Gas Bottle Code Marking Changes

Gas Bottle Code Marking Changes

This subject regularly comes up at club rallies in Queensland. If you look at the top flange of any caravan size gas bottle (POL) you will notice a circle with a number in it - see the photos above for examples of number 2 and 4 markings. These indicate the type of external finish - virtually how long it will last without rusting away and becoming dangerous. For instance cylinders designed for marine use obviously need better corrosion resistance. If you buy cylinders from Big W or K Mart chances are they will be the lowest grading 4. So what's the problem? Many A'vanners have used the Swap an Empty for a Full gas bottle scheme. It is tempting to use this service as it's quick and easy, available almost anywhere and you can cheat a bit if your cylinder is almost out of date. Just pick one with lots of date left as the exchange! In the past however it was fraught with danger as it failed to take into consideration that all gas bottles aren't created equal and you could be breaking the law by using them.

The new Gas Installation Code AG 5601 -2002 has just been released and there has been a relaxation of these rules. You can now use type 4 as well for caravans which in effect means you can use the swap service if you so wish. It is the old story though of you get what you pay for. We own the two cylinders above and they are roughly the same age. The one on the right is on our A'van - notice the rust appearing already at the top flange. Also notice that the stamped type number is 4. Being a 2000 model A'van this might have been illegal when we took delivery, yet it had a factory issued gas certificate. Interesting what? The one on the left with zero rust has been used on our gas freezer and has actually had more use. The moral of this story is even though the lower numbers are dearer to purchase it is the better option in the long term.

The photo above warns of keeping cylinders UPRIGHT. This label sadly gets omitted from many cylinders. We come across many A'vanners storing spare cylinders on their sides in outside lockers. This really is a giant no no! Researching gas regulations is a bit of a nightmare as only a tiny proportion relates to RV use. There is quite a lot of useful information on the need for gas expertise with the emphasis on safety in the excellent book by Collyn Rivers - The Campervan and Motorhome Book. (starts on page 38) If you are really keen you could of course buy your own copy of the code online but this could be overkill! No prices quoted as we couldn't get the page to go into the order section. In researching this article we stumbled across an emerging technology - Gas Fact: Gas Cooling. Lots of money being invested here and a huge break through for RV's when it eventually comes on stream.

Bob Eustace