Abstract: A lower portion of a shell is slidable along the length of the body of a gas cylinder, the upper portion of the shell is larger than the lower portion and includes a wall extending fixedly from the lower portion configured to laterally surround the valve, gauge and regulator on an end of the gas cylinder and is movable with the lower portion so that it can movably extend over the body of the cylinder. In another design, a rigid shield is mounted on a bar so that it extends over a periphery of the valve, gauge and regulator group that is mounted on an end of the gas cylinder to protect the group against damage by a foreign object when the cylinder is pressed into spaced apart brackets on the bar that prevent rotation of the cylinder around the bar, by a belt around the cylinder and bar. At least one of the brackets is configured to receive a second cylinder.