Worldwide Standards and Documents Packaged Gases Standard W.PG-01.

690

Packaged Gases Standard W.PG-01.690: Cylinder Valve Removal or

Repair
Content Owner: Shaun LaGrange Approved by: Eric Freiburger

Business Regions
All Businesses Global Hydrogen GOE Asia Mexico
Bulk Distribution Packaged Gases GSS Canada Russia
Bulk Operations PHS/Medigas PST Europe South America
Customer Service Europe JVs USA

Contents
1. Purpose ....................................................................................................................................................................1
2. Scope .......................................................................................................................................................................1
3. Requirements ...........................................................................................................................................................1
4. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................................5
5. References ...............................................................................................................................................................5
Revisions .......................................................................................................................................................................5

1. Purpose
This Standard provides requirements and procedures for high pressure and low pressure cylinder valve removal
(devalving)

2. Scope
These requirements are applicable to Praxair facilities and Praxair’s approved third parties (contractors) that
conduct cylinder valve removal for Praxair.

3. Requirements
3.1 All supervisors, cylinder maintenance personnel, and outside cylinder maintenance contractors shall
comply with this cylinder devalving requirement.
3.2 Valves shall not be repaired while the cylinder is under pressure. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Cylinders shall be vented or drained as specified in Section W.PG-02.015, Cylinder Venting and Draining,
before any repairs, including tightening leaking pressure relief devices or retainer plugs, shall take place.
3.3 Visually inspect each cylinder valve to determine if it is a standard manual valve, a back flow prevention
(BFP) valve or residual pressure valve (RPV) valve, an operator-assisted cylinder valve, or an unknown
type of cylinder valve.
3.3.1 To assist with valve identification, review the valve diagrams in Section W.PG-01.600, Cylinder
Valves and Valve Operation, and Section W.PG-01.608, Backflow Prevention (BFP) and Residual
Pressure (RPV) Cylinder Valves.

3.4 BFP or RPV valves are designed to retain a pressure of 1.4 bar to 5.2 bar (20 psig to 75 psig), depending
on the valve manufacturer.
3.5 For BFP and RPV valves, a fill override adapter shall be used to override the residual retention feature.
3.6 All residual gas pressure shall be vented prior to any valve removal.
3.7 Cylinders that previously contained flammable or toxic gas shall be purged and/or evacuated prior to valve
removal to ensure that a hazardous atmosphere is not present.
3.8 Injection of low pressure nitrogen into the valve outlet shall be performed immediately prior to valve
removal or repair by the employee who is removing or repairing the valve.

Issued: 15 Apr 2005 Revised: 23 Dec 2014 Effective: 26 Mar 2009 Page 1 of 5

UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED. PRAXAIR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL. RESTRICTED FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY.
Worldwide Standards and Documents Packaged Gases Standard W.PG-01.690

3.8.1 After nitrogen injection is complete for a cylinder valve, remove or repair that valve. Performing
nitrogen injection on multiple cylinder valves and then removing or repairing the valves is not
permitted.
3.8.2 Only use nitrogen at a pressure lower than 2 barg (30 psig) for injection into cylinders.
3.9 For valve removal operations that do not use a valving machine, leak detection solution should be used
when the valve is first slightly loosened and also during the remaining devalving operation. (CGA P-38)
3.10 The operator shall be located in a safe place or adequately protected from a valve being projected from
the cylinder.
3.11 Every cylinder devalving station shall have a nitrogen injection warning poster on each valving machine.
Refer to Section W.PG-03.280, Cylinder Valving Machines.
3.12 The cylinder shall be internally inspected every time the valve is removed. Refer to Section W.PG-01.695,
Internal Cylinder Inspection.

3.13 Procedures
Venting
3.13.1 Prior to valve removal, ensure that the cylinder is vented or drained of product. Refer to Section
W.PG-02.015, Cylinder Venting and Draining. Cylinders that previously contained flammable or
toxic gas shall be purged and/or evacuated prior to valve removal to ensure that a hazardous
atmosphere is not present.

WARNING: Do not attempt to remove any cylinder valve until the valve operation is
fully understood and precautions have been taken to positively determine that the
cylinder has no residual pressure

Valve Removal Procedure for a Standard Cylinder Valve

3.13.2 Verify that the cylinder is vented or drained of product and purged if required.
3.13.3 Prior to valve removal, positively determine the type of valve (standard, BFP, or RPV) that is in
the cylinder. If you are not sure or if the cylinder is empty, check with your supervisor before
proceeding.
3.13.4 Secure the cylinder and ensure that the valve is open.

NOTES: BFP cylinder valves require a fill override adapter to allow the cylinder to fully
vent. Refer to the "Valve Removal Procedure for a BFP or RPV Cylinder Valve" section

3.13.5 Inject low pressure nitrogen into the valve outlet. This step must be performed adjacent to the
devalving equipment.

• If nitrogen exhausts after the injector has been removed, the valve is not blocked. This is proof
that the valve is open and the cylinder is empty. Proceed to step 3.13.6

WARNING: If no nitrogen exhausts from the valve, proceed to the "Valve Removal
Procedures for Broken or Blocked Valves" section.

Issued: 15 Apr 2005 Revised: 23 Dec 2014 Effective: 26 Mar 2009 Page 2 of 5

UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED. PRAXAIR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL. RESTRICTED FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY.
Worldwide Standards and Documents Packaged Gases Standard W.PG-01.690

3.13.6 Immediately remove the cylinder valve or perform the required valve maintenance.
Valve Removal Procedure for a BFP or RPV Cylinder Valve
3.13.7 Verify that the cylinder is vented or drained of product and purged if required.
3.13.8 Prior to valve removal, positively determine the type of valve (standard, BFP, or RPV) that is in
the cylinder. If you are not sure or if the cylinder is empty, check with your supervisor before
proceeding.
3.13.9 Secure the cylinder, close the valve, and install a fill override adapter to override the BFP or RPV
feature.
3.13.10 Each BFP or RPV cylinder valve manufacturer has its own fill override adapter design. Ensure
that the correct override adapter is used.
3.13.11 With the fill override adapter properly installed, open the cylinder valve and verify that the
cylinder does not have pressure.
3.13.12 With the fill override adapter still installed, inject low pressure nitrogen into the fill override
adapter. This step shall be performed adjacent to the devalving equipment.
• If nitrogen exhausts after the injector has been removed, the valve is not blocked. This is proof
that the valve is open and the cylinder is empty. Proceed to Step 3.13.13.

WARNING: If no nitrogen exhausts from the valve, proceed to the "Valve Removal
Procedure for Broken or Blocked Valves" section

3.13.13 After all injected nitrogen has vented and the cylinder is empty, remove the fill override adapter.
3.13.14 Immediately remove the BFP or RPV cylinder valve, or perform the required valve maintenance.
Valve Removal Procedure for Broken or Blocked Valves

NOTE: Use this procedure only after following one of the two procedures above.

3.13.15 Valve Tapping Procedure:

• Close the valve, then reopen it one half-turn.
• Tap the valve lightly with a hammer.
• If gas exhausts from the cylinder, check that the gas passage is not blocked and that all
pressure has been relieved. This is accomplished by injecting nitrogen into the cylinder as
above.
• If gas does not exhaust, proceed to the next step.

Issued: 15 Apr 2005 Revised: 23 Dec 2014 Effective: 26 Mar 2009 Page 3 of 5

UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED. PRAXAIR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL. RESTRICTED FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY.
Worldwide Standards and Documents Packaged Gases Standard W.PG-01.690

3.13.16 Pressure Relief Device (PRD) Removal Procedure, if the valve is equipped with a PRD:

WARNING: A PRD plug (or cap) blown from a cylinder under pressure can cause
serious injury if it strikes someone directly or after ricocheting off a hard surface.
Special precautions must be taken for flammable or toxic cylinders with blocked
valves. Discuss the procedure to follow for these products with plant supervision

• Point the PRD retainer plug (or cap) toward a piece of corkboard or other soft material so that
if the threads strip and the plug blows out, it embeds itself in the material, without striking
anyone.
• Loosen the PRD retainer plug (or cap) slowly.
• As soon as leakage occurs, stop loosening the plug. Let the cylinder drain until empty.
• If no leakage occurs, proceed with the next step.

WARNING: Do not remove the plug while gas is leaking from the cylinder.

• Remove the retainer plug and bursting disk assembly.

• Stand 90 degrees to the direction that the pressure relief device outlet is facing and inject low
pressure nitrogen into the pressure relief device opening.
• If no nitrogen can be injected, replace the pressure relief disk and retainer and mark the
cylinder with a paint stick to show that it contains pressure.
• Notify your supervisor and hold the cylinder until you are advised what to do with it.

NOTES: The most frequent causes of blocked valves are :

1. Stripping of the T-slot for the valve spindle.
2. Failure of the tang, e.g., in the Sherwood-Selpac and Superior valves.
3. Nylon seat material becoming jammed in the seat opening.
4. Jamming of the needle into the seat when the spring on a diaphragm type valve
has broken.
5. Foreign material.

WARNING: Never remove broken spindles by injecting nitrogen into the valve outlet
after the gland and carrier have been removed. After venting all pressure from the
cylinder, you can remove broken spindles by tapping on the valve with a hammer and
pulling on the spindle at the same time.

Issued: 15 Apr 2005 Revised: 23 Dec 2014 Effective: 26 Mar 2009 Page 4 of 5

UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED. PRAXAIR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL. RESTRICTED FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY.
Worldwide Standards and Documents Packaged Gases Standard W.PG-01.690

4. Recommendations
None

5. References
W.PG0-1.130, Cylinder Neck Threads, Tapered
W.PG-01.450, Acetylene Cylinder Venting
W.PG-01.600, Cylinder Valves and Valve Operation
W.PG-01.608, Backflow Prevention (BFP) and Residual Pressure (RPV) Cylinder Valves
W.PG-01.612, High Pressure Steel Cylinder Valving
W.PG-01.695, Internal Cylinder Inspection
W.PG-02.015, Cylinder Venting and Draining
W.PG-03.280, Cylinder Valving Machines

Compressed Gas Association (CGA)

P-38, Guidelines For Devalving Cylinders

European Industrial Gas Association (EIGA)

IGC Doc129/05/E Dealing with containers with blocked or inoperable valves
Safety Info 18/04 Devalving Cylinders

Revisions
Date Author Description
15 Apr 2005 Shaun LaGrange Issued.
23 Dec 2014 Shaun LaGrange Issued in the WSD Library. No content changes.

Issued: 15 Apr 2005 Revised: 23 Dec 2014 Effective: 26 Mar 2009 Page 5 of 5

UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED. PRAXAIR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL. RESTRICTED FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY.