Working on a topo for a client that runs a bean processing plant. Half way through the topo he asks me if our survey equipment is Intrinsically Safe. I reply I don't know. He says that I can't let you topo around those four bins and building till we find out if the equipment is intrinsically safe or has a class 1 rating(explosion/fire). Example: cell phones & radios. I haven't heard anything from our trimble rep yet & that was two days ago. The survey equipment is a Ranger 2 data collector w/ attached 2.4 radio and trimble s-6. I've topoed rock quarries and U.S.D.A. animal sites and never been asked if our equipment is intrinsically safe, also nothing was brought up about this in the 4hr safety meeting.
The building and bins have 4" augers running through pvc pipe and bin dryers. I would think that stuff would cause more of a static/electrical charge then my survey equipment. Lucky I had another guy with me, we ended up finishing the site with a conventional topo and dr shots.
I would highly doubt the entire setup is intrinsically safe.
Wow, I never would have thought about that. Sometimes the old way is still the best way. I would not think that the radios and Data Collector would have created anything that could have caused an explosion, but you do see the warning stickers around the gas pumps for cell phones.
Man, What about doing a survey on a gas station with a robot, or even conventional equipment? The two way radios, or robot radios, or even data collector. The possibilities are endless!
Please post your findings. I am interesting in finding out what they say.
fox
Interesting, there used to be a Fox Surveying in Livingston, Texas that my dad got his start at in the 60's. Anyway.
So, yes, I asked my rep. I've been on location where slumberger and halliburton had all of the explosives on the well pad doing a frac job where I was as-builting the well. I didn't want an issue so I called Western Data Systems and they said there was no issue. That was with my 5700's. I've not wondered about my R8's, but there has only been two times I was on location with explosives present.
any kind of grain elevator system is prone to serious fires. you learn that growing up in Illinois.
No. It is not intrinsically safe. When you buy intrinsically safe equipment it always costs more. If if were intrinsically safe they would have answered already.
Have you thought about scanning?
The two main concerns are how hot a spark might be created and how hot any part might get if there was a short circuit.
I would think any non-hermetic device that switches on and off battery power, or any external power connection that could be broken and make a spark, would be a potential problem, although the energy of the spark depends on the load being disconnected.
The batteries in use could undoubtedly make excessive heat if the cable or a component shorted and there was no current limiting in the battery pack.
The RF generated by the cell phones or portable radios is probably of less concern, although higher powered radios could be problematic.
The Wikipedia entry for intrinsicallly_safee isn't very specific on this topic, and the additional detail for Electrical_equipment_in_hazardous_areas is mostly a sample of the indecipherable regulatory language.
But there is a better explanation here
http://www.gminternationalsrl.com/?p=intrinsic_safety_basic_principles that might help.
I don't think they are. When working at local refineries (tank farms), we had to use our conventional equipment. They tested all of our equipment with a "sniffer". Even our Motorola 2-way radios were not considered intrinsically safe so the crews couldn't use them.
Explosion-proofing electronic equipment oftentimes renders the equipment unusable for its original design. Bare steel tapes are probably also dangerous, requiring new, coated tapes. Do you still have a vernier transit or an optical theodolite without batteries?
Remember the cell phone warning signs around gasoline pumps? Same logic.
If it uses a battery, leave it at the office.
T2 & Stadia! I knew that I remembered those coefficients for vertical rod for a reason. Now where is that old fiberglass rod????
🙂
Loyal
While rummaging through the Surveying Equipment Room here at LSU, I discovered a Subtense Bar, spherical head tripod, & Kern self-reducing Tachymetre! Problem is, it's too much stuff to drag to the lecture room to show off for an antiques tour.
I think someone donated this white elephant to LSU in order to get a tax write-off.
That sounds like a lot of worrying about nothing. Unless you are surveying in the bins with a lot of dust being made, what is the worry?
> Remember the cell phone warning signs around gasoline pumps? Same logic.
I'm pretty sure there's still never been a confirmed case of any such fire. And given how many cameras are in gas stations these days, if it were a real danger, it would have definitely been caught on camera by now. I've also been noticing that fewer and fewer gas stations post such warnings - I think most of them have realized by now it's an urban legend.
The Mythbusters guys also tried to use a cell phone to create a fire. Even stacking the cards way in the favor of a fire, by enclosing the phone inside a small area that was saturated with fumes, they still could not cause anything.
It is well-known that any sort of fine powder can build up and cause an ignition hazard. But I'd say that if any survey equipment could trigger an explosion in such circumstances, the failure is one of improper ventilation, because dust should never build up to that point in the first place without violating a slew of ordinances.
I was doing some training at a university and the new professor there showed me their equipment room....
They had everything they had ever bought....
He was pointing at things and saying "I don't even know what that is..." and I was replying "Look! it's a Tellurometer!!! Look! it's a T3!!! I'll give you $100 for that!"
Most, if not all of the electronic surveying equipment is not intrinsiclly safe and not legal inby the last open crosscut in a coal mine. Ii understand that there are battery drills that have been approved but have never seen one.