Refilling household gas cylinders: rules for filling, maintaining and storing cylinders

The gas supply that is familiar to most is not a universally available service, since not everywhere there is a central gas pipeline. Gas cylinders are not uncommon in such places. And if populated areas are also remote from large residential areas, then even refilling household gas cylinders can become problematic.

In such cases, it makes sense to have several cylinders in stock so that you can continue to use gas without any problems while the spare one is refilled. We will talk about how the “flasks” for storing and consuming blue fuel are filled. We will introduce you to the rules that ensure safe refueling and operation.

Suitable gas cylinders for refilling

The use of gas in everyday life is no coincidence, since in terms of cost it is cheaper than electricity, and sometimes technically simpler.

In addition to being used for cooking, heating homes, etc. blue fuel is consumed in various fields of activity.

Types of vessels for storage and consumption

The wide range of uses made it necessary to develop for each area its own container for storing and operating gaseous fuel. There are various modifications of cylinders of various volumes, which serve as gas suppliers on hiking trips, on vacation, and many other places.

Gas cylinders are an almost obligatory attribute of private houses that are not connected to a centralized gas supply.As blue fuel is consumed, its supply is replenished. In normal technical condition, filling is carried out in the same technological vessels

For tourism and recreation, there is no point in taking a large volume cylinder with you (well, if you are not planning a long vacation), and a small volume may not be enough or it will quickly run out. Cylinders are not matches, you can’t take them with extra, it’s pointless to carry extra weight, and the danger of moving vessels with blue fuel has not been canceled.

There are two main threats. The consequences of both dangers are the same. Since the cylinder is a vessel under high pressure, and the pressure itself is caused by a large amount of gas that can expand inside the cylinder when heated, it is accordingly explosive.

If on a tourist trip you have to carry several gas cylinders with you out of necessity, then at home (be it an individual house, cottage, etc.), the presence of spare gas tanks for servicing the kitchen, bathhouse, boiler room is quite understandable and understandable.

Liquefied bottled gas is used by tourists and lovers of traveling with stops at campsites. It is needed for refilling soldering gas equipment

Note that the gas that is transported through the gas pipeline directly to the consumer is a mixture with a predominance of methane. But gas cylinders are filled with a mixture of propane and butane, taken in various proportions.

Both mainline and liquefied bottled gas are colorless and odorless. In order to accurately determine the leak, both mixtures are odorized, i.e. enriched with swamp gas, methane, which has a characteristic unpleasant aroma.

Taking into account the difference in consumption and operational specifics of gas equipment, the industry offers a wide selection of cylinders varying in capacity and size

If you turn to Internet search engines, you can find out that there are a huge variety of cylinders for transportation, household use, work and gas storage. Not only the volumes of the cylinders differ significantly, but also the technical design during production, service life and even the calculated operating pressure of the cylinders.

Technical features of cylinder production

How can the average person avoid making mistakes when selecting the required type of cylinder and related operating equipment? Let's look at these issues in more detail and turn to the main sources of information that can help with this - GOST standards.

Exactly at GOST all technical nuances that are required of cylinder manufacturers are specified depending on the scope of application and characteristics of the fuel. Most of the regulatory documents relate to the production of industrial high-pressure tanks, since production uses more than one or two types of gas.

For this reason gas cylinders must be painted in their “own” color, i.e. in a color that corresponds to the gas stored in this cylinder. In addition to the color, the cylinder must have a corresponding inscription, this can be seen in the picture below

The coloring of gas cylinders depends on what type of gas can be filled. Only bright red tanks are suitable for replenishing liquefied gas.

According to the rules regulated by state standards, household cylinders must be painted red and have the inscription “PROPANE” or “PROPANE-BUTANE” in white. This is a mandatory requirement for tanks containing liquefied flammable gas.

The main regulatory document that stipulates the conditions for the production of cylinders for domestic (not excluding industrial) use is GOST 15860-84, which is called “Welded steel cylinders for liquefied hydrocarbon gases for pressures up to 1.6 MPa. Technical conditions".

Gas storage for individual use

How often cylinders need to be refilled depends primarily on the volume of consumption. Those. on the amount of gas equipment that consumes gas. In an individual residential building connected gas stove and heating boiler, gas consumption is significantly higher than when using a gas stove in a country house.

Cooking food at the dacha (even with permanent residence) is temporary, and therefore consumption is much lower. In this case, refilling a gas cylinder to operate a gas stove will be much less frequent than for a house in which a gas boiler is also installed.

The main reason for such differences in gas consumption lies in the fact that the design of the gas burner of the boiler is significantly different from the design of the burner of the cooking equipment. In such cases, it is difficult to get by with one cylinder, even if the cylinder is large (50 l), it will have to be changed with enviable regularity.

If cylinders with a volume of 5 l and 12 l are allowed to be installed near a gas stove (at a distance no closer than 1 m from the cylinder to the stove), then cylinders with a volume of 27 l and 50 l must be installed outdoors in specially equipped places for this purpose (+)

At high consumption, it makes sense to use an individual cylinder installation consisting of several cylinders. This option allows you to have a significantly larger supply of gas in stock, and replace empty cylinders less frequently.

However, we should not forget that an increase in the volume of stored gas entails an increase in responsibility for the technical condition of gas equipment.

As a rule, non-flammable cabinets located outside are specially equipped places. They fix the cylinder equipment and connect them to the gas pipeline that supplies the gas equipment.

Cabinets for individual cylinder installations must be located in such places that they are at least five meters away from the passage of people (entrance to the house, etc.). They need to be firmly secured. Cylinders inside cabinets must be in a stable position. It is recommended to secure them to protect them from accidental falls.

The cabinet must have ventilation openings or ventilation grilles, which should not allow gas to accumulate (in case of possible leakage) due to natural ventilation. Ideally, such a cabinet should be equipped with an alarm sensor against dangerous gas concentrations

However, given the fact that the volume of stored gas is not so large, and there is also the possibility of its natural dispersion due to natural ventilation, this may not be required in individual cylinder installations.

Maintenance and repair of gas equipment

An important issue that is often overlooked by owners of a non-gasified private house or cottage is the maintenance of gas cylinders and individual cylinder installations. At large enterprises, maintenance is performed by personnel who have been trained and tested their knowledge of technology, but in individual farms no one undergoes such training.

When supplying and replacing cylinders, the organization that offers refilled cylinders provides instructions with an entry in the log of the gas supply structure about its implementation. Such instruction concerns the correct operation of already installed cylinder equipment and safety measures during use.

Maintenance of cylinder equipment and individual cylinder installations must be performed by representatives of organizations that have specialized permits for these types of work. When carrying out work, not only the condition of the cylinders themselves must be checked, but also the individual cylinder installation cabinet.

The gas pipeline from the installation to the gas equipment is inspected, and the gas equipment itself is examined. Be sure to check connections for leaks. All connections are “soaped” to detect leaks

If any violations are identified during the maintenance process, they must be eliminated without fail.

A number of rules that are mandatory for those who use gas cylinders:

• cylinders at installation sites should not be exposed to direct heating;
• installation of gas equipment in the basement or basement floors is unacceptable, since gases may accumulate there if there is a leak;
• cylinders should be installed near heating devices (radiators, etc.) and a gas stove no closer than 1 m;
• the room in which cylinders (and gas equipment) are installed should not have basements in which gas can accumulate.

Questions about whether and how it is possible to refill a gas cylinder directly at home are often asked by owners of individual cylinder installations. This is understandable, because to refuel they need to carry several cylinders, sometimes over considerable distances.

The answer to this question is clear - you cannot fill a gas cylinder at home. There are several reasons for this and they relate to the technology of filling cylinders.

Gas cylinder filling technology

First of all, when taking the balloon for refilling The organization that will carry out the work must check the technical condition of the cylinder. What is meant and what is hidden behind this technological definition?

If the cylinder is in unsatisfactory technical condition, it may be refused acceptance. refilling. What specific defects can cause a failure should be considered in full detail.

Replenishing the supply of liquefied gas in a cylinder is allowed only at gas filling stations that have equipment for filling and weighing containers

The main defects, if identified, may be denied refilling gas cylinder:

• if a malfunction of the shut-off valves has been detected (faulty cylinder valve);
• if there is obvious damage to the integrity of the body - this may be obvious cracks in the weld, or traces of deep corrosion, dents or bulges on the body;
• the absence of a plate with passport data or an illegible plate is also a reason why they may refuse to accept the cylinder.

A cylinder of a color that does not comply with state standards and requirements, as well as a tank without a standard inscription, definitely cannot be refilled with blue fuel.

If there are defects in the body and fittings, filling the cylinder with gas is prohibited. It will need to be replaced or repaired

The requirements presented by the tanker regarding the coloring of the cylinder and the inscription have already been discussed above; technical malfunctions of the fittings and body are completely understandable complaints.

Let's consider the requirements for the plate. This is actually a passport of the cylinder, which reflects all its data, starting from the moment of production and ending with the date of the last verification (inspection).

What exactly should be indicated on the plate:

• first of all, this is the brand of the cylinder and the quality control department stamp of the manufacturer;
• further indicates the specific type of cylinder and the batch number in which it was released;
• The weight of the cylinder must be indicated with an error of no more than 200 grams;
• accordingly, the date of production (release) of the cylinder;
• the date when the cylinder was last inspected and the date of the next verification;
• the operating pressure of the cylinder and its test pressure are indicated;
• The volume of the cylinder must be indicated, i.e. its capacity is accurate to 0.2 l.

If there is no sign, identifying the cylinder will be problematic. Therefore, her condition must be regularly monitored. If the operational information is stamped directly on the cylinder body, then the inscription must be covered with colorless varnish and outlined in white.

Plates that are not stamped on the body, but attached separately, should also be kept intact, and the data on the “cylinder passport” should be clearly visible and easy to read.

The liquefied gas cylinder plate contains all the information about the technical characteristics, verifications and other data of the gas container

What is this data for? It is these characteristics that will be checked for compliance by the organization filling the cylinder. Information about the weight of the cylinder and its volume indicates how much gas can be filled into this cylinder.

To make this clear, let's consider the main nuances of the technology for refilling household gas cylinders, which are prescribed in standard instructions for refilling propane or propane cylinders. propane butane mixture.

Refilling cylinders must be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations; the cylinder filling standards are:

• for technical propane - this is a volume of about 0.425 kg per liter of cylinder;
• for technical butane - this is a volume of about 0.4338 kg per liter of cylinder,

In this case, the liquid phase of the gas should not exceed 85% of the geometric volume of the filled cylinder.

The gas vessel is filled so that 15% of the total volume remains free. This is necessary in case of thermal expansion of gas when heated

The cylinder must be weighed before filling. It must have residual pressure if it has already been in operation. After filling, the cylinder must be weighed, and the valve plug of the tank for storing and using gas must be checked for leaks using soaping all places where leaks are possible.

Checking for defects

Cylinders are refilled if, upon acceptance of the cylinder, refilling no defects were identified, and the verification period has not yet expired. If the verification period is missed, then the cylinder requires not only maintenance, but testing, which can only be performed by a specialized organization that owns the necessary equipment.

The inspection allows you to identify defects that may not be visible to the naked eye, or may even be located inside the cylinder body. What kind of manipulations with the balloon will be performed should be considered in more detail.

To identify microcracks, a hydraulic method of testing cylinders is used. According to this technique, a pressure of 2.5 MPa is injected into a cylinder filled with water. Test duration is at least 1 minute.

Then the pressure is reduced to normal operating levels, after which the cylinder is inspected by tapping all welds (tapped hammer weighing 0.5 kg).

If during hydraulic tests no leaks were detected, the cylinder body did not receive any significant deformations or ruptures, then such a cylinder is considered to have passed hydraulic tests

The final stage of studying the technical condition of the cylinder is a pneumatic examination. This is placing the cylinder in a large container with water. There should be 3-4 cm from the top parts of the cylinder to the surface of the liquid in which the vessel is immersed.

A pressure of 1.6 MPa is injected into the cylinder for at least 2 minutes. If there is a leak in the cylinder, it can be easily identified visually by traces of bubbles. If the pneumatic test does not reveal any defects in the body, then the cylinder can be dried and sent for recharging.

According to current regulations, the service life of household gas cylinders should not exceed 20 years. During the period of use of the cylinder, it can be repaired, but no more than 2 times and with subsequent inspection after restoration of technical characteristics.

Inspection of cylinders must be carried out at least once every five years, with the obligatory indication on the plate of the date of inspection and the date of the next inspection.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Explosion of a gas cylinder under the influence of high temperature on the body:

We examined the main aspects that relate to the operation of gas cylinders in everyday life, and examined the issues of operation and maintenance of gas equipment. In addition, the basic technical requirements for recharging cylinders and carrying out their inspection by specialized organizations were listed.

Possession of useful information will allow you to avoid a lot of dangerous situations. An attentive reader will be able to determine whether his cylinder can be refilled. Will be able to monitor the work of employees of the organization involved in replenishing individual tanks for blue fuel.