Mobile Catering Gas Safety Advice for Street Food Caterers |
Gas Appliances | Gas Cylinders | |
Before you buy any new gas equipment, make sure it has a flame failure device fitted and that it is set up to run on LPG. Natural gas appliances must be converted to LPG using a conversion kit supplied by the manufacturer. If you buy a fryer, make sure it has both a thermostat and an overheat thermostat fitted.
|
Keep your LPG bottles outside, standing up, strapped in, and away from any heat source or drain. They must sit on a level, flat surface and be secured so they cannot fall over. An 'empty' cylinder is not empty - it is still full of gas. The pressure inside has simply dropped to match the air pressure outside, and gas only flows when the pressure inside is higher than the pressure outside. Once the two equalise the gas stays where it is. Same amount of gas in the bottle; it just has no reason to come out.
| |
Visual Check | Checking For A Leak | |
Give your hoses and regulator a quick look before you fire up. If anything looks worn or cracked, replace it. Make sure hose connections are crimped - jubilee clips should not be used. Braided hoses give better protection against general wear than standard orange flexible LPG hose.
|
Use leak detector spray, never a lighter. Every time you swap a bottle, leak-test where the regulator joins the bottle - this is where most leaks happen. Spray it and watch: bubbles mean trouble. Turn the bottle off and refit the regulator, and if the leak still persists, replace the regulator.
| |
Staff Training | CO and Flame Colour | |
All catering staff involved in the use of LPG need to be trained in how to use it and how to carry out visual checks for faults before use. Train staff on emergency shutdown procedures and how to safely isolate the gas flow. It is worth running a short LPG safety briefing for new team members - it takes minutes but can prevent serious accidents. |
Headache, dizziness or feeling sick can mean carbon monoxide. Turn off the gas, get into fresh air and get help. Sooty pots are not a sign of seasoning, they are a warning sign: black soot on the bottom of your pans means your burner is producing carbon monoxide. Stop using it and get a Gas Safe registered engineer to look at it. A lazy yellow or orange flame instead of a crisp blue one is the same warning sign. Carbon monoxide can poison you, so it is time to call an engineer.
| |
Annual Gas Safety Check | Fire Safety | |
Treat your kit to a yearly check with a Gas Safe registered engineer, and keep the certificate on the stall for when the event organiser asks to see it. |
Keep a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket within grabbing distance - not buried under the napkins, and not behind the cash box. ABC type extinguishers are recommended. Staff should be trained in the use of extinguishers and what each one is for. If there is a fire near the bottles, warn the people around you, get everyone well away and call 999 - tell them there are LPG cylinders on site.
| |
Gas Safety | LPG Supplier Emergency Numbers | |
Smell gas? Turn off the bottle, put out any flames and get people back. If it does not clear, ring your gas supplier's emergency line. |
Calor Great Britain |
03457 444 999 |
| Flogas Great Britain | 03457 200 100 |