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Pressure Equipment Directive FAQs
Posted on November 3, 2009
6 months ago we published our free Process Engineers Guide to the Pressure Equipment
Directive. Since then the guide has been downloaded by readers from all around the
world. Many people have emailed us with further questions related to the PED or have
requested help with classifying fluids and categorising equipment, so, based on this feedback we
have compiled a list of frequently asked questions and answers to share this knowledge.
If you have more questions, please add them to the list.
1. Does the PED apply to vessels under vacuum?
2. How is a valve classified under the PED?
3. How is a heat exchanger classified under the PED?
4. How should a vessel that contains both a liquid and a gas be classified?
5. Can the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII be used to design pressure
vessel to comply with the PED?
6. Where can I find a list of notified bodies?
7. How do I classify a pressure accessory?
8. Is PED classification required if we already have ISO, API or ASME certification?
9. When is equipment required to carry CE marking?
10. Are all dangerous fluids classified as Group 1 fluids?
11. How should a mixture of fluids be classified?
12. Are replacements, repairs or modifications to pressure equipment covered by the PED?
13. Are pipes considered to be piping under the PED when they are placed on the market
as individual components?
14. Can you give some examples of pressure assemblies?
15. Is on site assembly of pressure equipment by the user covered by the PED?
16. How is the PED enforced in the UK, compared with national legislations in other EU
countries?
1. Rating: +3

Does the PED apply to vessels under vacuum?

Equipment with maximum allowable working pressures of less than 0.5 barg are exempt from
the Pressure Equipment Directive. Such equipment should be designed, built and tested to
appropriate standards but this equipment is not covered by the PED.
2. Rating: +6

How is a valve classified under the PED?

Valves are usually classified as pressure accessories. However, the PED category of a valve is
usually determined based on the valve nominal diameter in which case the classification
charts for piping can be used. If the valve has a significant internal volume, the classification
should be carried out using the classification charts for both piping and vessels and the higher
category selected.
3. Rating: +2

How is a heat exchanger classified under the PED?

Heat exchangers are generally considered to be pressure vessels. However, the following type
of heat exchanger is treated as piping:
Heat exchangers consisting of straight or bent pipes which may be connected to common
circular headers also made of pipe providing that air is the secondary fluid, they are used in
refrigeration systems, in air conditioning systems or in heat pumps and that the piping aspects
are predominant.
For more details see Guideline 2/4
4. Rating: +2

How should a vessel that contains both a liquid and a gas be classified?
The vessel should be classified on the basis of the fluid which requires the higher category.
The total volume of the vessel should be used to determine the category not the actual
volumes occupied by the individual fluids.
5. Rating: +1

Can the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII be used to design pressure
vessel to comply with the PED?
National standards and professional codes (including ASME VIII) can be used for the design
and manufacture of pressure equipment. However, a notified body may be required to validate
the selected approach if the equipment is categorised as Category II, III or IV.
See Guideline 9/5
6. Rating: -1

Where can I find a list of notified bodies?

A list of all EU approved notified bodies is given here: Notified Bodies
7. Rating: +1

How do I classify a pressure accessory?

A pressure accessory should be classified based on its characteristic dimension diameter or
volume. If both diameter and volume are relevant, the equipment should be classified
according to whichever gives the higher category.
For example, a valve is usually classified using diameter as the characteristic dimension
whereas a filter is usually classified using volume as the characteristic dimension.
8. Rating: -1

Is PED classification required if we already have ISO, API or ASME certification?

PED classification is required in addition to other certification.
9. Rating: -1

When is equipment required to carry CE marking?

The PED requires equipment that is classified as Category I, Category II, Category III and
Category IV to carry CE marking. Equipment classified as SEP must not carry CE marking.
10. Rating: -1

Are all dangerous fluids classified as Group 1 fluids?

No. Only fluids classified as:
Explosive
Extremely flammable
Highly flammable
Very toxic
Toxic
Oxidising
11. Rating: +2

How should a mixture of fluids be classified?

If a mixture of fluids contains at least one Group 1 fluid, the mixture should be classified as a
Group 1 fluid. The exception to this is if the safety datasheet for the mixture allows it to be
classified as a Group 2 fluid.
12. Rating: +2

Are replacements, repairs or modifications to pressure equipment covered by the PED?

Complete replacement of an item of pressure equipment by a new one is covered by the PED.
Repairs are not covered by the PED but may be covered by national regulations.
Pressure equipment that has been modified to change its original characteristics, purpose
and/or type after it has been put into service is covered by the PED.
13. Rating: +3

Are pipes considered to be piping under the PED when they are placed on the market
as individual components?
Individual piping components such as pipes, tubing, fittings, expansion bellows or other
pressure bearing components are not considered to be piping under the PED until they are
assembled into a system. However, a single pipe or system of pipes for a specific application
can be classed as piping under the PED if all appropriate manufacturing operations such as
bending, forming, flanging and heat treatment have been completed.
 On this basis, PED classification of general piping stock would not be carried out by the
piping supplier. The pipes and components would be classified by the organisation
responsible for the manufacture of the piping system.
14. Rating: +0

Can you give some examples of pressure assemblies?

Examples of pressure assemblies given in the PED guidelines include pressure cookers,
portable extinguishers, breathing apparatus, skid mounted systems, autoclaves; air
conditioner, compressed air supply in a factory, refrigerating system, shell boilers, water tube
boilers, distillation, evaporation or filtering units in process plants, oil heating furnaces.
15. Rating: -2

Is on site assembly of pressure equipment by the user covered by the PED?

Pressure equipment assembled on site under the responsibility of the user is not covered by
the PED. Usually the separate components of the system being assembled by the user such
as pressure vessels, valves, piping systems are covered by the PED. The completion of
pressure assemblies on site by the manufacturer is covered by the PED.
16. Rating: +0

How is the PED enforced in the UK, compared with national legislations in other EU
countries?
The PED is enforced in the UK by the Pressure Equipment Regulations 1999. These
regulations make compliance with the Pressure Equipment Directive a legal requirement in
the UK. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in prosecution and penalties on
conviction of a fine, imprisonment or both. Similar legislation has been enacted in all member
states of the European Economic Area.
The central purpose of the PED is to harmonise the national laws of the member states
regarding the design, manufacture, testing and conformity assessment of pressure equipment
and to remove technical barriers to trade. Therefore, compliance with the PED under any
member state's legislation entitles a manufacturer to sell pressure equipment throughout the
European Economic Area.

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