon

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#3223229 26-Apr-2024 23:34

After seeing this video I don't have much concern.....

Speedtest 2019-10-14

raytaylor

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#3223814 28-Apr-2024 21:21

tweake:

high flow pump. fill up so much quicker.

I use truck stops to fill my ute.

Each time I have found a pump with a high flow button, its just for decoration and doesnt actually do anything.

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#3223848 29-Apr-2024 06:56

raytaylor:

tweake:

high flow pump. fill up so much quicker.

I use truck stops to fill my ute.

Each time I have found a pump with a high flow button, its just for decoration and doesnt actually do anything.

its usually only active on the thicker nozzles….the ones that don’t fit into standard vehicle fillers.

roobarb

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#3223862 29-Apr-2024 07:41

rugrat:

Car in front of me was filling empty containers

Using empty containers? The humanity!

BlakJak

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#3229104 11-May-2024 18:04

An interesting thread ! 😁

You can carry up to 250L of Petrol for private purposes, in approved containers. So probably around 200L in containers plus a full fuel tank, conservatively. Entirely legal to do, be patient or go elsewhere.
Reference: Schedule 1 of the Land Transport Rule: Dangerous Goods (2005)

Re use of Cellphones by Petrol pumps. Stuff Article from 2021.

Re use of Cellphones on the tarmac at an airport. Stuff article from 2023.

Whether there's logic or not, the operators have the right to set some rules and good luck to you if a drama erupts while you're breaking them. 🤷‍♂️

Be grateful they weren't filling rubbish sacks or plastic bags.

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