LPG Gas Cylinders - Expiry Dates

Received an email from a collegue, Mr. Lee Gim Leong, from Bukit Mertajam, Penang. A very useful infromation which I would like to share it over here. Please take a bit of your time to read through.

LPG Gas Cylinders - Beware of Expiry Dates
Dear friends, You may want to let your maids know as well when they receive the gas cyclinder from the vendor next time..
This is really very good information for all of us to remember. Please check your household gas tank cylinder as soon as possible.Knowing the uncouth characters we have to deal with, you should never be surprised that they will continue to use old tanks, though they will also tell youthat they get their supplies in the tanks now sold to us. Insist on newer tanks!
Do you know that LPG gas cylinders have expiry dates? Expired LPG cylinders are not safe for use and may cause accidents. In this regard, please be cautious at the time of accepting any LPG cylinder from your vendor.

Here is how we can check on the expiry of LPG cylinders: On one of three side stems of the cylinder, the expiry date is coded alpha numerically as follows: A or B or C or D and some two digit number following this, e.g. D06. The alphabets stand for quarters -

1. A for March (first quarter),
2. B for June (second quarter),
3. C for September (third quarter), &
4. D for December (fourth quarter).
The digits stand for the year till it is valid. Hence D06 would mean December quarter of 2006. Please return back the cylinder that you get with an expired date. They are prone to leaks and other hazards .

This second example of D13 allows the cylinder to be in use until December 2013.