Fast and reliable access to medical gases is crucial for ambulance crews responding to life-threatening emergencies.

Over the past 15 years, medical gas cylinder technology has made significant strides, with modern lightweight carbon composite cylinders offering life-saving benefits to paramedics, patients, and healthcare trusts. In this blog, we’ll detail the various ways that Type 3 lightweight carbon composite cylinders are increasingly vital for ambulance crews.

Benefits of Carbon Fibre Cylinders 

Medical gas cylinders for ambulances come in various materials and constructions, classified as ‘Types.’ These include Type 1 (steel or aluminium), Type 2 (aluminium with limited carbon fibre wrapping), and Type 3 (fully carbon composite wrap with an aluminium liner).

While many ambulances still use older Type 1 and Type 2 cylinders, upgrading to Type 3 carbon composite cylinders can provide substantial improvements in weight savings, increased capacity, practical performance, and overall value.

Lighter and More Portable 

AMS composite cylinders are the lightest available on the market, with weight savings of over 35% compared to Type 2 aluminium cylinders.

For large 10L oxygen and N2O/O2 mixture cylinders in ambulances, this can translate to weight savings of around 5 kg or more per cylinder. This reduction is crucial for paramedics, as it keeps the weight of the medical bag down, enabling them to carry more equipment and respond swiftly in high-pressure emergencies.

The lightweight nature of carbon composite cylinders enables ambulance crews to move more efficiently, especially in confined spaces or challenging terrain. Those saved seconds could be critical in emergency situations, helping ambulance crews treat patients more quickly.

50% More Capacity 

Opting for higher-pressure carbon composite cylinders can increase the gas-carrying capacity of ambulances without resorting to bigger cylinders. AMS composite cylinders are filled to 300 bar pressure, providing 50% more capacity than 200 bar cylinders of the same size.

This gives the paramedics and patients longer access to treatment, minimising the risk of running out of gas or swapping cylinders during transport or treatment. The increased capacity leads to significant cost savings for ambulance trusts as it reduces the need to refill and switch out cylinders as often.

Extending Lifespan with Reduced Testing 

Many carbon composite gas cylinders need to be retired after they hit their limited lifespan (usually 15 years). Additionally, most cylinders require retesting every 5 years, leading to downtime.

In contrast, AMS cylinders have a Non-Limited Life (NLL) and can be used indefinitely provided they pass periodic retesting. AMS offers testing every 10 years, reducing operational disruptions and lifetime costs.

Enhanced Safety and Hygienic Performance 

AMS carbon composite cylinders offer higher hygiene standards than aluminium ones. Their smooth composite finish is easier to clean, helping limit infections within ambulances.

Additionally, integrated labels beneath the coating provide clear information for crews, minimising the chance of crews using the wrong cylinder in high-pressure situations. AMS Composite Cylinders meet a wide range of ISO and EN safety standards across America, Canada and the UK, providing peace of mind to ambulance crews and patients alike.

AMS Composite Cylinders: The Trusted Choice 

AMS medical oxygen cylinders are trusted by ambulance and emergency first response services worldwide for their lightweight design, enhanced safety, and reliability.

Performance and Safety Standards 

AMS Composite Cylinders prioritise performance and safety. Our durable, high-performance cylinders offer high-pressure (300 Bar) and NLL (Non-Limited Life) performance. They are accredited for use worldwide – holding a wide range of quality assurance accreditations, including ISO 11119-2, UN-TPED Pi, DOT (USA) and TC (Canada).

About AMS Composite Cylinders

At AMS Composite Cylinders, we specialise in supplying high-quality gas cylinders and oxygen cylinders to a wide variety of industries around the world – with Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 cylinders available in standard and custom sizes for a full range of healthcare and homecare applications.

Supplying clients across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, we produce cylinders to a wide range of recognised global standards, holding accreditations in all major markets worldwide.

AMS Composite Cylinders Manufacturers to ISO and EN Standards (including ISO-11119-2, ISO 11119-1, EN 12245, EN 12257, ISO 7666, and ISO 11118) and the requirements of UN PED/TPED, DOT (USA) and TC (Canada). Cylinders hold Rho ρ marking for the UK.

Please contact us today for additional information about AMS Composite Cylinders or to order.