PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-562
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 562
SEPTEMBER 1999
PS 562
11
SEP 99
PS 562
10
SEP 99
Fuel Tankers . . .
HEMAT Trailer . . .
Make-do Cargo
Strap Sleeves
Replace missing sleeves with
cardboard or split rubber hose
Dear Editor,
The protective sleeves on the
HEMAT’s cargo straps get lost
easily, and using the straps without
sleeves causes excess wear and tear
when hauling stuff like MLRS pods.
The sleeves aren’t available by
themselves through the supply
system, and it’s way too expensive
to order cargo straps just because
the sleeves are missing.
So, I use cardboard or a piece of
split rubber hose under the straps
where they hit the cargo. This
reduces wear and tear just like the
sleeves do, but saves our unit
money.
SPC Gregory Record
1/14th FA
Ft Sill, OK
ne spark is all it takes to turn your
fuel-loading or refueling operation into
a catastrophe.
Where will that spark come from?
Static electricity.
This is the same kind of electricity
you feel when you walk on a carpet
and reach for a metal object, or touch
another person.
Static electricity also comes from the
friction of fuel flowing through a hose
or fuel falling through the air. As the
static charge builds, it tries to jump
across any gap separating it from other
parts of the system.
If there are fuel vapors in the gap
when a spark flashes across—
KABLAM !
!
—that’s all she wrote.
Set a Bonding Path
You can’t prevent static, but you can
prevent it from arcing or sparking with
grounding and bonding.
Bonding
is connecting a wire from
your tanker to the vehicle you’re going
to refuel. It equalizes any static elec-
tricity on the vehicles. You can also
bond vehicles by grounding each to
the same ground.
That should keep a spark from turn-
ing into an explosion or fire.
For more on grounding, see your
vehicle operator’s TM and FM 10-71,
Petroleum Tank Fuel Operations, with
Changes 1 and 2.
Ground tanker
Bond vehicles to
equalize static and
prevent sparks
Sounds like a winner
. You might
also contact your local canvas r
epair
shop and ask if they can make
replacement sleeves.
my static
cables
stop
static
charge.
ok
. you’re
bonded
to the
other vehicle. as soon
as i’ve
grounded
you,
we’ll
both
be safe.
PS 562
11
SEP 99
PS 562
10
SEP 99
Grounding
is hooking up a vehicle
to a ground rod so that static will flow
into the earth. You drive a rod into the
ground and connect a ground strap
from the vehicle to it, or you hook the
strap onto a water pipe or other
grounded metal.
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