LPG stands for liquefied petroleum gas, within the UK market this is either propane gas or butane gas and it is produced as a bi-product of crude oil refining or when natural gas is extracted from beneath the earth’s layers.

When at a normal temperature LPG is a gas, however when it becomes subjected to cooling it transforms into liquid form, this is easy to store and to transport and it is this liquid form which is stored within the cylinders and containers made from steel or aluminium.

In this liquid form it is used for a number of fuelling applications just like powering forklift trucks. Ability Handling has a full range of LPG Gas forklifts from Doosan as well as a LPG powered Aisle Master.

LPG gas cylinders are heavy, large in size and have to be stored correctly. Specific details regarding storage of LPG cylinders can be found in the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association Code of Practice 7 document. However, Ability Handling has some top tips for storage of LPG.

• Always store the cylinders vertically in their correct positioning and ensure that they are secure so that they do not topple over.
• Ensure that they are stored within a secure location, such as a cage to prevent unauthorised persons gaining access.
• Within the secure cage ensure that any empty cylinders are stored separately from full cylinders.
• Ensure that you rotate any cylinder stock so that older cylinders are used first.
• Always ensure that appropriate signage is applied to the cage warning people of the dangers.
• Never store any other gas cylinders with LPG gas, in particular never store flammable materials such as fuel, oil, paint or any other corrosive liquids near as this could result in a highly hazardous situations.
• Store all LPG cylinders at least three metres away from any buildings, public places and other gas cylinders.

Further details may also be found in the British Compressed Gas Association (BCGA) guidance note GN2, 'Guidance for the storage of gas cylinders in the workplace'.