BS 1710 - The British Way of Marking Pipes

BS 1710 stands for British Standard 1710. This is a framework legislated in 1984 that specifies how pipelines, ducting and electrical conduits should be labelled. The labels and tapes provide a visual identifier to warn of the risks and dangers of the release of pipeline contents and to prevent accidents and injuries from any such release. 

BASIC IDENTIFICATION COLOURS

BS 1710 gives specific guidelines on the colours of pipeline labelling. Pipelines may be labelled with multiple colours in specific patterns, or they may be labelled with a single colour know as the 'basic identification colour'.

Although there are dozens of different categories of pipeline contents, there are distinct categories of conduits that share the same basic identification colour:

WATER MARKING

WATER PIPELINE TAPE

DRINKING WATER FLOW LABEL

WATER FLOW TAPE

The dark laurel identification colour is used for pipes that contain water of any use. This includes, amongst others, drink water, boiler water, central heating water and fire extinguishing water. 

BS Colour: 12 D 45
HEX Colour: #6A6C3C
RGB Colour: 106; 108; 60

OIL & FUEL MARKING

OIL PIPELINE TAPE

OIL FLOW LABEL

The saddle brown brown colour is used to indicate the presence of oils or fuel, such as diesel, lubricating oil, and hydraulic power oil.

BS Colour: 06 C 39
HEX Colour: #72503B
RGB Colour: 114; 80; 59

GAS & REFRIGERANTS