ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues Commercial Garage Handlamps

Tom


I agree that is more along the lines I was thinking.

Here is the Class 1 Division one rated hand lamp Tom linked to.



With a price of $572.00 it will not be bought by many mechanics or garages. Instead the owner will say "You have plenty of light" so now you have the mechanic working in the dark which presents it's own hazards.

Some middle ground should be found.

Bob

First I would like to state iwire is no slouch when it comes to safety. I personally work with him and will continue to do so. Not once have I ever had to worry about a job being unsafe with Bob there.

Second I have to agree with Active 1 these lights are plugged in after we have left the site. What control are we supposed to have after we leave? But if it is my responsibility to provide a drop light for this area. I will supply the one pictured in iwire's post. The customer is going to love a $572.00 light on his bill. I do not see many return service calls back after that.

My whole point here is this is a tool that should be supplied by the mechanic or his employer!
Al

My life as a gasoline tank and eqiuipment installer has led me to many commercial repair garages. The only Exp Prf lights I've seen are in paint booths or in Pits which were common in older garages. 600 hundred bucks for a drop light?? Good luck selling that in Maine

It’s not as common as it used to be, of course, but how many times have you seen this?

A smoker drives up to a fuel pump and sees the “No Smoking” sign. They take one last drag (to make sure its good and hot) and throw the cigarette down – right into the Division 2 location. It’s actually not so much the smoking that’s the problem – it’s the lighting up.

I don’t want to muddy this discussion too much; but the truth is, weld slag and grinding residual aren’t likely to be “hot” enough to ignite a gasoline atmosphere. It depends on how close the work is to the classified location of course. The AIT for gasoline varies by grade and brand but it’s generally considered to be greater than 280C (536F). That’s pretty high.

However, the surface temperature of a lamp can easily get that hot and, more importantly, sustain it. During breakage it can also deliver sufficient energy to ignite an atmosphere.

I’ve worked on process units where the piping operates above the AIT of the product. While it is often ‘insulated for safety,” the “safety” is for personnel not ignition. The piping could conceivably ignite a remote process leak. That doesn’t remove the electrical area classification requirements.

See the Scope for 497 that I listed above. Electrical area classification is to prevent ignition by electrical sources only. Other ignition sources are relevant only to the extent that they are so much more likely than the electrical system that the electrical system can be ignored completely.

I have wired maybe 7 Valvoline Instant Oil change places and they all had air exchangers that drew air out of the basement to conforn to code. This is the only places I have ever used this system. Even a body shop I wired last year with 2 floors.
Any spray booth I have wired avoid anything inside it at all to avoid the code requirements. They have glass on the ceiling with lights over the glass. The mixing room does require a recpt for the computer and a recept for the paint mixers which cost plenty.

Another way I see fuel spills is removing a tank or pump. Getting fuel out of a tank with a bad pump can be difficult. They have check balls if the filler tubes to keep the fuel in during a roll over. They almost never have a drain plug or tube.

There have been at least three repair shops in this area burned to the ground in the last few years due to this practice. Every one was ignited by an incandescent hand lamp.

-Hal

Here is a few drop light auto shop fires: http://www.worldofweb.com/fire/PressRelease.cfm?PressReleaseID=198

"Technicians were repairing one of the vehicles’ fuel lines when gasoline leaked to the ground and a drop light fell to the ground breaking the light bulb and ignited the flammable liquid."

http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/News/2004/0116/Front_Page/003.html

"was started when worker Joseph Noonan dropped an electronic droplight on the ground."

I think they ment electric drop light.

This one was not from a drop light but shows fuel ignited above 24": http://server.firehouse.com/hotshots/photostories/2001/oct/29_ks.html

"tank fell, spilling gasoline. Workers attempted to shut off ignition sources in the area, but they were unable to work fast enough.

"All the ignition sources were up to code (at least 24 inches off the floor,")"

You can find a lot of auto shop fire news stories on the web but not enough state the cause. A good number of the ones with a cause are related to making fuel repairs but don't give enough detail.

Tom

Tom

I'm thinking that the NFPA needs to take a current look at auto repair shops. Years ago, before fuel injection, pressurized fuel systems and fuel tanks that cannot be drained, fires like this were much less common and I believe that's when the code was written.

I won't discount worker ignorance and nothing is going to be idiot proof but I think much can be improved code wise to minimize fuel fires.

-Hal

Tom... Thanks for those links.

They really underscore the potential hazard of an "ordinary" fixture in a auto repair garage.

There are some really great photos in each of those stories that illustrate the point. I'm going to use them in an education effort in a couple of weeks with the representatives of the employer I mentioned in an earlier post that has over 100 garages.

Those were great links!

Here are a few more links:
http://www.kccall.com/News/2003/0103/Front_Page/018.html
"Benjamin L. Perkins, 20, a resident of Kansas City, was killed in an intense, fast moving fire

Heat from a hand held work light apparently ignited gasoline spilled on the floor of the shop, according to fire officials."
http://www.mykawartha.com/ka/news/kawartha_lakes/story/2604115p-3019070c.html

"Three injured, one seriously in auto shop fire in Lindsay
Mar 1, 2005"
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ny&vol=080&invol=0239

"evidence before the grand jury was sufficient to establish that the fatal explosion underlying this homicide prosecution was triggered by a spark from a non- explosion proof trouble light. According to the evidence, the spark was produced when the unprotected bulb was struck by a stream of water from a high pressure washer."
http://www.karmustang.com/fueltankfire.html