In this article, we will discuss some facts about domestic gas cylinders used in our day-to-day life. Things which we see daily but are unaware of. Here we go…
Red in colour :- Cylinder is always painted red in colour because red is sign of danger and red colour has got maximum wavelength and you can see it from maximum distance compared to other colours.
Shape :- Shape is always cylindrical. Reason is wherever storage under pressure is concerned, round or cylindrical shapes are used so as to distribute the pressure uniformly and cylindrical shaped body is easy to handle.
Weight :- Normally empty weight of cylinder is 15.3 kgs and with gas it weighs 29.5 kg. Means total 14.2 kg is the weight of gas charged. This weight of cylinder is designed so as a normal man can handle it alone.
Gas filled :- Everybody knows it is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). But in LPG there is subcategory that is mostly Propane or Butane. When you move a cylinder it sounds like liquid. Then how come a gas-filled cylinder sounds like liquid? Answer to this question is, it is compressed to liquid state.
Odour (Smell) :- LPG actually doesn’t smell or technically if we say it is odourless. But deliberately, Ethyl Meracaptan is added as odorant so that whenever there is leakage, we can smell it.
Numbers :- The numbers and letters on cylinder indicate date of expiry encoded.
A :- January to March.
B :- April to June.
C:- July to September.
D :October to December.
and number means year. After particular year and month, the cylinder will expire.
According to the number and alphabet shown in the picture D-13, D means Sep to Dec and 13 means 2013. Means in September 2013 to December 2013, the cylinder has expired and cannot be used after this period.
Ensure Safety and Security while using cylinders.