How to determine the expiry period of LPG cylinder
This article is all about giving knowledge about LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinder's expiry date or period. One can read the code given on the cylinder to know the expiry period.
In daily life, we come across many products which are susceptible to degradation as time passes. This list includes foods, medicines and many more. In most of the houses of India, one can find the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinder to cook the food. Have you ever tried to know how to know the expiry date of the period of the LPG cylinder you are using? What is the technique to know such information? What is the code that tells about the expiry of the LPG cylinder?
LPG has many applications including cooking, refrigeration, heating purpose in rural areas and many automobiles are getting converted to have the engine run on LPG. Due to such widespread application of LPG, one needs to know about its expiry details. What is the meaning of expired LPG Cylinder?
The expired cylinder does not mean it is no more of use. It means that one has to check for its safety standards by some statutory testing as per BIS. if you have a cylinder with expired period alphanumerical code like D-12 (Last quarter of 2012) then one should get it tested it for any defects and get an appropriate testing certificate from BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) while taking delivery of such cylinders.
An LPG cylinder has expiry details written on the cylinder. The construction of a cylinder includes a closed cylindrical portion with three metal supports above this cylindrical portion. Out of these three metal strips, one strip has a code written on it. This may be one of the following:
Here, A, B, C and D contain the period and 14, 15, 16, 17 gives the year in which the LPG is going to expire.
Now, what is the information in A, B, C and D code?
Examples of Valid cylinder:
The image shown below shows the code B-17 which means, the cylinder expiry period is the second quarter of 2017. The cylinder may be expired in April, May and June of 2017. After June 2017 if you still want to use such a cylinder with an expired period, one must ask for the BIS certificate indicating safety and statutory testing results from the Gas agency.
If you buy a cylinder which has expired in terms of the duration, the leakage might occur and can result in an explosion so be careful during picking up the LPG from the vendor. Always check the seal, weight and expiry details before taking delivery from the delivery man.
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A very useful and informative article from the author. Everyone should follow the instructions and check if their LPG cylinders have expired or not. The next time when we receive a cylinder from the gas agency, this is an additional point we should always check.
Similar to the LPG cylinder, we should also check for the expiry of the LPG pipe or tube. The life of the tube is 5 years and the date of the expiry is mentioned on the tube itself. Other than the expiry date we should also check for any signs of cracks or damage on the rubber tube. The tube should not pass over any rough edges, which have the potential to damage it. The tube should also be a reasonable distance away from the flame, to prevent damage due to heat. In many household it can be seen that the tube is brought right underneath the gas burners, which is a very dangerous practice. At times, an expert should inspect the complete arrangement of the stove, the tube and the cylinder.