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No News Is Good For PEI CommitteeRP400 reaffirmed as industry standard for continuity testing.In 2002, PEI's Electrical Continuity Testing Committee developed the institute's fourth recommended practice, RP400. Titled Recommended Procedure for Testing Electrical Continuity of Fuel Dispensing Hanging Hardware, the document has since become the industry standard for continuity testing—copies even have been sold overseas. This year marks RP400's fifth anniversary, and its first scheduled review. The RP400 committee, led by Chairman Blair Shwedo of SouthEastern Petroleum Systems (Charlotte, NC), spent spring probing its pages for outdated information. What did they learn? That the procedure has stood the test of time. Shwedo and the other committee members—largely the same group that developed the document in 2002—first started re-examining RP400 in January 2007. The committee is comprised of industry representatives including distributors, manufacturers and contractors. Clark Conklin, chief of the Nebraska State Fire Marshal's Fuels Safety Division, also contributes his time to the group. They corresponded for two months through e-mail, then held a conference call in late March to summarize their findings. The final verdict was that RP400 was still a thorough resource for continuity testing. “The materials and technologies are pretty much the same,” says Shwedo. “There haven't been any technological changes that would dictate a change in the procedure.”
Committee members weren't the only ones with that opinion—PEI solicited comments and suggestions from the industry at large. The survey didn't uncover any weaknesses in RP400, and PEI reaffirmed the document. A release from the institute states: “Individuals who own and follow the 2002 edition of RP400 can continue to do so knowing that the industry and PEI's Electrical Continuity Testing Committee have reviewed the document and find no reason to change it.” According to Shwedo, RP400 is the most narrowly focused Recommended Practice published by PEI. It describes the proper way to test for electrical continuity through hanging hardware on fuel dispensers. In accordance with manufacturer recommendations, a charge should be able to pass from the nozzle to the dispenser frame with less than one megohm of resistance, grounding the system and dissipating static electricity. That requires metal-on-metal connections between each component of hanging hardware, including nozzles, swivels, hoses and breakaway valves. A number of factors can interrupt current as it passes between hardware components. “One thing that blocks continuity is the use of teflon tape,” says Shwedo. “You should use a specific pipe dope for petroleum, and you shouldn't dope all the threads.” Another concern is fuel hoses that don't contain the wire braiding required to maintain continuity. “These hoses are not UL listed, and we discourage their use. You shouldn't have them on the island without the UL rating.” Service technicians can use RP400 to ensure that hanging hardware meets continuity standards. The document features a detailed, illustrated explanation of PEI's recommended continuity test procedure, a printable log sheet to record test results, and a laminated reference card for field use. Shwedo stresses that the card is a supplement to RP400, not a substitute—fuel dispenser service personnel should be “familiar with the whole document prior to just grabbing the card.” A few different events should prompt service technicians to perform continuity tests. First, a test should be conducted upon the initial installation of a hanging hardware system. Second, if a car drives away with a nozzle still inserted in the neck of the vehicle fuel pipe (drive-off), continuity should be checked after the breakaway is reconnected. Finally, a test should be performed whenever any hanging hardware component is changed out—for example, if the nozzle is replaced.
Shwedo doesn't forecast a significant change in hanging hardware in the near future, even with the introduction of alternative fuels like E85 and biodiesel. “If the fuels have the potential of being flammable in a static environment, you should check for continuity,” he says, adding that hardware manufacturers should be aware of continuity when designing new components for fuel lines. “They should make sure that whatever they put in line is not going to interrupt it.” With its currency revalidated, Recommended Practice 400 continues to provide the petroleum industry with a sound methodology for continuity testing and troubleshooting—uninterrupted. |
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