BEWARE! THAT EXPIRED GAS CYLINDER COULD KILL YOU! HERE’S HOW TO CHECK THE EXPIRY DATE

Many people have cylinders as old as 20 years in their homes. It never occurs to people that gas cylinders expire and when it does, it results in leakage that can lead to explosion. There have been many cases of gas cylinder explosions and when this happens, lives are lost and properties worth millions are also lost in the fire inferno that follows. 

According to a State Coordinator, Standard Organisation of Nigeria [SON], Joseph Ugbaja, “If a cylinder of 12kg explodes, it is capable of bringing down a two storey building. Cooking gas cylinders must not exceed five years.” According to the SON Director, most people using gas cylinders hardly remember when it was bought. Once the cylinder is past the expiry date, one must stop using it. But most people have no idea how to check the expiry date of the cylinder. The steps to check the expiry date are very simple and basic.

How to check for the expiry date of your cylinder

Here is how to verify the expiry date of the LPG cylinder. The expiry of LPG Cylinder can be found on one of the metal strips that connect the body of the cylinder to top ring (handle). It is mentioned on the inner side of the strip. The strip has any of the alphabets from A to D painted on it along with a number. Decoding the expiry date is simple. The alphabet represents the month it expires while the number indicates the year. A year is divided into four quarters –

A – January to MarchB – April to JuneC – July to SeptemberD – October to December

The alphabet represents the month of expiry while the number indicates the year of expiry. A year is divided into four quarters – * A – January to March * B – April to June * C – July to September * D – October to December For example, this cylinder has ‘B 13′ painted on the metal strip. The alphabet B represents month June , and 13 indicates the year 2013. So a cylinder having B 13 mentioned on it means it will or already expire on June 2013.

However, there is a limited grace period of three to four months after the expiry as the cylinder cannot be pulled out immediately out of the circulation. There have been reports that distributors tamper with the expiry date as it is written with paint. So next time you receive a cylinder do check the expiry date and stay safe.