# Static electricity and gas pumps **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976 "2003-12-09T18:13:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@tamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tamster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/1 "2003-12-09T18:13:31Z")
Few months ago, I recieved an e-mail regarding static electricity igniting gas pumps. I half read it, dismissed it and deleted it. Urban legend crap. Then, the other day I hear a news report of a woman catching her hair on fire at a pump because of static electricity. Okay, it can happen. But what steps can I take to avoid this happening to me? Short of shaving my head, please. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Zahn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@John\_Zahn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Zahn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/2 "2003-12-09T18:33:06Z")
It gernerally happens in the winter, and most often to women, who get back in their car while the pump is still going. Rubbing against the seat helps give them the static charge. It’s best to touch something other than the hand pump to get rid of any possible static charge you may have before grabbing on to the pump. JZ ---
**Author:** ![tamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@tamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tamster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/3 "2003-12-09T18:54:50Z")
_It’s best to touch something other than the hand pump to get rid of any possible static charge you may have before grabbing on to the pump._ Like the car metal? Or something rubber? I just don’t know. Heck, I can’t keep my skirt from clinging. How do you _de-fuse_ static? ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/4 "2003-12-09T19:09:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tamster \* > \*\*\*Like the car metal? Or something rubber? I just don’t know. Heck, I can’t keep my skirt from clinging. How do you _de-fuse_ static? \*\* Touch the car metal. The problem isn’t with charge in general, the problem is a charge-difference BETWEEN your body and the car metal. If your body happens to be electrified with respect to the car, and then you reach your hand into a cloud of gasoline fumes and touch something metal, the spark can trigger a fire. When about to approach a cloud of gasoline fumes, especially if it’s winter or the humidity is very low, first touch a large metal object to make sure your body isn’t highly charged. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/5 "2003-12-09T19:29:58Z")
Here’s a page on Snopes talking about that: > **[Static Electricity and Gas Pump Fires](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/static-electricity-pump-fires/)** > > Is static electricity a suspected cause of a reported increase in gas station refueling fires? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/6 "2003-12-09T23:18:29Z")
I guess that’s the reason UK pumps require you to be physically holding the handle for any liquid to flow ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/7 "2003-12-09T23:25:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess that’s the reason UK pumps require you to be physically holding the handle for any liquid to flow That is because the automatiac cutoss devices aren’t considered reliable enough. Pumps left unattended can overflow a tank, or the nozzle can drop out and spray fuel over the ground. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/8 "2003-12-09T23:32:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blake \* > \*\*That is because the automatiac cutoss devices aren’t considered reliable enough. Pumps left unattended can overflow a tank, or the nozzle can drop out and spray fuel over the ground. \*\* So why are there not petrol-station fires all over europe? As far as I knew, we were an exception in not being able to ‘fix’ the pump to stay on - and with the help of a straightened-out paper clip, any UK pump will stay on until the car cuts it out. If the system is so unreliable, why does it exist at all? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/9 "2003-12-10T00:02:16Z")
> [@](#): > > So why are there not petrol-station fires all over europe? Because spilled petrol =/= inferno. Petroleum won’t spontaneously combust at STP. > [@](#): > > If the system is so unreliable, why does it exist at all? You answered your own question: because the system is used all over Europe and other parts of the world. It was deemed to risky for UK regulators. That doesn’t mean it is too risky for other nations. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/10 "2003-12-10T01:10:38Z")
I saw a sticker on a gas pump recently advising not to go back into the car while fueling, and that if you do need to do so, to hold the door frame while you step out. I suspect they said “door frame” just to avoid the “Where’s the any key?” type of confusion that might arise if they’d simply said “touch metal.” ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/11 "2003-12-10T01:55:25Z")
It isn’t a pump, it’s a dispenser (or a console, according to another poster). The pump is way down there in the (underground) tank. I saw a film where a gas spill at the car was ignited by static. IIRC, the guy pulled the nozzle out of the tank because it didn’t shut off. That’ll work. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/12 "2003-12-10T02:21:25Z")
“Mythbusters” on the Discovery Channel did this one recently. Cell phones can’t start fires, but static generated by getting out of the car can. People who have to get back in the car while pumping gas deserve to be pointed and laughed at. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/13 "2003-12-10T03:20:35Z")
When I first got this piece in e mail I thought for sure that it was just one more UL. [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/static.asp) gives it a thumbs up (with some cautions of course) The [Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI)](http://www.pei.org/static/fire_summary.htm) agrees. The link is to the PEI’s stop static campaign. How big is the problem? From the above link > [@](#): > > From September 1999 through January 22, 2000, 36 ignitions of gasoline vapors during the refueling process were verbally reported to me at PEI. All occurred during dry weather. There were no open flames and the engines were off. Continuity was verified between the nozzle and dispenser. People that investigated the cause of these accidents concluded that static electricity was the source of ignition in all cases. > … > Although Americans pump gasoline into their cars between 11 and 12 billion times a year without incident I have to believe that out of 11 billion refueling more that 36 people got back into their car. There does not seem to be anywhere near a one to one relationship between getting back into the car and a static fire. To have a fire it would appear that the following conditions would have to exist [ul] [li]Very dry weather[/li][li]refueler gets back into car[/li][li]when getting back out of car, refueled does not ground themselves by touching a metal part of the car.[/li][li]spark is transmitted when nozzle is removed[/li][li]air fuel mixture near spark is in the range where fire can occur (in other words not a windy day)[/li][li]Person not wearing leather soled shoes (94% of cases had rubber soled shoes)[/li][/ul] Not exactly a lock on getting back into the car = fire, but it can happen. On a slightly different note I saw a fire at the race track when a plastic refueling jug was refilled in the back of a pickup truck with a bed liner. It seems that the flowing gas creates a static charge, normally the material of the jug passes this charge to ground, but the bed liner prevented this. When the nozzle was removed a spark occurred and KA-Boom. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity-and-gas-pumps/217976/14 "2003-12-11T01:18:08Z")
I guess you’re pretty safe even if you get into your pickup on a dry, windy day to slip on your flip-flops, light a smoke, grab the cell phone, and the gas can to fill in the bed of the pickup, huh? 😉