Simple Pressure Vessels (Safety) Regulations 2016 (SPV(S)R)

SPV(S)R sets out 'essential requirements' (for example, for safety), written in general terms, which must be met before products are placed on the market in the UK. Standards fill in the detail and are the main way for businesses to meet the 'essential requirements'. The Regulations also say how manufacturers are to show that products meet the 'essential requirements'.

Products meeting the requirements are to be appropriately marked and carry the UKCA marking which should mean that they can be supplied in the UK, provided they are safe. CE marked products will continue to be accepted in Great Britain until 31st December 2022. For more information read Placing work equipment and machinery on the market after Brexit.

The Simple Pressure Vessels (Safety) Regulations 2016 has been subsequently amended by Schedule 21 of The Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

Simple pressure vessels have the following characteristics or limitations:

  • intended to contain air or nitrogen at a gauge pressure above 0.5 bar but less than or equal to 30 bar
  • not intended to be exposed to flame
  • manufactured in series, that is, more than one vessel of the same type is manufactured during a given period by the same continuous manufacturing processes, in accordance with a common design
  • of welded non-alloy steel or non-alloy aluminium construction or non-age hardening aluminium alloy
  • a maximum working pressure (PS) of not more than 30 bar, and a PS.V (the product of PS and the vessel's capacity expressed in litres) of not more than 10,000 bar.litres
  • a minimum working temperature of not lower than -50°C, and the maximum working temperature is not above 300°C for steel vessels and not above 100°C for aluminium or aluminium alloy vessels

Additionally, vessels consist of either of the following:

  • a cylindrical component with circular cross-section, closed at each end, each end either outwardly dished or flat and also co-axial with the cylindrical component
  • two co-axial outwardly dished ends

Exclusions

SPV(S)R does not apply:

  • where vessels are designed specifically for nuclear use, and where vessel failure might or would result in an emission of radioactivity
  • where vessels intended specifically for installation in, or for use as part of the propulsion system of, a ship (as defined in relevant merchant shipping legislation) or aircraft
  • for fire extinguishers

Schedule 1 of SPV(S)R details the essential safety requirements that qualifying vessels must satisfy. It also gives details of how the vessels should be categorised, the technical requirements to be satisfied, and the conformity assessment procedures to be followed.

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Updated: 2023-10-24