2015 NFPA 54

Top 3 Areas Of Concern for Marketers

from Butane-Propane News - Daryl Lubinsky

Overpressure Protection
 

The first major revision applies to the overpressure protection requirements, which have been completely rewritten to focus on systems that are truly within the scope of the code, mostly residential and commercial low-pressure fuel gas piping systems, said Denise Beach, senior engineer for NFPA.

As the propane industry moves more toward 2-psi piping systems, propane appliances are still being designed for a water column of 14 inches or less. Overpressure protection is intended to safeguard those appliances that would malfunction if 2-psi gas reaches the appliance shut-off or burners. In the event of a total failure of the regulator, the required overpressure protection limits the downstream pressure to something that the appliance can handle.

The new requirements, section 5.9, focus on systems in which gas is delivered at a pressure greater than 2 psi, and in which the appliances downstream of the regulator must operate at less than 2 psi. NFPA provides different options on how to accomplish that overpressure protection, on where it must be installed, and on the limit of the downstream pressure. Some appliances, but not all, have built-in safety features that will enable them to operate safely at 2 psi. The NFPA 54 committee is looking to ensure that if the line pressure regulator responsible for stepping down 2 psi to the appliance pressure fails, the downstream pressure will not result in a hazard at the appliance.

"The new requirements provide several compliance options, including a pressure-relief device, two regulators in a series, or a monitoring regulator," Beach noted.

Corrosion Protection
 

The section on corrosion protection of piping, which the committee also completely rewrote, is a second substantive revision that will have a direct impact on propane marketers. These requirements will be more familiar to propane marketers because they mirror requirements in the 2014 edition of NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code. But the new requirement, 7.1.3, states that if steel piping is buried, the piping must be protected by either a factory-applied coating or a cathodic protection system. Those cathodic protection system requirements are basically the same as existing requirements in NFPA 58.

Beach noted that section 7.1.3.1 is a new paragraph stating that galvanizing (zinc coating) is not adequate corrosion protection for underground piping. The problem is that zinc is a sacrificial alloy, she explained, and will corrode before the steel will corrode.

"However, we don't require any periodic inspections of underground piping, so you have no way of knowing when the zinc has corroded and the steel is starting to corrode," she said. "You can still use galvanized steel piping, but you would still have to protect it by some other means, either a factory installed coating or cathodic protection system. So that could make a difference to some marketers." To clear up a point of confusion that she sees among some in the propane industry, she emphasized that the outlet of the final-stage pressure regulator is the point of delivery for NFPA 54. If an integral two-stage regulator is installed at the tank, all of that outdoor piping is under the scope of NFPA 54.
 

Another segment that the committee completely rewrote and that Beach focused on are the requirements for bonding and grounding of corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST). The new text states that the bonding jumper, which she explained is a wire connected to a bonding clamp that connects the piping system to the house grounding panel and transmits any errant electrical current directly to the ground, cannot exceed 75 feet in length. But it can be connected anywhere along the piping system. The new bonding and grounding requirements are the direct result of an industry-sponsored research project, documented on the NFPA 54 website, www.nfpa.org/54.

Bunsen Burners

In other news related to the latest version of NFPA 54, the committee added a specific requirement for Bunsen burners used in laboratories and educational facilities. Section 9.6.3 permits Bunsen burners to be connected to the gas system by an unlisted hose.

Beach explained the long process involved for new NFPA codes to be adopted. For NFPA 54, the committee meets twice, including a first draft meeting to address public input or proposals made against the document. The first draft meeting for the 2015 edition of NFPA 54 took place in 2012. After completion of the first draft, the public had another opportunity to make comments on the committee's changes, and that second draft meeting for the 2015 version of NFPA 54 took place in June 2013. The NFPA standards council issued the document in August 2014. She noted that the first draft meeting for the 2017 edition of NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, took place this past October.
 

The 2015 edition of NFPA 54, released in August, is available for sale by contacting NFPA or through its website at www.nfpa.org.  -Daryl Lubinsky, BPN

Reprinted with the permission of Butane-Propane News.