Ring Camera At Gas Station

TonyR

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Yes, that IS amusing.

It's hard to say how long it's been there but having lived in CA for over 29 years, I would be surprised if it's there much longer if someone decided to make a call to the right bureau.

I say this because CA is the land of extreme regulation and I would bet that a gasoline dispensing area of a service station is considered to be some level of a hazardous area and that the Ring camera is NOT approved as an intrinsically safe device that meets UL 514 specs or any CA Industrial Safety Code or CA Electrical Code in that particular application as shown.

Personally I don't care but I would think that if anything got ignited there as a result of its use (or just its presence and there was that possibility) then someone could own a big chunk of the gas station owner/operator's bank account. After all, we're talking CA here, right? :blankstare:
 

Fastb

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"Intrinsic Safe" (IS) is complicated. Varies for dust, vapors. And types of. And concentrations.
At gas stations, the higher above ground, the less if an IS rating. Since those vapors sink.
In gas pumps, with mag readers, keypads, even high voltage CRT screens, those items don't need an IS rating.
At least that was the state of regulations 25 yrs ago....

Fastb
 

TonyR

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"Intrinsic Safe" (IS) is complicated. Varies for dust, vapors. And types of. And concentrations.
At gas stations, the higher above ground, the less if an IS rating. Since those vapors sink.
In gas pumps, with mag readers, keypads, even high voltage CRT screens, those items don't need an IS rating.
At least that was the state of regulations 25 yrs ago....
Fastb
As you know, at gas "dispensers" (the "pump" is near the tank), the card and magnetic readers, keypads, etc, are low voltage and the conduit leading back to the control room generally has explosion proof fittings and is filled with a specific compound so that it will contain it and not allow that explosion to expand to areas traversed by the conduit.

I noted that the duplex NEMA 5-15R (likely) 120 VAC receptacle is located up high but is likely for temporary, maintenance use and is not intended to have a device plugged into it 24/7 as it is.

California is most likely a lot more stringent with the regulations than WA state; they have their own EPA, OSHA and codes to cover everything imaginable....it's Utopia for the liberals that embrace over-regulation and systemic bureaucracy.

And where and when the heck have you seen a CRT (not LCD or LED) at a fuel island? :wtf:
 

Fastb

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Tony,
Good comments.
You mention the card reader and keypad are low voltage devices. The voltage, by itself, doesn't allow devices to skirt the Intrinsic Safe (IS) regulations.

I participated in several IS product designs. Products had to withstand two simultaneous failures without causing a spark or release of energy. For testing safety in a dusty environment, the circuit boards were coated in flour, then faults were deliberately caused. (failed component, shorts, etc) . If the flour even got scorched, that's a failure. For vapor environments, they tested with a fume-filled chamber. ANY spark could ignite the vapors.

Even a 5V problem can cause a spark. For IS products, you couldn't let the user plug in a 5V battery charger (to recharge a handheld product for instance), because that could/would cause a spark. The products had to prevent connecting the charger, say with a cover that switched off the product if the charging connector was exposed. To re-charge the product, the user was required to leave the IS classified environment. Even though the charger was not IS, and should never be brought into an IS environment, we had to prevent any chuckle-head user from doing something stupid like bringing the charger into that IS workspace and cause a spark.

Spark-causing failures included foreign objects entering the product. Metal dust, shavings, paper clip could cause a spark. Typically, we eliminated any ingress points. We'd conformal coat PCBs to minimize the chance that dust (or condensation) could cause a spark. Nevertheless, the UL folks tested the products w/o conformal coating. Logic: conformal coating isn't perfect, can develop cracks (say from dropping the product), and it only tries to contain a problem instead of eliminating the cause of spark (through safe design).

Capacitors, ie: energy storage devices, were difficult to design-in. The total capacitance of the product was severely limited.
Fuses weren't allowed. When they blow, that's an "ignition" - dangerous, even for sealed fuses.

The Underwriters Lab was extremely involved, and participated in schematic reviews, PCB layout reviews, and would question just about all design decisions. They had veto powers.

IS was very expensive - for development. Hence, IS products are expensive, to recoup the investment (for the low-volume IS market)
"Non-Incendive" (NI) rating had a lower bar. And so the products were much more affordable.

Our safety/regulatory engineers often helped customers determine if an IS product was required for the customer's application. Or if an NI product could be used. I asked our Safety Engineer about gas dispensers ("gas pumps") at fuel stations (including ones with electric displays built in). His answer touched on several considerations:
  • Gasoline fumes sink. So ground level could require an IS device, a little higher might only require an NI device. And higher still, neither certification was required. Note: This might explain the AC outlet you mentioned, which was mounted up high.
  • A gas station is not an enclosed environment, so the concentration of fumes was limited.
  • He agreed the new style pumps (back then) with displays, keypads, card readers likely didn't have an IS rating. Maybe an NI rating, but likely not.
  • a Gas Station is not an inherently "Hazardous Environment". When compared to environments that required IS devices, like chemical manufacturing plants, mines, some engine rooms, ordinance storage, etc.
Story: We made a handheld computer that contained a bar code scanner. The military wanted to use it to scan ordinance in bunkers. We determined that within one foot, the environment required IS products. So we took our NI product and put a 1ft rod on the front. Like a cat whisker like old folks put on their car, to help stay away from the curb. So the soldiers, when scanning bar codes on the "bombs", wouldn't get too close to the triggers.

Yes, the small CRT on gas pumps was many years ago. Back when LCD displays didn't work well outdoors or in well lit environments. Other display technologies (plasma, LED, ELD) weren't mainstream). So I date myself!

Long answer - hopefully you find it interesting....

Fastb
 
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