Interesting LPG regulation

[DeeJay]

I got a copy of the latest AS1425:2007 which is the standard for fitting LPG to vehicles.
Just reading through there are a couple of regs that clearly are'nt known in the industry.

1/. Where a vehicle is fitted with more than one container the vehicle shall be fitted with an additional red diamond on the number plates.

2/. This diamond shall be an external metal plate not less than 1mm thick.

3/. The colour shall be reflective red and have only the letters 'LPG' in white at least 10mm in height.

Another requirement is that the test dates on the tank can be clearly seen where the container is installed.

Food for thought

[rangieman]

Yes the lpg metal badge is a known regulation ,Where have you been hiding:p
And you are meant to have a lpg badge per tank ,this is for the fire fighters or emergency crews in case of a emergency ,so they know how many lpg tanks they are dealing with :cool:
Even the cars we convert to lpg at work ,that are only run in a controled enviroment and never see the real world must display the badge on the number plate incase of a emergency

[PAT303]

If they have a cover it must not be locked and the shut off valve must be easily reached.My defender is going to be used as the trial vehicle when it gets fitted with D/Gas and it seems that it has to be fitted with rigid pipes from the tank to the engine bay and they must be covered and firmly attached to the chassis.There is no such regulations if you want to fit a couple of 9kg bottles to the front of your van though. Pat

[George130]

Interesting. A mate bought a small truck with three gas tanks. Onlt has the single lpg diamond on the numberplate.

[DeeJay]

Yes the lpg metal badge is a known regulation ,Where have you been hiding:p
And you are meant to have a lpg badge per tank ,this is for the fire fighters or emergency crews in case of a emergency ,so they know how many lpg tanks they are dealing with :cool:
Even the cars we convert to lpg at work ,that are only run in a controled enviroment and never see the real world must display the badge on the number plate incase of a emergency

Nearly Chris :p
The wording is as from the book, so only two badges to nominate more than one tank

The funny thing also is, yes, the valves need to be 'readily accessable" but only for servicing. No mention at all about manual emergency shut down. I guess they think the automatic shut off when ign off and/or engine shut off is sufficient. And who is gunna try for a medal anyway??

[Blknight.aus]

My take on the reg is for seperat tanks like the fuel tanks in fozzy since each tank is independant of the other its 2 tanks. If they were LPG tanks Id need 2 stickers.

But, If I had a hose/pipe on them that joined them together then they would be 1 tank and again if LPG would only require one sticker.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

My take on the reg is for seperat tanks like the fuel tanks in fozzy since each tank is independant of the other its 2 tanks. If they were LPG tanks Id need 2 stickers.

But, If I had a hose/pipe on them that joined them together then they would be 1 tank and again if LPG would only require one sticker.
My take on the regs and I know nothing, is that (at least in NSW) you can't have them operating independant of each other. I asked, because I wanted to have them running as main and reserve and was told it's not permitted. But I would still need multiple stickers.

Diana

[DeeJay]

My take on the regs and I know nothing, is that (at least in NSW) you can't have them operating independant of each other. I asked, because I wanted to have them running as main and reserve and was told it's not permitted. But I would still need multiple stickers.

Diana

Yes, there was a concern that shutting off the 'spare' tank from supplying fuel to the engine might lead to its overfilling, as the AFL valves could allow the second tank to take a litre or so each time you filled up. After a while you would have a 100% filled tank. So all tanks have to fill and empty together. Which makes me wonder when this 2nd sticker rule came in. ? Think of all those scuba tanks under rangie's & disco's

[r.over]

My defender is going to be used as the trial vehicle when it gets fitted with D/Gas and it seems that it has to be fitted with rigid pipes from the tank to the engine bay and they must be covered and firmly attached to the chassis.
I think that you will find that this only applies if your tank and converter are also attached to the chassis. A body is usually rubber mounted to the chassis. Therefore there can be movement between the chassis and the body. You must use a flexible gas line wherever movement can occur. So wherever the pipe goes from the body to chassis or back again you must have a section of flexible hose.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

....Which makes me wonder when this 2nd sticker rule came in. ? Think of all those scuba tanks under rangie's & disco'sIs a scuba tank the same as a manifold tank or several tanks plumbed in together?

I have a manifold which I believe is also called a "scuba" and even though it is multiple cylinder arrangement, they have pipes welded between them so act as a single tank.

Diana

[101 Ron]

The deal is one red Diamond per tank as fire fighters need to know how many over pressure relief valves are fitted per vehicle.
When your 4bys with a gas tank catches on fire the tanks will vent to stop a explosion, but that venting can shoot a flame out from the vehicle 4 mtrs or more.
The fire fighters also need to know how many tanks are fitted to spray water on them to keep them cool enough to keep the safety valves working.
Flexible hose is OK so long it is the correct type of hose and is mechanically fasten to the vehicle the correct way and is protected correctly from mechanical damage and heat etc.
The statement above is correct about twin tanks and one over filling with use.
My under standing twin tanks operating separately is OK so long as a independent filler is used for each tank.
Many old International V8 petrol/LPG trucks used to have one tank on each side of the chassis rail with separate AFL valves and fillers.
A series Landrover will take a forklift bottle under body a long the chassis rail each side OK this way. ( fork bottle must be a AFL type)
A Manifold tank is classed is one tank as only one set of AFL , Ullage , excess flow valves . etc are used.
The gas system these days is fitted with lock off valves at the gas tank and and one at the gas converter and these valve will only open when two requirements are met.......... engine turning and ignition on.
Any break in a gas line will trigger the excess flow valve to operate and slow the gas flow to a trickle and this is one of the things which are checked / tested yearly with your rego inspection and is why access is needed to the gas tank valve compartment.
To the untrained eye many of the gas regs don't not make sense.
They are fair and for a reason.
The tank fitted in your 4 by is not a barbeque bottle....... it has many more safety features than that ,like......... double valves , one set of soft rubber which do the day to day gas tight sealing and another set of high temp heat resistant valves for a fire.
The rubber valves usually packit in after ten years and this why your tank must be replaced or tested and rebuilt with new valves after ten years.

[101 Ron]

The specs for the Diamond badge being 1mm thick etc is so it will take a bit of heat in case of a fire and last for at least one year , the time between inspections.

[DeeJay]

The specs for the Diamond badge being 1mm thick etc is so it will take a bit of heat in case of a fire and last for at least one year , the time between inspections.

We don't have yearly inspections in Vic.
My Landie has 3 tanks - yet to be connected as the vehicle has'nt been booked for a conversion yet. One tank is new and the scuba tanks are retested from my old County. When they retest tanks here the only thing compulsorily changed is the relief valve- if a multivalve then thats replaced. My APA H66's dont have a multivalve but seperate valves which were only checked out as OK.- supposedly good for another 10 years.
I guess in time all vessels will be multivalve but thats the standard - personally I would have preferred all new valves.

My original post lifted the wording word for word from the book. I would think they would specify if it was one sticker per tank so I reckon it will get 2 stickers per number plate when its converted.

[George130]

Yes, there was a concern that shutting off the 'spare' tank from supplying fuel to the engine might lead to its overfilling, as the AFL valves could allow the second tank to take a litre or so each time you filled up. After a while you would have a 100% filled tank. So all tanks have to fill and empty together. Which makes me wonder when this 2nd sticker rule came in. ? Think of all those scuba tanks under rangie's & disco's

That friends truck with 3 tanks has 3 seperate fillers, guages and switches. Each one is independant all the way to the converter.

[rovercare]

I think that you will find that this only applies if your tank and converter are also attached to the chassis. A body is usually rubber mounted to the chassis. Therefore there can be movement between the chassis and the body. You must use a flexible gas line wherever movement can occur. So wherever the pipe goes from the body to chassis or back again you must have a section of flexible hose.

Or a simple coil/loop in the copper pipe to allow for movement:p