Portable and mobile gas appliance safety Enzo Alfonsetti Type A - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Portable and mobile gas appliance safety

24 November 2016

Enzo Alfonsetti Type A Gas Appliance and Component Safety

Topics

• Gas safety regulation in Australia and New Zealand
• GTRC
• Type A and Type B appliances
• GTRC website and National Database
• Portable gas appliances
• Fatalities and injuries
• Technical Guidance Bulletins
• Safety Critical Testing
• Scheme Rules
• Future challenges for the GTRC

Gas Safety Regulation in Australia and New Zealand

• Gas appliance and component safety is
• verseen by respective Gas Technical

Regulators in each State and Territory of Australia and in New Zealand

• Each jurisdiction is governed by its own

legislation in the form of Acts and Regulations

• Legislation is freely available through the

respective websites of each Gas Technical Regulator

Gas Safety Regulation in Australia and New Zealand

• Western Australia -

https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/energysafety/legislation- administered

• Northern Territory -

http://www.worksafe.nt.gov.au/LawsAndCompliance/Pages/Danger

• us-Goods-Laws.aspx
• South Australia - https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/water-energy-

and-environment/electrical-gas-and-plumbing-safety-and-technical- regulation/acts,-regulations-and-standards/gas-acts-regulations- and-standards

• Queensland -

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/energy/gas/gas- regulation/queensland-gas-legislation

Gas Safety Regulation in Australia and New Zealand

• New South Wales -

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1996/38/whole, http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2012/429

• Australian Capitol Territory -

http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/2000-67/default.asp http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/sl/2001-18/default.asp

• Victoria - http://www.esv.vic.gov.au/Legislation-

Regulations/Legislation-administered-by-ESV

• Tasmania -

http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/building/gas/gas_resources

• New Zealand - http://www.energysafety.govt.nz/legislation-

policy/gas-acts-regulations-codes

Gas Technical Regulators Committee (GTRC)

• GTRC was established in 1996 as a forum for Gas

Technical and Safety Regulators across Australia to share ideas and work together to improve gas safety, measurement and quality

• The GTRC is an association of Government

Departments responsible for the safe use of gas

• The GTRC is an association by name only and is

not bound by any legal framework

• Regulatory framework is governed by the

respective legislation of each jurisdiction

Gas Technical Regulators Committee (GTRC)

• Purpose of the GTRC is to:
• Promote safety in gas transportation, storage and

use

• Maintain a consistent approach to gas safety issues
• Benchmark and identify best practices
• Share information to achieve effective/efficient

regulatory practice

• Provide a forum for engagement with relevant

stakeholders (e.g. certification bodies, manufacturers, test laboratories, etc.)

GTRC membership

• Western Australia - Department of Commerce
• Northern Territory - NT WorkSafe, Department of the

Attorney-General and Justice Northern Territory Government

• South Australia - Office of the Technical Regulator, Energy

Markets and Programs, Department of State Development

• Queensland - Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate, Department of

Natural Resources and Mines

• New South Wales - NSW Fair Trading - Department of

Finance, Services and Innovation

• Australian Capital Territory - Access Canberra
• Victoria – Energy Safe Victoria
• Tasmania - Gas standards and safety, Consumer, Building &

Occupational Services, Department of Justice

• New Zealand – Worksafe New Zealand

GTRC meetings

• The GTRC members meets biannually for two

days to discuss matters related to gas safety and efficiency

• A GTRC Technical Subcommittee meeting is

held the day before the main GTRC meeting to discuss technical matters

• The GTRC Technical Subcommittee consists of

GTRC members and representatives from the certification bodies

Type A and Type B appliances

• Gas appliances in Australia are categorized as

either Type A or Type B appliances and are defined as follows in AS/NZS5601

• Type A appliance - An appliance for which a

certification scheme exists

• Type B appliance - An appliance, with gas

consumption in excess of 10 MJ/h, for which a certification scheme does not exist

Examples of Type A gas appliances

Examples of Type B gas appliances

Industrial boilers Gas turbines Gas fired spray booths

GTRC Website

http://www.gtrc.gov.au/

Hyperlink to the National Database Gas Compliance Mark

GTRC National Database of Type A gas appliances and gas components

http://equipment.gtrc.gov.au/

GTRC National Database

Portable and mobile gas appliances

Fatalities and injuries

• Fatalities have occurred from the foreseeable

misuse of the following portable appliances indoors:

• portable cartridge heaters
• portable gas refrigerators
• area heaters
• Injuries have also occurred from the use of:
• portable cartridge cookers
• BBQs
• gas fire pits

Fatalities and injuries

• Contributing factors include:
• Appliance misuse
• Appliance malfunction
• Lack of quality assurance
• Limitations of post certification surveillance
• Requirements in product standards that are open

to interpretation

Australian Standards – AS2658

• AS2658 covers portable and mobile LPG

appliances operating at vapour pressure to the appliance inlet

• AS2658 was originally based upon EN521
• The 1998 and 2003 editions were concurrently

considered current standards and have since been replaced by AS2658:2008 amendment 3

• Discrepancies in the current standard have

been identified and some requirements are

• pen to interpretation

Australian Standards – AS4565

• AS4565 covers radiant gas heaters for outdoor

and non-residential indoor use

• Appliances covered include patio heaters, table

top patio heaters and heaters with surface combustion burners

• Pyramid, column and area heaters did not exist

when AS4565 was published in 2004

Australian Standards – AS4565

• AS4565 requires that where the heat source or

combustion product outlet is less than 1.8m from the ground there shall be no provision for an integral cylinder

• The 1.8m height restriction was originally

introduced as it was deemed that at this height it was less likely that outdoor heaters would be brought indoors

• This would prevent the certification of outdoor

pyramid, column and area heaters

Australian Standards

• All Type A gas appliance standards are

currently undergoing a restructure and the standards are being developed as joint AS/NZS standards

• AS5263.0 has been published which includes

general requirements for all Type A appliances

• Part 1 standards which include appliance

specific requirements have been and are currently being developed

Australian Standards

• AS/NZS5263.1.4 public comment draft will be

published shortly to replace AS4565 & AS4643

• Stakeholders will have an opportunity to

comment on the 1.8m height requirement that affects pyramid, column and area heaters

• The incorporation of AS2658 into the

AS/NZS5263 series standards is still the subject of debate

Technical Guidance Bulletins

• GTRC members have and are developing

Technical Guidance Bulletins to address:

• Safety critical issues that have been identified
• Requirements in product standards that are
• pen to interpretation
• New and innovative products where it is not

clear which requirements apply

Technical Guidance Bulletins

Hyperlink to Technical Guidance Bulletins

Technical Guidance Bulletins

• The following Technical Guidance Bulletins

have been published

Technical Guidance Bulletin 6- Outdoor area heaters and table top patio heaters

• Requires that where the burner and flue outlet

is less than 1.8m from the ground, area heaters and table top patio heaters:

• Must not be mobile (i.e. no wheels)
• Cylinder compartment must be permanently

separated from the combustion chamber

• CO/CO2 ≤ 0.007
• Must include an oxygen depletion sensor

Technical Guidance Bulletin 6- Outdoor area heaters and table top patio heaters

• NSW Fair Trading has issued a prohibition
• rder on flueless portable outdoor heaters

where the burner or the flue outlet is less than 1.8m from the ground.

• Suppliers will need to contact NSW Fair

Trading to apply for an exemption to the prohibition order

• The prohibition also order affects pyramid and

column heaters

Technical Guidance Bulletin 6

Pyramid heaters Column heaters These appliances are subject to a prohibition order in NSW Area heaters

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Portable cartridge cookers

• New overpressure protection requirements
• Primary device to eject the cartridge at a cartridge

pressure of 450-550kPa

• Secondary device in the gas valve to isolate gas

flow at a cartridge pressure 550-650kPa

• Bottom of the cartridge compartment shall have

no openings to prevent interference

• Pan supports or trivets must be permanently

attached to the appliance and must not be reversible

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Portable cartridge cookers

• Test methodologies for over pressure

protection and for temperature hazard of the gas cartridge using a stainless steel plate covering the appliance have been developed

• Test laboratories are expected to monitor

pressure within the cartridge and the temperature of the cartridge during the temperature hazard test

• The two test methods will soon be published in

a Technical Guidance Bulletin

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Portable cartridge heaters

• These outdoor appliances are often

foreseeably misused indoors (e.g. inside tents when camping)

• The surface combustion burners are

susceptible to producing high levels of carbon monoxide at very low settings in cold climatic conditions

• A Technical Guidance Bulletin will be proposed

that will prohibit these appliances from having a turndown setting

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Portable refrigerators

• A Technical Guidance Bulletin will be

considered that may require portable refrigerators to have an oxygen depletion sensor fitted.

• Currently a flame safeguard is only required for

appliances intended for automatic operation. A flame safeguard shall be considered regardless

• f the method of operation
• A danger label was introduced in AS4555 in

February 2011

Portable refrigerators

3 way 240V/12V/gas refrigerator

Portable refrigerators

Gas only refrigerator

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Portable water heaters

• There have been instances where these
• utdoor appliances have been used indoors

and have also been mistaken to be indoor continuous flow water heaters

• Technical Guidance Bulletin for portable water

heaters is proposed as follows:

• Must not include a means for connection to a fixed

piping system

• Must include a tilt switch

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Portable water heaters

• Must include all components required for operation

including a water pump

• Must comply with combustion requirements or

shutdown safely when the flueway is progressively blocked

• Must not incorporate a means for connection of a flue
• CO/CO2 ≤ 0.01 at normal test gas pressure
• Must comply with rain test irrespective of appliance

markings

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Gas fire pits

• Technical Guidance Bulletin will consider:
• Minimum table height of 700mm
• Guarding extending to the top of the flame to be

provided for table heights between 700mm and 1m

• Horizontal clearance from the flame based upon

the principles of IEC Guide 117 for table heights between 700mm and 1m

Technical Guidance Bulletin- Gas fire pits

• Stability test with 14kg applied to the edge of the

table

• 15° tilt test
• Must include a means to support LPG cylinder
• Cylinder compartment ventilated and permanently

separated from combustion chamber

• Must comply with rain test or shut down safely

Safety Critical Testing

• GTRC has recognised that the current post

certification surveillance of an inspection of a gas product against a technical specification is inadequate

• Cost/benefit analysis has been undertaken to

consider periodic safety critical testing of high risk products

• A draft report will be considered at the GTRC

meeting next week

Scheme Rules for the certification of gas appliances and components

• Scheme Rules have been redrafted and

feedback from stakeholders will be considered by the GTRC at its meeting next week

• Earlier drafts focused on the responsibilities of

certification bodies and suppliers

• Current draft focuses on the responsibilities of

certification bodies only

• Australian Consumer Law and State and

Territory Law focuses on suppliers responsibilities

Future challenges for the GTRC

• On line sales of uncertified or unsafe gas

appliances and components

• Ratification of the Scheme Rules
• Introduction of Safety Critical Testing
• Improved incident data acquisition, analysis

and sharing between jurisdictions

• LPG cylinder valves

Questions?