Note: The life span of a gas cylinder is 10 years from production date. The Federal Government of Nigeria said 90% of gas cylinder in Nigeria already expired. If you can't find Production date or Expired coded date and Tested or retested date on your gas cylinder, then you are probably using Expired or tampered or repainted gas cylinder, and is very dangerous.
The expiry date of LPG gas cylinder can be found on one of the metal strips that connect the body of the cylinder to top ring (handle). It is mentioned on the inner side of the strip. The strip has any of the alphabets from A to D painted on it along with a number. Decoding the expiry date is simple. The alphabet represents the month of expiry while the number indicates the year of expiry. A year is divided into four quarters -
* A – January to March
* B – April to June
* C – July to September
* D – October to December
For example, this cylinder has ‘B 13′ painted on the metal strip. The alphabet B represents month June, and 13 indicates the year 2013. So a cylinder having B 13 mentioned on it means it will or already expire on June 2013. However, there is a limited grace period of three to four months after the expiry as the cylinder cannot be pulled out immediately out of the circulation. There have been reports that distributors tamper with the expiry date as it is written with paint. So next time you receive a cylinder do check the expiry date and stay safe.
READ MORE: Is There Really A Fake Gas Cylinder - How Do I Know?