What are the UK regulations for transporting compressed CO2?

Question

I'm about to upgrade to cornelius kegs and have located a retailer that will sell the public "pub gas" in 6.35Kg cylinders.

What are the UK regulations for transporting this in my car? Do I need to purchase one of the green diamond, compressed gas, warning labels to stick on my car? These are usually 10cm x 10 cm - is this the minimum permitted size?

I have seen 3 wording varieties of the green diamonds warning labels:

• compressed gas
• non-flammable compressed gas
• non-flammable non-toxic compressed gas

Are all of these within the regulations?

Finally, being a newcomer to transporting gas, what is the safest way to transport it in a standard saloon type car (e.g. the boot, back seat, upright in the passenger seat, doesn't matter)?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

I'm not entirely sure on the UK regulations, but in general, I think those are intended for commercial transportation of compressed gases. I did find this which, bear in mind, is a few years old.

I know that in the US people drive around with compressed air (SCUBA shops) and compressed oxygen (people on oxygen) without any warning signs on their cars, and those are a lot more dangerous than CO2.

As for safe transport, just make sure it's not rolling around and that the neck is clear from any danger. For scuba I use something like this foam tank rack. You could easily get some foam and cut one for your tank.

Answer 2

I found BCGA Guidance for drivers at work which, following the flow chart in Appendix 1 Part 2, shows that there are no specific requirements for non-toxic, non-flammable gases in cylinders less than 25Kg.

Answer 3

I don't know the exact answer to your question, a quick google shows plenty of PDF files which might contain your answer. The easiest option is to just phone the HSE and enquire. I have another hobby that requires the transporting of explosives, but we are not required to put a warning sticker on the car, but we do need to get a POMSTER from the HSE to legally transport them.

There is this legislation, The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009, it's most likely directed at businesses though. It maybe that you can get away with nothing as you're doing it for personal use, or you may need to conform. Either way, I'd phone the HSE to find out for definite.

Edit: I should also add that my other hobby can entail the use of NO2 and O2, I can't remember ever having seen a warning sticker on the car that brought the cylinders with them...