Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Friday, July 15, 2016
Does My L/P Tank Need to Be Re-certified?
If you have a DOT propane tank it will need to be re-qualified after 12 years of manufacture date. Sounds good. How do I know if I have a DOT tank and why is it called DOT?
Smaller portable propane tanks tank size from 5lbs to 420 lbs or 1 gallon to 120 gallon tank can be transported over the highways and roads are therefore are regulated by The Department of Transportation. That’s what they are called DOT tanks.
Most BBQ tanks and smaller 100lbs are DOT tanks. Therefore tanks are called DOT tanks.
If you have a 100 gallon tank at your home it could be a DOT tank or an AMSE Tank (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers). If you have a DOT at you home it will be need to be requalified 12 years after manufactures date. If you have an ASME tank there is no requalification needed.
How do I know if I have a DOT tank?
They make it pretty easy as it will be stamped on the outside collar of the tank. It will say “DOT-”
Once you establish you have a D.O.T. the next step is to find the manufacture date. Once again its stamped on the tank collar. Per DOT regulations tanks need to be recertified every 12 years from date of manufacture and every 5, 7 or 12 years thereafter depending upon how the last certification was performed.
This tank would need to be requalified on 4/2020
Types of Re-Certification
A tank can be requalified by visual inspection. Only a qualified technician can perform this test. If you have a bbq tank that needs use to be requalified locally you can take it to where you normally have your tank filled and they should be able to help you. IF you have a DOT at your home, your propane provider should be able to re-certify the tank for you.
Another way to requalify a tank is to do what called “Proof Pressure” where the tank is tested with air at twice the marked service pressure. If this test is completed it will need to be retested 7 years after this date.
The last test is a “Volumetric Expansion” test that is a water jacket hydrostatic test where the tank is tested at twice the marked service pressure. Tanks will need to be re-qualified 12 years after this type of testing. After a certified technician requalifies a tank he/she will mark tank with the date and type of test performed.
Summary
The basic idea to come away with from this is that 99% of BBQ tanks are DOT tanks and they will need to be requalified 12 years after the manufactures date stamped on the collar of the tank. If your tank is approaching recertification date just take it to where you normally have them filled or to your local propane dealer and they will be able to help you out. You will not be able to get your tank filled right away but should be able to exchange it for another. If you have DOT at your home, your propane dealer will be able to requalify the tank using one of the above methods.
Ever wonder what hazmat codes mean? Check out this video explanation:
The article Does My L/P Tank Need to Be Re-certified? was syndicated from Compare Propane
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