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Store and move gas cylinders

Store and move gas cylinders

Fire and hot work 5 min 29 CFR 1926.350

Welding

Why it matters

Oxygen and fuel-gas cylinders stay at least 20 feet apart, or a barrier at least 5 feet high with a half-hour fire-resistance rating stands between them. Caps stay on in storage and while you move them. Keep oil off the oxygen valve.

The talk

Oxygen cylinders and fuel-gas cylinders are stored apart. Separate them by at least 20 feet, or put a barrier between them that is at least 5 feet high and has a half-hour fire-resistance rating. Do not lean an oxygen cylinder against a fuel-gas cylinder because the rack is full. Do not stand a sheet of plywood between them and call that a rated barrier. If you do not know the wall meets that rating, keep the 20 feet. That storage rule is in 1926.350. Caps stay on while the cylinders are stored and while they are moved. A cap left on the truck is not doing its job.

Keep the cylinders upright and secured so they cannot fall. A chain, a rack, or a cart made for cylinders is what holds them. A free-standing cylinder is a fall waiting for a bump from a cart or a hose. Do not leave one loose because you will be right back. When you move them, the cap stays on. Do not use a sling, a magnet, or the cap to hoist a cylinder. The cap is not a lifting eye. A magnet can let go. A sling can slip. Move them on a cylinder cart. Do not roll them by the valve.

Open a cylinder the way you were shown, and do not stand in front of the gauge. Dirt in the outlet gets cleared by cracking the valve the way you were trained, away from a flame. Do not make up your own way. Do not stand where the gauge can hit you if something lets go. Oil and oxygen do not mix. Do not put oily gloves on an oxygen valve. Do not wipe the threads with an oily rag. If your gloves are greasy from the machine or the chain, change them before you touch the oxygen. Fuel-gas valves get the same careful hands, but oxygen is the one that flashes on oil.

Key points

  1. Keep oxygen and fuel-gas cylinders at least 20 feet apart, or use the rated barrier.
  2. The barrier is at least 5 feet high and has a half-hour fire-resistance rating.
  3. Keep caps on while cylinders are stored or moved.
  4. Keep them upright and secured so they cannot fall.
  5. Do not hoist a cylinder by a sling, a magnet, or the cap.
  6. Open it the way you were shown, and do not stand in front of the gauge.
  7. Do not handle an oxygen valve with oily gloves.

Do this

  • Store oxygen and fuel gas at least 20 feet apart, or behind the rated barrier.
  • Leave the cap on for storage and for the move.
  • Chain or rack every cylinder so it cannot fall.
  • Move cylinders on a cart made for them.
  • Crack and open the valve only the way you were shown, off to the side of the gauge.

Do not do this

  • Do not store oxygen against a fuel-gas cylinder.
  • Do not call a loose sheet of plywood a fire-rated barrier.
  • Do not hoist a cylinder with a sling, a magnet, or the cap.
  • Do not stand in front of the gauge when you open the valve.
  • Do not touch an oxygen valve with oily gloves or an oily rag.

Talk about it

  1. Where are oxygen and fuel-gas cylinders stored on this job, and is the gap or the barrier in place?
  2. Which cylinders are missing caps or are standing unsecured?
  3. Who still has oily gloves on before they touch an oxygen valve?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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