Nasty experience at LPG station

Clifford Pope · Jan 14th, 2014, 08:25

Last night when I tried to fill up at my usual station I connected the nozzle to the filler and there was a spray of liquid LPG everywhere which didn't stop. I uncoupled quickly, but the nozzle continued to gush fuel for several seconds At that moment the attendant rushed up and said that the pump was out of order, they were waiting for someone to come and fix it.

Fortunately none of liquid went in my face, but my hand took the brunt. It felt frozen for some minutes, but quickly recovered. Now it is red and a little swollen, and has a slight pins and needles feel. One finger is still a bit numb.

There was no warning notice on the pump display or the nozzle, but the lights were not on. I had not noticed that in the dark, pouring rain, and dazzle of other lights.

What was going on there? There seemed to be two faults:
1) the nozzle was not sealing on the filler, but sprayed liquid even when clamped on
2) liquid was able to flow through the pump and filler hose despite the machine being turned off.

migrator · Jan 14th, 2014, 09:28

Does the station have an 'incident book'? If so make sure that there is an entry for this event.

If there really was no sign indicating that the LPG pump should not be used how about an approach to Health and Safety with claim for your pain?

Clifford Pope · Jan 14th, 2014, 12:36

I'm not so concerned about the pain - it's eased now.

I'm more interested in knowing how this can happen. I thought LPG systems were pretty much fail-safe. How can LPG pass from the storage tank through the pump and metring systems even though the unit was switched off? It's like walking into a closed petrol station and picking up a pump nozzle and just spraying a burst of petrol around.
Doesn't the cashier have to activate a pump? And what would cause the seal on the nozzle to fail at the same time?

Grumpywurzel · Jan 14th, 2014, 12:56

Surely it wasn't turned off, obviously they had a fault with the pump. The Attendant MUST of activated the pump out of habbit forgetting there was a fault. You cannot just walk up to the pump and use it anyway.

classicswede · Jan 14th, 2014, 22:00

The diaphragm in the pump is what seals the gas flow off to the gun as well as pumping when running. If the diaphragm had failed then that would explain the continual flow.

You can get nasty burns, make sure you do something to treat the burn

volvoid · Jan 14th, 2014, 22:40

this could have been be very nasty, liquid propane is very cold and can give serious burns (heat flowing out of body gives a cold burn). You need to tell HSE and local council - one of them will have to investigate. I'd have called the police too.

Jan 14th, 2014, 08:25	#1
Clifford Pope Not an expert but ... Last Online: Yesterday 08:48 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Boncath	Nasty experience at LPG station Last night when I tried to fill up at my usual station I connected the nozzle to the filler and there was a spray of liquid LPG everywhere which didn't stop. I uncoupled quickly, but the nozzle continued to gush fuel for several seconds At that moment the attendant rushed up and said that the pump was out of order, they were waiting for someone to come and fix it. Fortunately none of liquid went in my face, but my hand took the brunt. It felt frozen for some minutes, but quickly recovered. Now it is red and a little swollen, and has a slight pins and needles feel. One finger is still a bit numb. There was no warning notice on the pump display or the nozzle, but the lights were not on. I had not noticed that in the dark, pouring rain, and dazzle of other lights. What was going on there? There seemed to be two faults: 1) the nozzle was not sealing on the filler, but sprayed liquid even when clamped on 2) liquid was able to flow through the pump and filler hose despite the machine being turned off.

Jan 14th, 2014, 09:28	#2
migrator Aye - him again Last Online: Yesterday 22:27 Join Date: May 2001 Location: HAWICK	Does the station have an 'incident book'? If so make sure that there is an entry for this event. If there really was no sign indicating that the LPG pump should not be used how about an approach to Health and Safety with claim for your pain? __________________ (Ouch - that's another knuckle ...) VOC 11817

Jan 14th, 2014, 12:56	#4
Grumpywurzel Gert Navy Bouy Last Online: Aug 13th, 2014 20:17 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Plymouth	Surely it wasn't turned off, obviously they had a fault with the pump. The Attendant MUST of activated the pump out of habbit forgetting there was a fault. You cannot just walk up to the pump and use it anyway. __________________ '98 V40 2.0T, 4300K 35w HID's, Pioneer Head Unit

Jan 14th, 2014, 22:00	#5
classicswede Trader Volvo in my veins Last Online: Yesterday 23:19 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Anglesey	The diaphragm in the pump is what seals the gas flow off to the gun as well as pumping when running. If the diaphragm had failed then that would explain the continual flow. You can get nasty burns, make sure you do something to treat the burn __________________ http://www.classicswede.org www.classicswede.co.uk

Jan 14th, 2014, 12:36	#3
Clifford Pope Not an expert but ... Last Online: Yesterday 08:48 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Boncath	I'm not so concerned about the pain - it's eased now. I'm more interested in knowing how this can happen. I thought LPG systems were pretty much fail-safe. How can LPG pass from the storage tank through the pump and metring systems even though the unit was switched off? It's like walking into a closed petrol station and picking up a pump nozzle and just spraying a burst of petrol around. Doesn't the cashier have to activate a pump? And what would cause the seal on the nozzle to fail at the same time?

Jan 14th, 2014, 22:40	#6
volvoid Monster Raving Loony Last Online: Nov 12th, 2018 20:03 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: hitchin	this could have been be very nasty, liquid propane is very cold and can give serious burns (heat flowing out of body gives a cold burn). You need to tell HSE and local council - one of them will have to investigate. I'd have called the police too.

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