TC Horizontal LP Cylinders
How many of us have them? They seem to be exclusive to truck campers. My Lance has two Manchester 30 lb OPD horizontals, and I’ve noticed some TC’s have two 20 lb horizontals. All of the horizontal...
Forum Discussion
Adding some new information that might be helpful regarding certification.
As luck would have it, two days after making my last trip to Ferrellgas to pickup my revalved horizontal cylinders, my BBQ grill ran out so I had to go back. The same guy that replaced the valves was filling the grill cylinder, so I asked him some questions about recertification and how often the valves have to be replaced. He said the only time the valve is required to be replaced is if it’s not OPD, or if it’s malfunctioning.
I told him that I thought he said the valve on my old horizontal cylinder “had to be replaced”, and I took that to mean that it was due for replacement based on age. He said no, that valve was missing this little red plastic cover. It’s covering an adjustment screw that you aren’t supposed to adjust.
Ahhhh, got it. That’s why I needed two valves. One was defective, and the other was working but missing a required cap.
We also talked about recertification requirements, and when I got home I did some searching for what we had talked about. The information I found Here, and Here agrees with what he told me.
The important points are:
1- Per DOT regulations, cylinders from 1 lb to 120 lbs need to be recertified, typically 12 years from date of manufacture and every 5, 7 or 12 years thereafter depending upon how the last certification was performed.
2- When a DOT cylinder is manufactured, they typically will be tested using a “Volumetric or external hydrostatic expansion” test. This is an external water jacket hydrostatic test where the tank is tested at twice the marked service pressure. You can verify that the cylinder was tested this way by looking at the manufacturing date stamped in the top ring. If the date stamp has NO alpha character after it, then the cylinder was certified with a volumetric expansion test, and it won’t need to be recertified for 12 years.
3- If there IS an alpha character after the date stamp, it will probably be an “S”, and that means it was certified with an internal hydrostatic test, and it can go 7 years before it needs recertification.
4- Once your LP cylinder needs to be recertified, a certified technician will visually inspect it, and will mark it with the date, and the alpha character “E” to indicate a visual test was performed.
You can see this on the sticker that was placed on my cylinder. The day, month, and year of the inspection, and the fact that the valve was replaced are all punched out. You can also see the big “E” on the sticker, indicating it was visually inspected.
So, I assume that as long as my cylinders can pass a visual inspection, I can use them indefinitely.
:):)
As luck would have it, two days after making my last trip to Ferrellgas to pickup my revalved horizontal cylinders, my BBQ grill ran out so I had to go back. The same guy that replaced the valves was filling the grill cylinder, so I asked him some questions about recertification and how often the valves have to be replaced. He said the only time the valve is required to be replaced is if it’s not OPD, or if it’s malfunctioning.
I told him that I thought he said the valve on my old horizontal cylinder “had to be replaced”, and I took that to mean that it was due for replacement based on age. He said no, that valve was missing this little red plastic cover. It’s covering an adjustment screw that you aren’t supposed to adjust.
Ahhhh, got it. That’s why I needed two valves. One was defective, and the other was working but missing a required cap.
We also talked about recertification requirements, and when I got home I did some searching for what we had talked about. The information I found Here, and Here agrees with what he told me.
The important points are:
1- Per DOT regulations, cylinders from 1 lb to 120 lbs need to be recertified, typically 12 years from date of manufacture and every 5, 7 or 12 years thereafter depending upon how the last certification was performed.
2- When a DOT cylinder is manufactured, they typically will be tested using a “Volumetric or external hydrostatic expansion” test. This is an external water jacket hydrostatic test where the tank is tested at twice the marked service pressure. You can verify that the cylinder was tested this way by looking at the manufacturing date stamped in the top ring. If the date stamp has NO alpha character after it, then the cylinder was certified with a volumetric expansion test, and it won’t need to be recertified for 12 years.
3- If there IS an alpha character after the date stamp, it will probably be an “S”, and that means it was certified with an internal hydrostatic test, and it can go 7 years before it needs recertification.
4- Once your LP cylinder needs to be recertified, a certified technician will visually inspect it, and will mark it with the date, and the alpha character “E” to indicate a visual test was performed.
You can see this on the sticker that was placed on my cylinder. The day, month, and year of the inspection, and the fact that the valve was replaced are all punched out. You can also see the big “E” on the sticker, indicating it was visually inspected.
So, I assume that as long as my cylinders can pass a visual inspection, I can use them indefinitely.
:):)
