#lPGGAS #ExpiryDate #FactCheck
‘No expiry dates for LPG cylinders’
Every year, rumors about expiry dates for LPG cylinders create a scare among many consumers and whenever there is an accident due to gas cylinder blast, the subject covers the internet space.
The serviceable age of cylinders depends on various external factors such as atmospheric conditions, usage and cylinder rotation, wear and tear due to impacts, rusting, etc. LPG cylinders, thus, do not have a fixed expiry date but have a Statutory Testing Due Date. Statutory Testing is done after every 5 years wherein the cylinders are tested for usability and are stamped with the new test due date and sent for circulation in the market.
The alphabets stand for quarters -
A - First Quarter (Jan-Mar)
B - Second Quarter (Apr-Jun)
C - Third Quarter (Jul-Sep)
D - Fourth Quarter (Oct-Dec)
The digits indicate the year (YY) till it is valid. Hence B-25 would mean the cylinder is due for testing in the second quarter of 2025.
“If in January this year, a consumer gets a cylinder with the letter C20, he or she must most certainly ask the gas delivery boy to take it back and give another since it means that the mandatory test has not been conducted and if such a date-barred cylinder is used, it might burst.
A cylinder usually has a life of 15 years and mandatory tests are conducted twice during that time.
The cylinder is checked for leaks with a hydro test where water is filled, and a pneumatic test where five times more pressure than what is usually stored is applied.
If the cylinder fails in either of these tests, it is scrapped.
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