Gas on Ferry

[GaryW]

We are booked with DFDS Dover / Calais and was wondering about our gas.

Do we have to turn it off at the bottle for the crossing or can it be left turned on.

 

[motorhomer]

It should be turned off at the bottle.

On some crossings they do check.

 

[Snowbird]

I have travelled with DFDS many times and have never been asked to turn the gas off. Have never seen anyone else turn there's off either. It wont hurt if you do turn it off as the crossing is less than 2 hours. The choice is yours.

 

[motorhomelover]

i leave mine on to run freezer
never been asked in 10 years of crossing

i understand the euro tunnel is strict on gas
no LPG engine allowed on

 

[Mel]

DFDS is no problem.

Tunnel must be turned off

Used to be banned when it first started.

Mel

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[motorhomer]

The following is an extract from the DFDS terms and conditions:

"Carriage of gas bottles and petrol: a maximum of 47 kg gas bottles (disconnected and turned off) "

You MAY get away with it but it is a safety requirement and personally I do not think it does any of us any favours to ignore published regs there for good safety reasons. Accidents at sea may be rare but they do happen.

I agree it is often not checked but I was once checked in great detail on a dfds route to Denmark (in fact on that crossing the max amount of gas is limited to 2 11kg bottles)

 

[chaser]

Last time we went on tunnel , we were pulled out of line and checked

 

[GaryW]

The following is an extract from the DFDS terms and conditions:

"Carriage of gas bottles and petrol: a maximum of 47 kg gas bottles (disconnected and turned off) "

You MAY get away with it but it is a safety requirement and personally I do not think it does any of us any favours to ignore published regs there for good safety reasons.

If the regs say "turned off" then turned off it shall be.
After all it's only a 2 second job and i can see the safety reasons behind it.

That said what does the " disconnected " bit mean ?

 

[jaygee]

I have travelled with DFDS many times and have never been asked to turn the gas off. Have never seen anyone else turn there's off either. It wont hurt if you do turn it off as the crossing is less than 2 hours. The choice is yours.

US TOO:thumb:

 

[motorhomer]

Despite what I previously said I would admit to ignoring the "disconnected" bit! And when I was inspected by DFDS going to Denmark they were quite happy when I could demonstrate that they were fully turned off at the cylinder.

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[MikeD]

I am new to motorhomes and ferries but we have been checked every time.

But I do know that explosive, heavier than air gases and boats don't really get on that well together.:thumb:

 

[ukbill]

on the tunnel they check and the gas must be off i turned mine off once got to the other side parked up and crashed out for around 4 hours fridge and freezer was still ok and frozen so dont worry about 2 hrs

 

[capinpugwash]

It is interesting to read these posts, and funsters attitudes to gas on or off. I know we live in a health and safety culture, where the unachievable quest to eliminate all risk is uppermost in certain sectors, but I believe this comes under the heading of risk reduction.

Yes, gas is left on by some, while others re act to "getting caught" but for me I would rather be on a ferry that carries vans with the gas off rather than on.

When at sea the escape options are pretty limited, and getting off and running from a fire is not one of them.

I am not a health and safety nutter, I believe common sense is a far better guiding light, but I always turn my gas off when driving or on a ferry.

 

[Welsh girl]

We were on dfds ferries a month ago to come to France, we went to ask one of the ushers on and they were French, didn't have a clue what i was talking about but we turned it off anyway.
Just common sense i suppose.
We knew about the tunnel, having travelled with them before, they checked the bottles were off.

 

[John & Joan]

I turn my 85litre tank off on the dock side and leave the cover off so that it can be inspected.

Turn it on again at 2caps Aire and put the cover back on.

We travel by MyFerryLink.

John

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[WillH]

I was at one time a marine engineer and some of my service was spent on ferries. We required that gas was turned off for very good reason, it is much safer. I personally used to check the fridge vents of caravans and motorhomes as I passed through the car decks and would get a driver tannoyed if there was any exhaust heat from the fridge. A fridge working on gas has a naked flame and as such is banned by international shipping law.

Please turn your gas bottles off, it only takes a moment.

Rgds
Bill

 

[Minxy]

i leave mine on to run freezer never been asked in 10 years of crossing

i understand the euro tunnel is strict on gas no LPG engine allowed on

IMV you are irresponsible ... what gives YOU the right to put others at risk by ignoring the rules on such an important matter. :Angry:

On a purely self-serving level, if your gas system developed a fault and caused a fire, even if no-one was injured, do you think that your insurance company would pay out to you ... oh:

But to go one further, and not just leave your gas turned on but to be USING it too, well ... I'd better not say here what I think as I'll get banned! :Sad:

Why, you may ask, do I have such a strong view? Well, when you've had a 6ft blow torch in your MH due to a gas pipe coming apart which was connected to an external BBQ point (professionally fitted by the dealer) you'd understand - we had the gas turned off and had stopped for a cuppa so hubby had put the gas on then as he opened a cupboard to get a fresh carton of milk the leaking gas ignited and 'whoosh' we had a blow torch! Not fun I can assure you ... if we had had the gas turned on whilst travelling, or on a ferry, I don't think it would have been pretty!!!!

 

[ukbill]

who is wrong then you for not turning it off or the ferry staff for not checking it
i use the tunnel and they check it maybe they are less lazy than the ferry staff
and is it not gas cookers they use to cook the slosh they serve on or off whats the difference gas is dangerous but so is diesel and petrol
and a crowd of people all farting in a confined space makes a volatile concoction
FOR CHRIST SAKE DONT STRIKE A MATCH

 

[Snowbird]

What many dont realise is that many American RVs don't have a 12 volt on the fridge and rely on gas whilst under way to run the fridge. They are designed this way as are European MH gas heating systems. Its not possible to switch the gas off whilst on the road, otherwise nothing would work. All American RVs and quality built European MHs have a 12 volt gas relay and sniffer that switches the gas off in the event of a leak. At least mine does :Cool:.

 

[knokinonabit]

personally used to check the fridge vents of caravans and motorhomes as I passed through the car decks and would get a driver tannoyed if there was any exhaust heat from the fridge.
Rgds
Bill

There would probably be heat coming from my fridge because it would be working on 12 volt electrics. It has Automatic Energy Selection, and as I would have the gas turned off for travelling anyway, it would have selected 12 volt, unless I had turned it off before we boarded the ferry to prevent the battery going flat. But I usually forget anyway.

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[Minxy]

There would probably be heat coming from my fridge because it would be working on 12 volt electrics. It has Automatic Energy Selection, and as I would have the gas turned off for travelling anyway, it would have selected 12 volt, unless I had turned it off before we boarded the ferry to prevent the battery going flat. But I usually forget anyway.

It is very unusual for a BRITISH motorhome's AES fridge to be able to run off 12v when the engine is NOT running ... we used to have a Rimor which was like this, but I have never heard of it on a British one. Are you sure it does work like this?

 

[Minxy]

What many dont realise is that many American RVs don't have a 12 volt on the fridge and rely on gas whilst under way to run the fridge. They are designed this way as are European MH gas heating systems. Its not possible to switch the gas off whilst on the road, otherwise nothing would work. All American RVs and quality built European MHs have a 12 volt gas relay and sniffer that switches the gas off in the event of a leak. At least mine does :Cool:.

Are you talking about gas for propulsion or gas for domestic purposes that cannot be turned off, as it's not 100% clear from the above?

If you really CANNOT turn the gas off at all (which I find hard to believe) then IMV you shouldn't be taking it on a ferry/tunnel for which it is a REQUIREMENT at all. What gives you the right to ignore the rule?

 

[Snowbird]

Are you talking about gas for propulsion or gas for domestic purposes that cannot be turned off, as it's not 100% clear from the above?

If you really CANNOT turn the gas off at all (which I find hard to believe) then IMV you shouldn't be taking it on a ferry/tunnel for which it is a REQUIREMENT at all. What gives you the right to ignore the rule?

Not propulsion, the domestic side can be turned off, but the fridges do not have 12 volt so are run on gas when on the road. Where did I say I had any different rights than anyone else >.

 

[knokinonabit]

It is very unusual for a BRITISH motorhome's AES fridge to be able to run off 12v when the engine is NOT running ... we used to have a Rimor which was like this, but I have never heard of it on a British one. Are you sure it does work like this?

Yes.

The fridge would show a flashing red light if it is turned on but there is no power source, ie gas, 12 and/or 230v. It stays constant blue, which it should.
Also the vehicle battery shows it is discharging on the control panel. This is with nothing else switched on. The fridge controls also show it as selecting 12v.
It is possibly something that Auto-Trail have built in so that the fridge works as per instructions.

Turn the gas on and it ignites and the fridge controls show it has selected gas and the battery heaves a sigh of relief. :thumb:

The fridge can be manually selected to any of the settings and I have, on occasion, selected 12v before starting the engine. This was before I trusted AES.

 

[Minxy]

Yes.

The fridge would show a flashing red light if it is turned on but there is no power source, ie gas, 12 and/or 230v. It stays constant blue, which it should.
Also the vehicle battery shows it is discharging on the control panel. This is with nothing else switched on. The fridge controls also show it as selecting 12v.
It is possibly something that Auto-Trail have built in so that the fridge works as per instructions.

Turn the gas on and it ignites and the fridge controls show it has selected gas and the battery heaves a sigh of relief. :thumb:

The fridge can be manually selected to any of the settings and I have, on occasion, selected 12v before starting the engine. This was before I trusted AES.

I'm surprised, your's is the first British one that I've heard of that does this, with ours we had to remember to turn it off completely when we got home otherwise the battery got a bit 'upset'!

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[Minxy]

What many dont realise is that many American RVs don't have a 12 volt on the fridge and rely on gas whilst under way to run the fridge. They are designed this way as are European MH gas heating systems. Its not possible to switch the gas off whilst on the road, otherwise nothing would work. All American RVs and quality built European MHs have a 12 volt gas relay and sniffer that switches the gas off in the event of a leak. At least mine does :Cool:.

Are you talking about gas for propulsion or gas for domestic purposes that cannot be turned off, as it's not 100% clear from the above?

If you really CANNOT turn the gas off at all (which I find hard to believe) then IMV you shouldn't be taking it on a ferry/tunnel for which it is a REQUIREMENT at all. What gives you the right to ignore the rule?

Not propulsion, the domestic side can be turned off, but the fridges do not have 12 volt so are run on gas when on the road. Where did I say I had any different rights than anyone else >.

From the way you'd phrased your first response above it implied that you knew that you couldn't turn off the gas and were still content to use the ferry etc.

From your later clarification it is now clear that you can, and I assume do, turn off your 'domestic' gas when using a ferry. :thumb:

 

[WillH]

Can I just clarify the rules. They are made by the International Maritime Organisation and the Maritime Coastguard Agency, not the ferry company. It is considered so dangerous to carry bottles of gas that they must be closed. The regulations for ships are so thorough that we were not even allowed to have oxy-acetelyne bottles on either ferries or oil tankers. We would also confiscate fuel carried in containers other than fuel tanks affixed to the vehicle.

I have fought a fire on a ship and a gas bottle is the last thing you want to deal with.

Please close the bottle , it only only takes a moment.

Rgds, Bill

 

[knokinonabit]

I'm surprised, your's is the first British one that I've heard of that does this, with ours we had to remember to turn it off completely when we got home otherwise the battery got a bit 'upset'!

After reading your post I decided to double check, the seed of doubt had been sown.

So, went into the garage and turned off the hook up.
Out to the MH and checked that nothing was powering the MH other than batteries (and solar panel on roof).
Check battery levels on the control panel. All ok.
Turn on fridge to AES.
Initially it started on the gas that was left in the pipes, but when that was used up it switched to 12v and a drop in voltage was shown on the control panel.
Turned the fridge off and then back on, manually selecting 12v.
Fridge started on 12v and again, a drop in voltage was shown on the control panel.
So, yes, it works.
The only thing that I would like it to do is switch from vehicle battery to leisure batteries when the engine is not running, that way, an embarrassing flat starter battery situation could be avoided.

 

[Snowbird]

After reading your post I decided to double check, the seed of doubt had been sown.

So, went into the garage and turned off the hook up.
Out to the MH and checked that nothing was powering the MH other than batteries (and solar panel on roof).
Check battery levels on the control panel. All ok.
Turn on fridge to AES.
Initially it started on the gas that was left in the pipes, but when that was used up it switched to 12v and a drop in voltage was shown on the control panel.
Turned the fridge off and then back on, manually selecting 12v.
Fridge started on 12v and again, a drop in voltage was shown on the control panel.
So, yes, it works.
The only thing that I would like it to do is switch from vehicle battery to leisure batteries when the engine is not running, that way, an embarrassing flat starter battery situation could be avoided.

I think something is amiss there. My AES fridge will not work on 12 volt unless the engine is running. If set to the automatic mode with no hookup it will go straight to gas, then once the engine is started and revved so the dash red light goes out it switches over to 12 volt. Once the engine is switched off the fridge does nothing for 10 minutes as a safety in case you are at a filling station then switches onto gas. Some AES fridges have a system that allows 12 volt to be used and switches onto this mode if you have a large solar array therefore saving gas, but this only comes into play when the batteries are full and the sun is shinning. Does not happen often in the UK.

 

[knokinonabit]

I think something is amiss there. My AES fridge will not work on 12 volt unless the engine is running. If set to the automatic mode with no hookup it will go straight to gas, then once the engine is started and revved so the dash red light goes out it switches over to 12 volt. Once the engine is switched off the fridge does nothing for 10 minutes as a safety in case you are at a filling station then switches onto gas. Some AES fridges have a system that allows 12 volt to be used and switches onto this mode if you have a large solar array therefore saving gas, but this only comes into play when the batteries are full and the sun is shinning. Does not happen often in the UK.

I don't think something is amiss. I believe that is how it is supposed to work.
12v for travelling, not gas, as there is no Secumotion safety valve fitted, so it seems logical to me. If I stop at a filling station my fridge keeps on working and doesn't shut down, it doesn't need to. When I park up and turn on the gas or hook up, the fridge switches to one of those options, or I can do it manually. I just have to remember that it is draining my starter battery, and as I previously said, I would like to see it switch to the leisure batteries with the engine off.

Anyway, I like it like it is, so I'm not going to change it.
If it ain't broken and all that

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