It's just a LITTLE spillage!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Honestly, some SCs really need a lesson in what the word "little" actually means. -.- This woman came into the petrol station reeking of petrol; I gave her baby wipes to clean her hands off and after paying for her petrol she said, "I dropped a little bit on the floor; it's just a little spillage, sorry." I told her not to worry, and thanks for telling me; I planned to go and sprinkle a handful of sand on it to be safe after I'd dealt with the queue so that my collegue Tracey wouldn't be left with it.

After queue has been dealt with, I go out to deal with the little spillage. Little spillage, my fat arse; it's HUGE.

-__- is my face as I use up an entire bucket of sand on a massive spill stretching between two pumps. How the hell did she manage to spill that much by accident? It looked like she'd taken the nozzle out her car and then proceeded to squirt petrol on the floor on purpose.

[Kheldarson]

My guess is she didn't pay attention...plus side would be she paid for that gas as well, right?

[Lace Neil Singer]

My guess is she didn't pay attention...plus side would be she paid for that gas as well, right?

Oh yes. XD Once the pump is activated, anything that comes out the nozzle you pay for, whether it goes inside your car, on the floor or on your hands.

[jedimaster91]

I had that happen to me once. I set the little lever on the nozzle so I could clean my windows. Then I started hearing gas spilling onto the pavement. Luckily, I was standing right next to the nozzle so I was able to stop it before too much spilled. And of course, I notified the gas station employees.

[PepperElf]

I had that happen once too. I usually use the hands-free fill option and walked away a few feet... only to suddenly see gas spilling out from the tank! I quickly pulled it out to stop the flow and went inside to inform the people there of the spillage.

Except in this case it really was a small spill. just 200 gallons... JK! I turned it off within a second or two.

[Nyx]

I had something similar once, so I have to ask, what is the best procedure?
What happened to me was, it started spitting back out. It was as if the tank was full, but I was on empty. I wasn't sure what to do, and I've heard if there's a gas spillage that you hit the emergency off button; but at the moment it seemed like that would have been over reacting.

Oh and kudos on her paying for it. LOL

[poofy_puff]

I think that happened to someone just before we got gas yesterday. The whole area around the pumps smelled, it got into the cab of our truck, then it must have been on my husband's shoes and it somehow got on his jacket too. It was so strong we had to keep ALL the windows open all the way home. I've never had it that bad before, even when I had a gas-can in the back of my hatchback once.

[Kiwi]

my godmother is the sweetest person you would ever know, she wont even kill spiders or ants she just 'guides them outside'

shes also worked in retail for over 15 years and has the patience of a saint!

and yet shes driven off with the pump in her car TWICE, ripped them clean off the pump both times.... it can be totally accidental! Shes a total ditz!

[powerboy]

I had that happen. I am using the hands free option and only to find it spitting out. Or once the whole nozzle came out of the tank and I got gas on my brand new pair of pants and shoes. And i was heading for a new job

[Belari]

When I worked at a gas station we asked customers to immediately inform us of any spill. If it was small, we'd just sprinkle some kitty litter on it and sweep it up later. But if it was huge, we had to call the fire department. So Nyx, just go tell an employee immediately and they'll deal with it.

[crazylegs]

I had that happen once too. I usually use the hands-free fill option and walked away a few feet...

This option isn't available anywhere in the UK (to the best of my knowledge) so the lady in question would have been holding the pump handle while it's pissing petrol all over the floor, and her, and her car...

[Lace Neil Singer]

Which is why I'm kind of confused as to why she didn't notice. O_o I mean, just a little bit as in a genuine little spillage; understandable. But how could you not notice that you were squirting tons all over the ground?!

[Chromatix]

ISTR the hands-free thing was available in the UK when I was younger, and I didn't notice it being removed either. There is a cutoff when the level reaches some point on the nozzle to avoid over-filling - it's usually possible to squirt a few more litres in after that, with care.

The hoses are designed to come away from the pump cleanly if someone drives off with it. I'm sure this is because it's a relatively common thing, and it prevents more serious damage to the pump which could be very dangerous.

And if you think filling up a car is a hassle, you should try refuelling an aircraft. On large aircraft at least, you are required to attach an earthing lead before even opening the lid of the fuel ports on the ground and the aircraft body. This is because the aircraft can pick up a very large electric charge while in the air, and the tyres are sufficiently good insulators to allow that charge to remain. If the discharge went through fuel vapour, the results could be extremely nasty indeed.

[Geek King]

And if you think filling up a car is a hassle, you should try refuelling an aircraft. On large aircraft at least, you are required to attach an earthing lead before even opening the lid of the fuel ports on the ground and the aircraft body. This is because the aircraft can pick up a very large electric charge while in the air, and the tyres are sufficiently good insulators to allow that charge to remain. If the discharge went through fuel vapour, the results could be extremely nasty indeed.

Not to mention that JP-8 (aviation fuel for jet engines, unless they've changed it since I knew) is much more volitile than what is used in automobiles. It goes boom much easier than regular unleaded.

[Chromatix]

I think the fuel used in almost all civil jets is officially known as Jet-A. I don't know if this is the same as JP-8, but Jet-A has been the standard jet fuel for nearly forever. Jet-A is essentially kerosene with extra quality controls.

AFAIK, kerosene sits somewhere between diesel and petrol on the volatility scale. Diesel will normally extinguish a match dropped into it, whereas petrol is chosen for it's ability to ignite reliably and quickly with a single spark. Kerosene is also used for domestic heating and for hurricane lanterns - in the latter it is often preheated for better vaporisation.

I think safety precautions on aircraft refuelling are tighter for two reasons: there's a lot more fuel to go boom at once, and the static charges are that much greater on a 100-ton aircraft that's just spent a few hours at 36000 feet.