Locking the gas pump in order to pump gas in the winter (Chicago: living, dangerous)

[AQUEMINI331]

Do y'all do this? I was getting gas earlier tonight and of course it was cold as hell. So I did what I always do when it gets bitterly cold and I have to pump gas. I don't. I just stick the pump in there and lock it, and sit in the car and wait for it to fill up. But when I did this, some guy came up to my car and knocked on the window. He explained to me that doing that was dangerous. I don't remember the detalis - all I remember is that it had something to do with static electricity. Can somebody give me a more thorough explaination now that I'm out of the cold? Does anyone else here do this? I know I'm not the only one who I've seen do this.


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[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by AQUEMINI331

Do y'all do this? I was getting gas earlier tonight and of course it was cold as hell. So I did what I always do when it gets bitterly cold and I have to pump gas. I don't. I just stick the pump in there and lock it, and sit in the car and wait for it to fill up. But when I did this, some guy came up to my car and knocked on the window. He explained to me that doing that was dangerous. I don't remember the detalis - all I remember is that it had something to do with static electricity. Can somebody give me a more thorough explaination now that I'm out of the cold? Does anyone else here do this? I know I'm not the only one who I've seen do this.


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Yes, it can be dangerous, however rare it really is . This is all you should need to know:

Static Fires at Gas Stations

Here is a good nugget too:

CNN.com - Little-known dangers at gas pumps - Dec. 6, 2002

and

More Fires Sparked At Gas Pump, What You Can Do To Stay Safe - CBS News

[NYrules]

Sounds like a job for Mythbusters to me.

[Drover]

I'm not sure what getting into or out of your car has to do with static electricity. I would imagine that if you did have any static electricity, you'd discharge it by touching the door to close it after getting out to tend to the pump. You should have told the guy "MYOFB" or offered him 50 cents to tend the pump for you.

[Chicago60614]

I've been in the midwest my whole life and always get back in my car when it's cold out. No one ever said anything to me about it.....

[aragx6]

Actually there was a mythbusters on this! And they found that yes it can happen, but it's rare. I always make a concerted effort to touch some metal on my car (like the door handle) before touching anything else. You couldn't pay me to stand outside in weather like this.

[PAKennedy]

Eh, I've heard of this, but it has no bearing on how I pump gas as I usually don't get back into the car regardless of the temperature. Modern gas pumps are pretty quick and my car only holds about 14 gallons, its not worth walking all the way around the car, sitting down, only to immediately get back up and go let go of the pump. This morning it was 9 degrees, but it only seemed like it took a minute or so. It doesn't get that cold. We live in the midwest, we're all used to it by now. Just like when you run to go pick up a newspaper in shorts or something.

[Steve-o]

All you have to do is put some gloves on, zipper up the coat, and stand outside for a whopping 2 minutes. Ooooooh, its sooo rough, I know. I swear, as time rolls on, people become more wussified with every generation. I also despise the idiots who leave their cars running while pumping gas, or morons who smoke at the pumps. Good Heavens!

[Manigault]

You may wanna consider the state of New Jersey. They have no self-service gas stations.

There's a couple of full service stations in Chicago, too. Since I haven't frequented one in a few years I won't state their location.

[AQUEMINI331]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

All you have to do is put some gloves on, zipper up the coat, and stand outside for a whopping 2 minutes. Ooooooh, its sooo rough, I know. I swear, as time rolls on, people become more wussified with every generation. I also despise the idiots who leave their cars running while pumping gas, or morons who smoke at the pumps. Good Heavens!

Hey, this is only my second winter out of the South! It's not like I grew up dealing with this weather.



I'm usually one who says that people complain about the cold too much, but when that wind hit me last night I said f*ck it. And besides that, it doesn't take 2 minutes to fill a car up. It's never taken less than five for me.


I still don't get it though. If there's a threat of static electricity what difference does it make if go inside for a few minutes versus standing outside. I can easily touch the car if I stay outside.


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