Tetrosyl leads UK car care industry as new regs put the pressure on fuel cans
Tetrosyl, the largest manufacturer of car care products in Europe, is leading the way in the UK market as fuel containers come under closer scrutiny from the Health and Safety Executive.
Tetrosyl, the largest manufacturer of car care products in Europe, is leading the way in the UK market as fuel containers come under closer scrutiny from the Health and Safety Executive.
The Petroleum (Consumables) Regulations 2014 came into effect on 1 October 2014 and covers a wide range of factors, such as safety tests, size, labelling and materials – criteria which Tetrosyl already met.
Matt Neary, product manager, says Tetrosyl has welcomed the tighter regulations. ‘Every year, Tetrosyl sells around 750,000 fuel containers under the CarPlan brand across the world, and our current range complies with the new regulations, and in some areas exceeds them,’ explains Neary.
‘Furthermore, until the limitations, raised by the HSE, concerning anti-spill spouts have been resolved, we will continue to supply our cans with our well-proven technology. We are the only fuel can manufacturer that has developed different spouts for petrol and diesel vehicles – the same size used on forecourts – to prevent misfueling.’
Tetrosyl has cans for diesel, unleaded petrol, and leaded petrol – each one is colour-coded according to the type of fuel, again using the same colours used on forecourts. All of the cans are made from the same high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with the petrol cans being slightly thicker, required by the regulations, as petrol is much more volatile than diesel.
The new regulations have also allowed Tetrosyl to offer a new 10-litre petrol can, thanks to the legal maximum being doubled from five litres, which will be available in early 2015.
All of Tetrosyl’s plastic fuel cans are manufactured at the Heap Bridge blow-moulding plant in Bury, and are tested in-house to meet UK regulations, and sent to an independent body for UN approval.
In the UK, the cans must pass tests for:
- impact (drop), where the can is dropped from a height of 1.2 metres onto an unyielding surface
- tightness of closure, which tests the cap’s seal
- strength, which ensures no contents are lost under internal pressure
- permeability (plastic petrol containers only), which ensures, even at 75°C, no more than 5g of fuel is lost over a four-hour period
- stress cracking, which ensures the container stays intact with no leakage under internal pressure.
Tetrosyl currently offers plastic cans designed for diesel, unleaded and leaded petrol, as well as a 20-litre metal Jerry can for any type of fuel.
For more information on the Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014 (PCR), view the full document here: www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/portabable-petrol-storage-containers.pdf
