[mc_oliver]

Hey guys, do you turn your egines off when you do this?

Any known and documented dangers of leaving the engine running?

Just curious.

Thanks.

[riddler]

Here in the States, you are required to turn off your car when refueling.

[Kiddo]

Most jeepneys that I see load up gas w/o turning off their engines. Hindi rin naman pinapansin ng mga attendants kahit na may sign na 'turn off engine while refueling'. ;g

[ReccaH]

Even with celphone usage they don't bother to caution.

[PMMA97]

Originally posted by riddler
Here in the States, you are required to turn off your car when refueling.

In my 4 years of working in Illinois. I never did turn off my engine while gassing up. Minsan may nakasabay pa akong state police umaandar din makina nya. Lalo na kapag winter and mahina ang battery mo;g

[jecht_sphere]

nope. 4 yrs na car ko, but i dnt remember turning it off while i gas up.

but i dnt use my celphone though. mas delikado yata ang cell according to news

[batangueno]

Always turned on. Init kasi eh, baho naman nung gas kung bukas yung bintana. ;f

[New_comer]

I turn off the engine.

Lumalabas kasi ako at nag-iinspect ng mga gulong at wipers. Baka masalisihan, manakaw pa kotse ko.

[vega]

Always off.

vega

[cznayr]

always kept it running.Don't know the rationale behind it, so I don't follow it. Init din kasi

[julianz]

i always turn my engine off, walked out of the car checked the tires and to stretched my legs specially on long trip. But i always locked the doors and my pt111 keeps me company.

[mc_oliver]

I've always thought requirement din to turn off the engine so I've been doing it. Lately, I've knwon quite a few who doesn't kaya na-curious ako. Kala ko kasi baka sumabog kotse mo or something. ;f

Thanks guys.

[mikey177]

I used to turn my engine off when I was driving a gasoline-powered vehicle, but with my current diesel ride, I keep the engine running... feeling jeepney driver

I think the policy is borne out of fears that the fumes from the fuel will cause an explosion if they reach the spark-producing parts of the car's combustion system. I don't know how true this is though. Still, I feel safer keeping the engine on with a diesel-fed vehicle because the fuel doesn't ignite as easily.

[riddler]

Originally posted by PMMA97
In my 4 years of working in Illinois. I never did turn off my engine while gassing up. Minsan may nakasabay pa akong state police umaandar din makina nya. Lalo na kapag winter and mahina ang battery mo;g

Just because one state police officer did not do anything about it (also violating the very law that he is supposed to enforce) does not mean that you shouldn't take steps to insure your (and family's) safety. ;g ;g Check the link out:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/inde...2&article=3137

but then again, I have always been overly-cautious....;f

[doctabako]

Originally posted by mikey177
Still, I feel safer keeping the engine on with a diesel-fed vehicle because the fuel doesn't ignite as easily.

Ditto, IMO Diesel's higher flash point makes an explosion unlikely. Besides I usually have my wife or my kid as passengers. Turning off the vehicle means turning off the aircon and making them go down. Magaaway lang kami;f ;f ;f

[Alexii]

Originally posted by New_comer
I turn off the engine.

Lumalabas kasi ako at nag-iinspect ng mga gulong at wipers. Baka masalisihan, manakaw pa kotse ko.

Same here. I'm more apprehensive about the security of the car. I just use the time to inspect tire pressure.

[bagito]

Originally posted by cznayr
always kept it running.Don't know the rationale behind it, so I don't follow it. Init din kasi

mas mainit pag nagliyab kotse mo.he.he.he.;f ;f peace bro;z

[Saruman]

According to snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/static.asp

Click on link above for complete explanation.

Claim: Static electricity is the cause of an increase in gas station refuelling fires.

Status: Multiple — see below

* Static electricity can cause fires at gas stations: True.
* Static electricity was actually the cause of a number of gas station refuelling fires: Undetermined.

Origins: Unlike many Internet-circulated warnings, there is a fair bit to this one — fires at gas pumps are on the rise, and static electricity is considered one of the likely culprits in this increase. However, there's a great deal wrong with the e-mailed summary quoted as the example above, a situation which illustrates the danger of accepting as gospel whatever turns up in the inbox. We'll take you through it, sorting information from misinformation.


Even reports that maintain that "static-induced fires are well documented" point out that no case of a fire triggered by a cell phone -- a commonly-cited cause of gas station fires — has ever been confirmed:

During recent months, reports of flash fires during refueling have increased so much that industry executives and engineers find it necessary to alert the public. BP Amoco has posted an advisory on its Web site, and other gasoline retailers are considering pump-side warnings similar to QT's. The incidents most often involve flames shooting from a vehicle's gas tank opening. The primary culprit appears to be static electricity.

In many cases, the victims got in and out of their vehicles during fueling. Rubbing against fabric creates an electric charge just like the one that causes a shock when you touch something metal after shuffling across carpet.

Injuries have included burns and singed hair. At least one woman was killed when she removed a flaming nozzle from a gas tank and accidentally doused herself with gasoline, according to Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute.

Considering that Americans pump gasoline into their cars more than 16 billion times per year, flash fires at the tank are rare. Metro Atlantans have even less to worry about. Since the region doesn't meet federal air quality standards, gas pumps here are required to have vapor recovery systems that suck the gasoline fumes back into the nozzle. Travel season is near, however, so Atlantans should still beware.

Unlike recent warnings about cell phones igniting fires at gas pumps — a case of which has never been confirmed — the static-induced fires are well documented.

[vega]

Originally posted by Saruman
According to snopes.com
* Static electricity can cause fires at gas stations: True.
* Static electricity was actually the cause of a number of gas station refuelling fires: Undetermined.

People are advised not to get back inside their vehicles while charging, especially during winter where static electricity is at the most. Di baleng ginawin ako sa labas kesa naman mainitan ako sa loob pag nasusunog na ang kotse ko. Hirap kasi dito sa Cali walang pump boy.

But static electricity doesn't have anything to do with leaving the engine on.

vega

[pipit]

heed the advise of saruman and vega. don't take your chance because once it starts, it will be difficult to contain.

[Saruman]

Originally posted by vega

But static electricity doesn't have anything to do with leaving the engine on.
vega

smart guess sir, it doesn't matter.. the engine is too far from the fumes.. sparks happen near the spout of the tank while filling up.. engines spark plugs are enclosed and would have no way of igniting the fumes near the tank spout.. now if the philippines had a 4 season weather, that would be a different story.. humidity and temperature is the main ingredient for Electro Static Discharge.. in a clean room setting to maintain a safe ESD environment, temp should be 20 - 26 degrees celsius and relative humidity around 50 - 70 %.. philippine tropic weather would not be conducive to static electricity.. in other countries with cold weather and low RH, it would be advisable to not create any sparks while filling up.. precautions; wear conductive shoes "leather is better", no rubbing of materials together"triboelectric charging", and make sure you have dissipated your 3000 volts of static electricity after going down the car"just touch the ground if your man enough" hehehe.. thats why here in the PI, i gas up with the engine ON and the AC in full with matching telebabad sa mobile phone..

[riddler]

Originally posted by Saruman
engines spark plugs are enclosed and would have no way of igniting the fumes near the tank spout..

It is not the sparks coming from the spark plugs that concern me, rather it is the spark that may come from frayed or loose wiresets leading to the plugs (and other wiring harnesses in the car).

((((Once, to prove to a buddy that a spark is possible without a sparkplug, I unplug one of them and hold it using an insulated pliers about half an inch from a ground point. I then asked my son to turn the key and lo and behold, there was a good spark that was powerfull enough to mar my aluminun valve cover.))))

Besides that, gasoline fumes do not just linger around the tank spout area. If it does, we won't be able to smell it.

But then again, we all have a different levels of paranoia. ;f ;f

[Saruman]

Originally posted by riddler
It is not the sparks coming from the spark plugs that concern me, rather it is the spark that may come from frayed or loose wiresets leading to the plugs (and other wiring harnesses in the car).

if that is the case sir, don't you think you'll be igniting the fumes once you roll in a gas station? i'm just making my own assumption from what was written and documented. the reports were clear that it was static sparks near the concentration of fumes (i.e. tank spout and pump spout) and not from other points away from those 2 could start a fire..

Originally posted by riddler

((((Once, to prove to a buddy that a spark is possible without a sparkplug, I unplug one of them and hold it using an insulated pliers about half an inch from a ground point. I then asked my son to turn the key and lo and behold, there was a good spark that was powerfull enough to mar my aluminun valve cover.))))

Besides that, gasoline fumes do not just linger around the tank spout area. If it does, we won't be able to smell it.

But then again, we all have a different levels of paranoia. ;f ;f

sir, turning on the key would produce DC power in the wirings.. but igniting the starter produces alot more than that.. me thinks "IMO" it's better to keep the engine running than to start the engine again after filling if you have fumes around that area.. just my 2CW.. to each his own.. i may be wrong.

[riddler]

Good points Saruman!

But please take note of one word in my statement that you might have missed, "...rather it is the spark that may come ...."

and before I forget, the part of the starter which has the carbon brush touching the rotor (where spark is most likely to originate) is sealed tight to prevent grime and grit from messing up the contact between the brush and the rotor hence wearing out the carbon brush much sooner.

We all have different beliefs and practices regarding this issue. I for one am just overly-cautious and will take the various safety organizations' word that it is safer to turn off the engine (as it is the law here). If on the other hand you guys feel that it really does not matter, then keep on doing what you feel is best.

[antediluvianist]

I used to work in Shell Oil company. My wife still does. Shell puts out a corporate magazine - for its employees all over the world. Shell is big on safety - all oil companies have to be - and I remember one article that showed the aftermath of fires and explosions caused by sparks from an auto engine that had been left on. A new/well-maintained car's engine may not spark, but there are so many old and/or badly-maintained cars with ridiculously sparking engines. Gasoline vapor flashpoint is very low. It's not worth the risk.