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Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety

For workers who move, store and use compressed gas cylinders, especially oxygen and fuel gas for welding and cutting: move and store cylinders safely, place them away from heat and electricity, open and connect them correctly, handle leaks, and check hose and torches.

Based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926.350 (construction gas welding and cutting) and 29 CFR 1910.101 (general industry compressed gases) · about 7 min read

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Moving cylinders

Caps on, valves closed, cylinders upright

Which rule? The rules quoted in this course come from the construction standard, 29 CFR 1926.350. In general industry, 29 CFR 1910.101(b) requires the in-plant handling, storage and use of compressed gases in cylinders to follow Compressed Gas Association Pamphlet P-1-1965, and 29 CFR 1910.253 has its own rules for oxygen-fuel gas welding cylinders.

Before you move a cylinder

Close the cylinder valve. Also close it when work is finished and when the cylinder is empty.
Remove the regulator and put the valve protection cap on, unless the cylinder is firmly secured on a special carrier made for this.
The valve protection cap must be in place and secured.

Moving it

Tilt and roll it on its bottom edge. Never intentionally drop it, strike it, or let cylinders strike each other violently.
Never use the valve protection cap to lift a cylinder from one vertical position to another.
On a powered vehicle, secure cylinders in a vertical position.
To hoist, secure cylinders on a cradle, slingboard or pallet. Never hoist or transport them with magnets or choker slings.

Frozen cylinder?

Do not pry it loose with a bar under the valve or cap. Use warm, not boiling, water to thaw it.

Upright at all times. Cylinders must be secured upright, except for short periods if necessary while they are actually being hoisted or carried.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(5) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(6) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(8) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(9) · 29 CFR 1910.101(b) · 29 CFR 1910.253

Storing cylinders

Where cylinders are kept

Oxygen apart from fuel gas

Oxygen cylinders in storage must be separated from fuel-gas cylinders and combustible materials (especially oil or grease) by either:

DistanceA minimum of 20 feet (6.1 m)

BarrierA noncombustible barrier at least 5 feet (1.5 m) high with a fire-resistance rating of at least one-half hour

The general industry welding standard, 29 CFR 1910.253(b)(4)(iii), sets the same 20-foot or barrier rule for oxygen cylinders in storage.

Inside buildings

Store cylinders in a well-protected, well-ventilated, dry location, at least 20 feet from highly combustible materials such as oil or excelsior.
Storage places should be definitely assigned and away from elevators, stairs and gangways.
Assigned places must be where cylinders will not be knocked over or damaged by passing or falling objects, or tampered with by unauthorized persons.
Never keep cylinders in unventilated enclosures such as lockers and cupboards.

In storage, too, cylinders stay secured upright.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(10) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(11) · 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(9) · 29 CFR 1910.253(b)(4)(iii)

At the work

Keep cylinders away from heat, sparks and current

Setting up

Use a cylinder truck, chain or other steadying device so cylinders in use cannot be knocked over.
Keep cylinders far enough from the welding or cutting that sparks, hot slag or flame will not reach them. When that is impractical, fire resistant shields must be provided.
Place fuel gas cylinders valve end up whenever they are in use, and never where open flame, hot metal or other artificial heat can reach them.
Place cylinders where they cannot become part of an electrical circuit. Never strike an electrode against a cylinder to strike an arc.
Never take oxygen, acetylene or other fuel gas cylinders into confined spaces.

Treat them as pressure vessels, not tools

Never use a cylinder, full or empty, as a roller or support.
Only the gas supplier may mix gases in a cylinder. Only the owner or a person the owner authorizes may refill one.
Use the contents only for the purpose the supplier intended.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.350(a)(7) · 29 CFR 1926.350(b)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.350(b)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.350(b)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.350(b)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.350(c)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.350(c)(2)

At the work

Damaged cylinders stay out of use

Your employer must determine that the cylinders under its control are in a safe condition, to the extent a visual inspection can tell.

On a construction site the rule is short: no damaged or defective cylinder shall be used.

Good practice: look the cylinder over before you hook it up. If it looks damaged or defective, do not use it. Set it aside and tell your supervisor.

Reference: 29 CFR 1910.101(a) · 29 CFR 1926.350(c)(3)

Opening, connecting and leaks

Crack, open slowly, close before you disconnect

Your employer must thoroughly instruct you in the safe use of fuel gas. These are the steps the rule sets out.

Connecting

Crack the valve first: open it slightly and close it immediately before you connect the regulator. This is intended to clear the valve of dust or dirt that might otherwise enter the regulator.
When you crack it, stand to one side of the outlet, not in front of it.
Never crack a fuel gas valve where the gas would reach welding work, sparks, flame or other ignition sources.
Use fuel gas through a torch with shutoff valves only through a suitable regulator on the cylinder valve or manifold. Regulators and gauges must be in proper working order while in use.

Opening

Always open the cylinder valve slowly, to prevent damage to the regulator.
Open a fuel gas valve no more than 1 1/2 turns, so it can be closed quickly.
If a special wrench is needed, leave it on the valve stem while the cylinder is in use.
Put nothing on top of a fuel gas cylinder in use that could damage the safety device or slow closing the valve.

Disconnecting

Before you remove a regulator, close the cylinder valve and release the gas from the regulator.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.350(d) · 29 CFR 1926.350(d)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.350(d)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.350(d)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.350(d)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.350(h)

Opening, connecting and leaks

When a fuel gas cylinder leaks

Leak around the valve stemClose the valve and tighten the gland nut. If that does not stop it, stop using the cylinder, tag it and remove it from the work area.

Leak from the valve that cannot be shut offTag the cylinder and remove it from the work area. Exception: if a regulator attached to the valve effectively stops a leak through the valve seat, the cylinder need not be removed.

Leak at a fuse plug or other safety deviceRemove the cylinder from the work area.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.350(d)(5) · 29 CFR 1926.350(d)(6)

Hose, torches and oil

Check it every shift

Hose

Hose in use must be inspected at the beginning of each working shift. Defective hose is removed from service.
Oxygen and fuel gas hose must be easily told apart (by color or by feel) and not interchangeable. Never use a single hose with more than one gas passage.
When oxygen and fuel gas hose are taped together, tape may cover not more than 4 inches out of 12 inches.
Hose that went through a flashback or shows severe wear or damage must be tested to twice its normal pressure, and never less than 300 p.s.i. Defective hose, or hose in doubtful condition, is not used.
Keep hoses and cables clear of passageways, ladders and stairs.

Torches

Inspect torches in use at the beginning of each working shift for leaking shutoff valves, hose couplings and tip connections. Defective torches are not used.
Clean clogged tips with cleaning wires, drills or devices made for that purpose.
Light torches with a friction lighter or other approved device, never with matches or from hot work.

Oil and grease

Keep oxygen cylinders and fittings away from oil or grease. Do not handle cylinders, caps, valves, couplings, regulators, hose or apparatus with oily hands or gloves.
Never direct oxygen at oily surfaces or greasy clothes, or into a fuel oil or other storage tank or vessel.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.350(f)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.350(f)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.350(f)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.350(f)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.350(f)(7) · 29 CFR 1926.350(g)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.350(g)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.350(g)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.350(i)

Need proof of training? The full course (20 min) adds practice questions, a job scenario, the final quiz and a certificate your employer can verify.

Take the course

Sources

Fact-checked against the regulation text on October 09, 2026. This certificate records completion of awareness training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926.350(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (h) and (i), and 29 CFR 1910.101(a). It is not an OSHA card or license, and it does not by itself meet the instruction requirement of 29 CFR 1926.350(d). Your employer must still thoroughly instruct employees in the safe use of fuel gas as 1926.350(d) sets out. 29 CFR 1910.101 has no training paragraph; under 1910.101(a) your employer must determine that compressed gas cylinders under its control are in a safe condition to the extent that can be determined by visual inspection, with visual and other inspections conducted as 1910.101(a) prescribes.

This guide explains the rule in plain words. Always read the regulation itself and your employer's site-specific procedures.