Standards · IS 1747:2023 · IS 7285 (Part 1):2018 · IS 3224:2021
IS 1747: the Indian Standard for nitrogen and the cylinder it comes in
Nitrogen in India is specified by IS 1747:2023, the second revision, covering compressed gas and liquid. It is filled into seamless steel cylinders to IS 7285 Part 1, valved to IS 3224, painted French grey with a black neck band under IS 4379, and requalified every 5 years under IS 8451.
- Gas specification
- IS 1747:2023
- Supersedes
- IS 1747:1972
- Cylinder construction
- IS 7285
- Cylinder identification
- French grey
- Periodic retest
- Every 5 years
What IS 1747 covers
IS 1747:2023, Nitrogen — Compressed Gas and Liquid, is the Indian Standard that specifies nitrogen as a product. It is the second revision: it replaced the 1972 edition, which had itself superseded IS 3551:1965.
One document covers both the compressed gas in a cylinder and the liquid in a vacuum vessel, which is worth knowing when you are writing a specification that might be met either way.
The wrong number that circulates
There is a persistent error in this trade worth naming: IS 1947 does not specify nitrogen. It is not a nitrogen standard at all — a search of the BIS catalogue returns nothing against that identifier, while IS 1747, IS 309, IS 307 and IS 1090 all return correctly.
The digits appear to have transposed at some point and the wrong number has been printed on real quotations. If you are checking a supplier’s paperwork and see IS 1947 against nitrogen, it is a mistake, not a different standard.
The standards that go with it
A gas specification on its own does not describe what arrives on your site. Four more apply:
| Standard | What it governs |
|---|---|
| IS 7285 (Part 1) | The seamless steel cylinder |
| IS 3224 | The valve — the standard for every industrial gas except LPG |
| IS 4379 | Identification: French grey, shade 630, with a black neck band |
| IS 8451 | Periodic inspection and hydrostatic retest, five-yearly |
The band is the whole point
Under IS 4379, compressed air is also French grey — and carries no neck band. Nitrogen carries a black one. On the paintwork alone, that band is the only thing between an inert gas and breathing air.
It is a smaller trap than the black oxygen/carbon dioxide pair, but it is the same class of problem, and it has the same answer: read the stamped marking on the shoulder. Colour tells you where to look. The stamping tells you what it is.
How KIGL fills it
Nitrogen is filled to IS 1747 at the Guwahati works, into cylinders built and requalified to the standards above, with the fill record and test date held against each cylinder’s own serial number.
We publish no headline purity figure here on purpose. Blanketing a storage tank, purging a pipeline before an acetylene plant starts, and feeding an analytical instrument are three different requirements, and quoting one number would mislead two of those three readers. Tell us the application and you will get the grade that suits it — see nitrogen gas for the supply detail.
IS 1747 — frequently asked questions
Which Indian Standard specifies nitrogen?
IS 1747. The current edition is IS 1747:2023, the second revision, titled Nitrogen — Compressed Gas and Liquid. It replaced the 1972 first revision, which in turn superseded IS 3551:1965. If a purchase specification in your file cites IS 1747:1972, it is citing a superseded edition — the number is right, the year is not.
Is there an IS 1947 for nitrogen?
No, and this is worth knowing because the wrong number is in circulation. IS 1947 does not specify nitrogen; searches of the BIS catalogue return nothing for it at all. The correct number is IS 1747. The digits appear to have drifted, and the mistake has been printed on quotations in this trade. If you see IS 1947 against nitrogen on any document, it is an error.
Why is a nitrogen cylinder grey with a black band?
Because IS 4379:1981 assigns French grey, shade 630, as the ground colour and adds a black neck band. The band matters: compressed air is also French grey and carries no band, so on the paintwork the band is the only thing separating nitrogen from air. As always, the stamped marking on the shoulder is the identification that counts, not the colour.
Does the same standard cover liquid nitrogen?
Yes — the title is Nitrogen, Compressed Gas and Liquid, so one specification covers both forms. What differs is everything around it: liquid nitrogen is not a cylinder product, it needs vacuum-insulated vessels, and the hazards are cold burns and oxygen displacement rather than pressure alone.
How often must a nitrogen cylinder be retested?
Every five years, hydrostatically, to IS 8451:2018 — the same interval as every other compressed gas in our range. Only dissolved acetylene is different, at two years, because its cylinders contain a porous mass and a solvent and are inspected to IS 8433 instead.
What purity does KIGL supply?
We fill nitrogen to the IS 1747 specification. The purity actually required varies a great deal by application — blanketing a tank is not the same as purging an instrument line — so tell us the use and we will confirm the grade rather than quote a headline figure that may be more or less than you need.
Enquiries
Request a quotation
State the gas or equipment, the quantity or capacity, and your location. KIGL will confirm the grade, the cylinder or plant size, and whether the location can be served from Noonmati, or through our agent network.