Gas bottle storage.

[nairb123]

When I first started on the canal there was no BSS.  The two gas bottles for the boat use to sit in the small sealed off area in the front of the boat.  With a hatch on top to get to the bottles.

The BSS arrived and the advice was to put an extra gas bottle in with the other two bottles to stop any movement of the bottles.

As time went by the rule became that each bottle had to be secured by a strap and the 3rd bottle could not be used to prevent movement of the other 2 bottles.

 

I have since been told that, maybe in my case?, I can use the 3rd bottle to prevent movement of the other bottles.  Which does make life easier.  Its a small(ish) cramped space which just holds 3 bottles and keeping them all strapped up is a pain.

 

So my question is ..... has the rule on securing gas bottles been relaxed.  There is little room for the bottles to move with 3 in place.  I have a BSS coming up in a couple of months and wonder if the rule is still true.

 

Thanks

Nairb

[Jen-in-Wellies]

The rules on securing gas bottles haven't changed, to my knowledge, in the 13 years since I first put a boat through the BSS. It is always best to go to the source document for the requirements for private boats, rather than go by what different people tell you are the requirements, including me and definitely including BSS examiners. Different examiners have their own interpretation of the rules, which can be sometimes rather creative shall we say.

Section 7.1 covers LPG cylinder storage and 7.4.1 covers securing said cylinders. Basically the cylinders must be prevented from moving, so they can't damage hoses, regulators and so on, which could lead to a leak. How that is achieved is up to you, but the examiner must also agree that it complies. Jamming in enough bottles so they can't budge could be said to do this, but you may have to argue it with an examiner, who is more used to seeing chains, ratchet straps etc. I'd imagine some examiners would not be open to the idea that lots of cylinders jammed in to a small space fulfils this, then you'd have to argue it with the BSS head office and maybe still not get a pass, plus the cost of a retest.

Easiest to fit some securing straps, or chains as they are expecting. No argument then. How hard can that be? Better to get the brackets for the securing arrangement welded (with the bottles removed!) to the inside of the locker. Problem solved. Bolting something through the locker is not such a good idea as BSS examiners don't like unexpected holes in the locker, except for the drains, even if they are filled with a bolt.

Jen

[Machpoint005]

No, the rule hasn't been relaxed, but you'll have to check the regulations to find out if your own particular arrangement complies.

As j-i-w says, the bottles must be secured. Wedging them together isn't secure, strapping three together is, but then the question arises as to how the two are secured when one is taken out. 

 

Mine are chained together and also to a fixed point (bolt) in the gas locker. It was set up like that to pass BSS in 2007, and has been accepted since by three different examiners.

[Tracy D'arth]

I have two 13kg bottles with chains through the collars to the bolts that hold the cratch board on. they are not tight but prevent the bottles moving forward which is just as well as the anchor is secured tight in the bow with the chain and warp in a bucket between anchor and bottles.

This always passes BSS.

I also store fenders and plastic bottles of engine oil in there, never been told to clear them out.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Another valid way of doing it. A rod welded between the top and bottom of the gas locker, then a ratchet strap to clamp up to three gas bottles to it. They don't budge a millimeter. Passed multiple BSS exams.

Jen

[Tony Brooks]

Our cruiser stern with a gas tank against the rear bulkhead had two bottles in use and one next to them as a spare. This was in a rectangular gas tank with enough clearance to allow you to ft them in and out without too much difficulty. I was unhappy with storing paint and white spirit inside the boat so  removed the spare bottle and substituted it for a slatted bottom wooden box the full height of the bottles for the paint. The bottles could move a little in both cases but in no way damage the hoses etc. There were never any problem raised by three or four different examiners.

 

So I don't believe the regulations have altered but it all depends upon the shape of the gas tank. If it were triangular or rectangular so the three bottle fitted into it neatly with say 1" of movement I think the bottles would not need to be secured.

[blackrose]

5 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I have two 13kg bottles with chains through the collars to the bolts that hold the cratch board on. they are not tight but prevent the bottles moving forward which is just as well as the anchor is secured tight in the bow with the chain and warp in a bucket between anchor and bottles.

This always passes BSS.

I also store fenders and plastic bottles of engine oil in there, never been told to clear them out.

 

I do the same thing with my 2 x 2 bottles. I put a couple of dome headed bolts though the top of the locker and dangled chains down from the underside which go though the gas bottle collars. Never had a problem from various BSS inspectors.

[system 4-50]

Presumably the intent is that the bottles should not be able to move enough to allow damage to the cylinder valve or the associated hoses or even the bottle itself.   I would have thought that anything that satisfies that should be ok.  The bottles do not have to be "cosy".

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, blackrose said:

...dangled chains down from the underside which go though the gas bottle collars. Never had a problem from various BSS inspectors.

And potentially not from those with light fingers either...

 

Good solution in my book and one which my builder had already covered by welding a loop within the locker for a chain and padlock.

[Detling]

14 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

And potentially not from those with light fingers either...

 

need to be strong fingers to shift a full 13kG bottle.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, Detling said:

need to be strong fingers to shift a full 13kG bottle.

Carbon fibre fingers? Strong and light. ?

[nairb123]

Thanks for the input to this.  It looks like the smart money is on removing the "spare" 3rd gas bottle and chaining the remaining ones back up.  Its much easier to have 3 gas bottles......... and no chain.  But ... its the rule.

 

But the last examiner said there needed to be a rubber mat under the gas bottles.  True or not - I found a suitable rubber mat on that auction site and for ten quid I now have a big mat cut to shape so those bottles have something to sit on.  Less clunking about at bottle change time at least.

 

Thanks

Nairb

 

[blackrose]

Not true. I expect it was a recommendation to have a rubber mat under the gas bottles to protect the locker floor from scraping when the bottles are moved. If you repaint the floor of your gas locker to prevent corrosion then it's a good idea to use a big rubber scraper mat . You want the kind with holes in, not a solid rubber mat which would trap water and exacerbate corrosion. You can use nylon cable ties to put a couple of these together to make a bigger mat.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00483BKQI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_77EYZTA4HZQ3KAM8P8GR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Edited April 30, 2021 by blackrose

[Tony Brooks]

A couple of plastic strips about 4 mm thick and 20 mm wide left over from plastic window fitting worked for me under the gas bottle.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

8 hours ago, nairb123 said:

Thanks for the input to this.  It looks like the smart money is on removing the "spare" 3rd gas bottle and chaining the remaining ones back up.  Its much easier to have 3 gas bottles......... and no chain.  But ... its the rule.

 

But the last examiner said there needed to be a rubber mat under the gas bottles.  True or not - I found a suitable rubber mat on that auction site and for ten quid I now have a big mat cut to shape so those bottles have something to sit on.  Less clunking about at bottle change time at least.

 

Thanks

Nairb

 

Again, read the actual BSS documentation, not go by what someone tells you, including a BSS examiner. The rubber mat is not a BSS requirement. It just stops the paint on the gas locker floor getting scratched, which ultimately, years later, might lead to rust problems and a hole in the floor that would fail. A good idea, not a requirement. A rubber mat might just trap water underneath it, leading to rust anyway, so a couple of plastic strips as @Tony Brooks suggests could be better.

A longer chain can go round/through three gas cylinders, so no need to get rid of the third if you don't want to.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Tracy D'arth]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDG2m5hN1vo

  This chain goes round.