Economics of LPG

[herald_400rl]

Our gas has ran out (2 x 6Kg Calor bottles) and we're looking at £56 (£4.67 per Kg) for both replaced with full. I don't know how full the bottles were when we bought MH but we have been off-grid for 10 nights total and we run the fridge on gas, use the oven, hob and even the heating once or twice (not recently!). We've done a few nights on hook-up too with hob/oven use.

A conversion to LPG is about £550 for the biggest sensible tank I could fit which is 60L useable and 30Kg of useable gas. That's about £50 to fill for 30Kg (£1.67 per Kg).

If my math be right we use about 1Kg-ish a night average (a lot?). It would take 183 nights to break even... which for us is about 3/4 years... one benefit I might have is gaining the gas locked back but its a relatively expensive venture.

Would this be foolish?

 

[bigtwin]

The main benefit of Gaslow (refillables) isn’t the economics, it’s the convenience and availability (particularly if you venture over to the continent).

Get it done.

Ian

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

No. In a word. Why don't you have a look at refillables, like gaslow. You could start off with 1 bottle plus x1 calor. Keep topping it up as you go. We have 2 x6kg gaslow and it's only very rarely that we use one bottle completely..

 

[herald_400rl]

The main benefit of Gaslow (refillables) isn’t the economics, it’s the convenience and availability (particularly if you venture over to the continent).

Get it done.

Ian

Just Googled (other search engines sre available) refillable gaslow and that's another option, they look like normal bottles but you can fill them directly?? That would reduce the cost to about £450... I think for that I would maybe prefer the bigger tank underslung.

Is the closing of LPG stations causing anyone any pain yet?

 

[DBK]

Our gas has ran out (2 x 6Kg Calor bottles) and we're looking at £56 (£4.67 per Kg) for both replaced with full. I don't know how full the bottles were when we bought MH but we have been off-grid for 10 nights total and we run the fridge on gas, use the oven, hob and even the heating once or twice (not recently!). We've done a few nights on hook-up too with hob/oven use.

A conversion to LPG is about £550 for the biggest sensible tank I could fit which is 60L useable and 30Kg of useable gas. That's about £50 to fill for 30Kg (£1.67 per Kg).

If my math be right we use about 1Kg-ish a night average (a lot?). It would take 183 nights to break even... which for us is about 3/4 years... one benefit I might have is gaining the gas locked back but its a relatively expensive venture.

Would this be foolish?

Forget the economics. Go for a fixed tank and enjoy not having to lug bottles about again. Refillable bottles are a fudge although they do the job.

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[Two on Tour]

Going over to refillable is a no brainer in my eyes, we have had payback several times over for our underslung tank and the ease of filling when abroad.

 

[Two on Tour]

Is the closing of LPG stations causing anyone any pain yet?

Never had a problem yet, just plan ahead and top up on route rather than get so low that you have to search and go out of your way.

 

[herald_400rl]

Seems an overwhelming consensus, thanks all

 

[tonyidle]

I'd have a refillable system (Gaslow or tank) just for convenience. Cheaper gas is a bonus but not humping bottles wins for me.

 

[Badknee]

If you stop in the U.K. you pay absolute top dollar for Calor. If you venture over the ditch you can’t get Calor. Refillable is the way to go.

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[tinkertaylor]

Is the closing of LPG stations causing anyone any pain yet?

Ulez zones are pricing out cheap (old diesel ) cars. In the cities that have Ulez zones, cheap cars, that are compliant, are petrol. Petrol isn't efficient(or cheap) but it's easy to convert to lpg and that's what's happening around city centers , taxi drivers are leading the charge towards lpg and lpg stations are opening around these centers.

Is Ulez going away? No.
Is Ulez going to move into more cities and towns? Yes.

Is Lpg going to disappear?.........

Be ahead of the curve , not 2 years behind it.

 

[MisterB]

As an alternative have you considered reducing your need for gas by adding a large lithium power bank? Upfront cost is high BUT it costs nothing for refills !! (Well almost)
We can use ours for heating water, cooking etc and we have reduced our gas needs down to a minimum ( so you could just keep one cylinder ?)
Our only real need for gas is when off grid for the fridge. If we truly got our act together and invested we could be virtually gas free, but to go that far would be far to expensive to justify the cost.
.

 

[bigtwin]

refillable gaslow and that's another option, they look like normal bottles but you can fill them directly??

If what you mean by ‘directly’ is can you take the loose bottle(s) to the filling station then I’d advise against it; it sends completely the wrong message and there’s a fair chance you’d be refused.

They do look like normal bottles but an important difference is that they contain overfill protection. When fitted to your vehicle, they have a dedicated LPG filler nozzle fitting (the same as would be fitted for an underslung tank).

Ian

 

[Boringfrog]

I started with one new gaslow bottle and fittings, cost less then £200, bought a second hand bottle (well 2 actually and sold one) never looked back....

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Just Googled (other search engines sre available) refillable gaslow and that's another option, they look like normal bottles but you can fill them directly?? That would reduce the cost to about £450... I think for that I would maybe prefer the bigger tank underslung.

Is the closing of LPG stations causing anyone any pain yet?

Look for a second hand system, there are some gaslow on sale in classified.

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[herald_400rl]

As an alternative have you considered reducing your need for gas by adding a large lithium power bank? Upfront cost is high BUT it costs nothing for refills !! (Well almost)
We can use ours for heating water, cooking etc and we have reduced our gas needs down to a minimum ( so you could just keep one cylinder ?)
Our only real need for gas is when off grid for the fridge. If we truly got our act together and invested we could be virtually gas free, but to go that far would be far to expensive to justify the cost.
.

I thought about Lithium but due to the age we would need the battery, the charger, the B2B, etc... and we would be over 1k I think.

 

[MisterB]

I thought about Lithium but due to the age we would need the battery, the charger, the B2B, etc... and we would be over 1k I think.

It would def be around that figure, so it's not an option for everyone, but for those full timers and 'every weekend warriors' it can be cost effective especially as they don't need EHU

 

[Jo662]

We had 2 x Gaslow 11 kg bottles fitted when we bought our motorhome,and it’s without doubt the best upgrade we have done. Convenience Is the main reason we had it done,but we have also saved a lot of money.Been past our local Morrisons,and LPG is 79.9p at the moment

 

[RogerIvy]

When we changed our fridge from absorption to compressor our gas consumption fell off a cliff. After ten days of touring we used hardly any.

 

[denisejoe]

We did a month in France with 2 full gaslow bottles refilled after coming back and a couple of weekends away as well, we never emptied the first so just under 20 lts

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[10tenmen]

Just filled up my 2 x 6kg gaslow bottles took 18 litre, to fill from empty they hold 23 litres cost was £20. To purchase a calor refill exchange bottle is average £30-£40 So x 2 is £60-£80:Far cheaper for me with refillable

 

[MattR]

The things I like about our refillable a bottles is the ability to top up when we want and the price of the gas. We previously had a smaller van and got to the stage when we would have to take 2 small bottles on a trip becuae person the first would probably empty during the truth is but might not... The second tank was for use if required. It became a guessing game as to whether the tank would last. Now we told him up as and when we think we need a bit and the price is good.

 

[VXman]

No. In a word. Why don't you have a look at refillables, like gaslow. You could start off with 1 bottle plus x1 calor. Keep topping it up as you go. We have 2 x6kg gaslow and it's only very rarely that we use one bottle completely..

We do this. 6kg calor just as a back up, although we have never needed it. 1 X 11kg Gaslow about £200. Refill every 2 weeks in the summer hen travelling. No need for 60L.

 

[Lenny HB]

We did a month in France with 2 full gaslow bottles refilled after coming back and a couple of weekends away as well, we never emptied the first so just under 20 lts

One of our 14 kg (28lt) bottles lasts us 15 days.

 

[Aji]

If whatu you mean by ‘directly’ is can you take the loose bottle(s) to the filling station then I’d advise against it; it sends completely the wrong message and there’s a fair chance you’d be refused.

They do look like normal bottles but an important difference is that they contain overfill protection. When fitted to your vehicle, they have a dedicated LPG filler nozzle fitting (the same as would be fitted for an underslung tank).

Ian

What do you mean by sending out the wrong message?

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[scotjimland]

I have a 12v compressor fridge and a Webasto diesel heater .. hardly use any gas.. been using a 6kg Calor bottle for over a year now.. including 6 weeks in France, and many weekend trips..
My motto is KISS , keep it simple, we don't use any 240v appliances, so no need for a battery killer inverter and big battery bank, just two 100ah FLAs and two x 80watt solar panels, they run the fridge and all the 12v power we need..

 

[bigtwin]

What do you mean by sending out the wrong message?

There are plenty of chancers trying to fill up non-refillable loose bottles using questionable adapters purchased from e-bay. Those chancers will result in sanctions that will be detrimental to all users with properly installed systems. Consequently, IMHO, anyone going to a filling station with loose bottles (refillable or not) rather than a properly fitted refillable system are likely to accelerate that process.
The station attendant will be unaware of the differences between a legitimate bottle and an unsuitable (illegal?) bottle and thus will be reporting increased incidence of questionable practices. If it’s anyone’s intent to use refillables for their van then it’s advisable to get them properly installed.

Ian

 

[herald_400rl]

One of our 14 kg (28lt) bottles lasts us 15 days.

Our usage is about right then, thanks!

 

[herald_400rl]

We do this. 6kg calor just as a back up, although we have never needed it. 1 X 11kg Gaslow about £200. Refill every 2 weeks in the summer hen travelling. No need for 60L.

The only reason I said 60L is the cost for an underslung tank, price difference between say 20L and 60L is about £40 which is a small percentage of the total cost.

 

[Wh05apk]

An added benefit of gas low, is that they can be easily and cheaply switched between vans if you are thinking of changing.

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