Ensuring that you handle your gas cylinders as safely as possible is absolutely essential to the safety of yourself and those around you.

There’s actually a fair amount of planning that goes into handling gas correctly, so in this article we will highlight some of the key things you need to consider from purchase right through to storing at your premises. We will address just why it’s sort important to handle gas in the right manner at all times.

Why Is Handling Gas Correctly Vital?

Taking the time to properly understand the importance of handling gas correctly is absolutely essential for both commercial and domestic customers; one wrong move with a gas cylinder can have dire consequences.

There are genuine safety concerns surrounding gas that has not been handled in line with current guidance, with some of the biggest hazards to watch out for when handling gas are:

• Rapid release of compressed gas
• A fire as a result of escaping flammable gases or fluids
• Damage or explosions from falling cylinders
• Manual handling injuries from carrying cylinders incorrectly

By taking the right precautions when purchasing, transporting and storing gas products, you can significantly reduce the chances of any issues occurring with your cylinders in the future. When handling gas cannisters, it’s essential that you have taken the time to fully understand the current guidance on best practice, whilst also adhering to all safety guidance surrounding the gas you are handling.

In the following sections, we will delve deeper into what must be considered when delivering and storing gas in a safe manner.

Delivering Gas Safely

When delivering gas, it’s absolutely essential that you handle the products with care. Prior to loading into a vehicle, you should make sure that you are fully prepared to lift your cylinder as safely as possible. To guarantee this, you should ensure your hands are completely dry, as lifting with wet hands can cause you to loose your grip and the cylinder to become unstable upon impact with the ground. If a cylinder is too heavy for you to carry comfortably, it is recommended that you use a trolley to minimise the chances of dropping the cylinder or injuring yourself.

Once the cylinder is successfully loaded into the vehicle, it is essential that you take a few more precautions to guarantee the safety of yourself and those around you. Keep the vehicle well ventilated at all times, as transporting gas cylinders in closed vehicles can cause serious health problems. It’s also worth considering how you will secure the cylinders in your vehicle prior to transporting; the cylinder should not be able to shift during transport and should be secured to the point where if you have to stop in an emergency, it will not move.

Once you have confirmed all of these steps, you should be in a position to ensure the protective cap is on the valve, and ensure you have unscrewed any connectors.

Ensuring that your bottled gas is delivered as safely as possible is our priority, and you can be absolutely sure we take every precaution possible to guarantee our gas cylinders are delivered in adherence to current best practices and guidance.

Storing Gas Cylinders Correctly

Now that you have successfully transported your gas cylinder, it’s essential that you take a number of precautions when storing your product to guarantee your safety. Taking steps such as keeping the bottle out of direct sunlight is essential – by doing this, you will prevent an increase in temperature which will inevitably lead to an increase in pressure within the cylinder.

It’s also worth ensuring that you do not store your cylinders near anything electrical or beside anything that they could knock against or fall into, so keeping them in a space clear of any other objects is advisable. To prevent cylinders tipping over, you should always store them on an even surface in an upright position, using an appropriate material to secure the cylinder.

Keeping cylinders containing gas in a well-ventilated area is a must, this helps to ensure that in the unlikely event of a leak the gas can escape easily. It’s advised that you keep gas cylinders in a secure and easy to reach area so you can move the cylinder with ease, and it’s also preferable that they are kept in areas that experience less foot traffic.

Once you have used the contents of your cylinder, you should store it as you have been doing and return to the gas supplier you purchased it from as soon as possible. The merchant can then dispose of the cylinder or reuse where possible.

Bottle Gases are a UK leading welding and bottled gas supplier, we stock a range of gases from MIG and TIG welding gas, to nitrogen, CO2, oxy-fuel gas and more. For more information about the gases available online form our website, visit our Products page.