After reading that pessimistic little pamphlet on Mogas supplied with the
Owner's Manual, I have some questions on how to handle grounding of the
Europa's fuel system. According to the pamphlet, fuel sloshing in plastic
containers can build up a charge which results in a spark when the container
is brought near earth potential. Fuel sloshing in a plastic container sounds
much like the Europa fuel tank and the nozzle of a fuel pump is deliberately
connected to earth potential, so is there a potential (pun intended) problem
here?
There are no instructions to connect the fuel filler to common. The internal
filler hose does not measure as conductive so the filler seems isolated. Does
this avoid the problem?
The fuel hose material marked with the red stripe has embedded copper wires
and the outside material is conductive according to my ohmmeter. However, the
inside material in this hose does not seem to be conductive so there is no
conductive path for fittings inserted into the hose.
Overall, the fuel system seems to be electrically disconnected from the
engine. Most fueling operations include connecting a ground wire to the
exhaust pipe which in this case seems to be irrelevant.
Is static electricity not a problem due to the nature of composite airplanes
or should I be connecting ground wires to each of the tank fittings?
Regards, John Moran A044 (Weird Questions R Us)
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