SGS : Gas Appliances – Successfully Accessing Your Market

In 2015, the United Kingdom's Office of National Statistics reported 53 accidental carbon monoxide poisonings.ⁱ The risks associated with gas appliances range from carbon monoxide poisoning to explosions.

The inherent risks associated with using gas are that it is flammable, poisonous, invisible, odorless, silent, and it can't be stopped. Around the world, authorities have introduced a wide range of regulations to protect consumers and their property.

Gas appliances refers to a wide range of consumer products associated with the domestic and commercial market. Part of the attraction comes from the functionality associated with gas - it is cleaner that traditional fires, more responsive that electrical heating and cooking elements, and is easy to use.

In the domestic and commercial environment, gas is used both indoors and outdoors for a wide range of uses, including:

• Indoors - hobs, heaters, ovens, absorption refrigerators, water heaters, etc.
• Outdoors - grills, gas stoves, camping stoves, firepits, boiling burners, etc.

Safety Regulations

To protect their citizens, authorities around the world have introduced regulations to ensure gas appliances are safe to use. In addition to standards dedicated to indoor and outdoor equipment, some regions have also introduced regulatory standards associated with components, such as manually operated valves and automatic shut-off valves.

Without a single international standard covering all gas appliances, it is important for manufacturers and suppliers to understand the regulatory standards that apply in each region and for each type of gas appliance. In Europe, for example, there are different standards for each form of gas appliance - absorption fridges with EN 732 and outdoor gas heaters must comply with EN 509 and EN 14543. In South Africa, however, all gas appliances are covered by one standard - SANS 1539.

Testing

To ensure a product is safe and ready for use, it needs to be expertly tested against a wide variety of criteria. These will include tests on:

• Construction - stability, strength
• Soundness to check for leaks
• Heat input (Unit: kW, BTU)
• Ignition and flame cross-lighting
• Flame stability (Lift and light back)
• Ability to resist wind and rain
• Resistance of burner to overheating
• Combustion (CO/CO₂)
• NOx
• Atmosphere sensing - oxygen depletion test
• Temperature rise - including LPG cylinder
• Efficiency
• Sooting
• ErP
• Operating of flame supervision device
• Valve torsion & bending test
• Valve endurance test
• Elastomeric material resistance to lubricants and gas
• Regulator performance

SGS Solution

SGS experts have the technical and regulatory experience to help manufacturers and suppliers of gas appliances ensure their products are safe, efficient and conform to relevant regulations for their target market.

Our high-tech, fully-accredited gas laboratory in Shunde, Guangdong Province China, offers a wide variety of testing solutions. It has been accredited by CNAS and recognized by SGS Fimko, DBI, IAPMO, INMETRO, SPRING, SIRIM, GS and LPGSASA.

Our experts provide effective and efficient testing solutions to help manufacturers ensure their products comply with a wide variety of global regulatory standards associated with domestic gas appliances (table 1), outdoor gas appliances (table 2) and gas components (table 3). In addition, it can provide testing to standard EN1860-x for charcoal grill manufacturers entering the European market.

Table 1 - Domestic Gas Appliances

Gas Appliances		US	EU	AS	SASO	SA
Domestic gas appliances	Gas hob & gas oven	ANSI Z 21.1	EN 30 serials	AS 4551	SASO 167 SASO 168	SANS 1539
	Gas heater	---	EN 449 EN 461 EN 613 EN 14829	---	---	SANS 1539
	Absorption fridge	---	EN 732	AS 4555	---	SANS 1539
	Gas heated catering equipment	---	EN 203 serials	---	---	SANS 1539
	Gas water heater	ANSI Z 21.10.1 ANSI Z 21.10.3 ANSI Z 21.96	EN26 EN15502 (Gas boiler)	AS4552	---	SANS 1539

Table 2 - Outdoor Gas Appliances

Gas Appliances		US	EU	AS	SA
Outdoor gas appliances	Gas grill	ANSI Z 21.58 ANSI Z 21.89	EN 498 EN 484	AS 4557	SANS 1539
	Portable gas stove	---	EN 521	AS 2568	SANS 1539
	Gas outdoor heater	ANSI 83.7 ANSI 83.26	EN 509 EN14543	AS 4565	SANS 1539
	Gas boiling burner	---	EN 497	---	SANS 1539

Table 3 - Gas Components

Gas Appliances		US	AS
Gas component	Manually operated valve	EN 1106	AS4617
	Manually operated valve with Flame supervision device	EN 126 EN125	AS4620 AS4622
	Automatic shut-off valve	EN161	---
	Gas regulator	EN16129	AS 4618 AS4620
	Gas hose	EN16436-1	AS/NZS 1869

With faulty gas appliances presenting a potentially deadly risk to consumers, it is important to ensure they are safe and comply with relevant rules for the target marketplace. SGS has the know-how and experience to help you successfully gain access to your markets.

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For more information, please contact:

Snow Zhang
Testing Engineer & Technical, Hardlines
SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services Co., Ltd.
t: [phone]

Source

ⁱ Office of National Statistics article: Number of deaths from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning