Code Approval of Composite Propane Cylinders for Indoor Use ...

NFPA Regional Fire Code Committee MeetingsBattelle attended each of the four spring NFPA Regional Fire Code Committee Meetings tocontinue discussions about the indoor propane composite cylinder effort and obtain furtherfeedback on the fire test program. Presentation slides from these meetings are included inAppendix A.• Western Region – Las Vegas, Nevada, February 16, 2005• Northeastern Region – Baltimore, Maryland, March 9, 2005• Northcentral Region – Durango, Colorado, March 15, 2005• Southern Region – Atlanta, Georgia, March 22, 2005During the Spring 2005 Regional Fire Code Committee meetings, the fire protection communityvoiced similar concerns regarding the indoor use of the composite cylinders that werehighlighted during the Phase I activities. There are a number of members who believe compositecylinders are an improvement over the outdoor steel grill cylinders, yet still have difficultyaccepting their transition to indoor use.Major issues that were expressed during the Spring 2005 Regional Fire Code CommitteeMeetings included:• Composite cylinder fire testing should be performed indoors under realistic operatingconditions involving normal household items such as furniture, rugs, etc. The testsshould address the possibility of flash-over fires and should measure heat flux andtemperature spikes.• Testing should be conducted at a listing facility like Underwriters Laboratories or FactoryMutual. The fire professionals felt that if the testing is to have any merit it should bedone through a consortium of industry members, fire professionals, and standardsinstitutions.A summary of concerns and comments to date from the NFPA Regional and NFPA 58Committee Meetings are provided in Table 1. General topics include:• Connections and adapters (to allow connection of steel outdoor only cylinders toindoor appliances)• Consumer misuse / tampering• Fire testing• International use of composite cylinders• Inspection and requalification of cylinders• Pressure relief devices / overfill• Filling procedures• Cylinder material• Carbon monoxide productionComposite Propane Cylinders 3 February 2007for Indoor Use — Phase IIBattelle