Quote:
Originally Posted by rastapoodle
I thought trailers were designed to travel with the propane on. That is why they have all the shielding around the flame. Gas stations are another store , but that said all gas pumps are equipped with vapor recovery systems that illuminate fuel vapors from getting into air.
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Hi
All quite true. Pretty much all the video you can find of gas station incidents involves something like a spark right at the fuel nozzle. That's not going to happen from your fridge.
The somewhat more remote case is a fuel spill. Bob grossly overfills the tank and it spews out all over the station as he pulls out. Again, this is unlikely with a modern vehicle. Maybe Bob is driving a 64 Chevy. A 5 gallon gas can that tips over is another possible source.
In any case, gasoline vapors are heavier than air. The fridge in most trailers is pretty high off the ground. Getting a concentration of vapor up there that will ignite (or explode) from the ground isn't going to be easy. You now are into the "hose sprays gas on the trailer" sort of event.
For added fun, peek inside a modern gas pump. Notice all the electronics in there? Now take a look at the enclosure. Head off to Mr Google and take a look at a proper explosion proof electrical enclosure. Gee ... not the same thing at all is it? That said, pumps don't explode on a regular basis ....
So what's the big deal here? Why all the "open flame" warnings? The simple answer is a lit cigarette in somebodies hand. Hand goes under the gas nozzle, fumes flow down out of the nozzle. Not a good situation. Far easier to say "no flame" than to get into all the details of all the possible cases.
So is that an exhaustive list? Most certainly not. Should you take risks you can easily avoid? It does not sound like a good idea. I'd suggest that understanding the risk is the first step in the process of avoiding it.
Bob