Gas ran out unexpectedly!

[RichardandKaren]

So, here we are at a site in Edinburgh for the festival. I have one 11kg gas cylinder which is a gas low system with an external filler. It has the little round dial that moves gradually from green to red to show you how much gas is left. By coincidence, I checked it this morning and it showed about half full. Started cooking a meal tonight and all of a sudden no gas- checked the gas locker and the dial is now fully red showing that we are out of gas. Do I need to get dial serviced or whatever or is there a better way of measuring the gas level? Wasn’t a disaster as the site has a restaurant on site ( Morton Hall site) and there is a garage nearby selling LPG which I can fill up at tomorrow. Any advice re measuring gas level most welcome.

 

[Baileysbus]

As I found out myself last year, these wee dial gauges are totally unreliable. Most likely it is empty. Just fill it up in the morning and see how it goes.

 

[DiggerJon]

As I found out myself last year, these wee dial gauges are totally unreliable. Most likely it is empty. Just fill it up in the morning and see how it goes.

As he said!

 

[andy63]

If its the little clip on gauge that sits on the nexk of the cylinder they are pretty usless...
I dont think there is a accurate gas gauge out there..
The only real way to check the capacity is to weigh the cylinder and thats not practical for most folk..
With refillable its best to just top up when you can and after a while you will get to know your typical consumption..
Andy

 

[Lenny HB]

Depends on the cylinder some you can retro fit a float guage they are a lot more accurate.
Better still why not fit a second cylinder, I know I wouldn't be without one.

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[Solwaybuggier]

From memory (our Gaslow gauge broke years ago!) when it starts showing as coming off green it’s already half empty. But essentially the gauge is pretty useless. And (at least a few years back) the general reckoning was that most gauges were pretty inaccurate. It may be more recent ones are better, but some are fairly pricey.

Do you have room/payload for a second cylinder? If so, maybe worth getting a small 2nd cylinder for such eventualities - we have an 11kg Gaslow plus a 7kg Calor. So if the Gaslow should run out, switch to the Calor until you can fill the Gaslow.

 

[RichardandKaren]

Yes I have enough room for another similar sized cylinder so that would seem to be a good way to go. Would it cost much to get another fitted?

 

[pappajohn]

Yes I have enough room for another similar sized cylinder so that would seem to be a good way to go. Would it cost much to get another fitted?

As others have said, just get a regular small Calor cylinder and swap over if and when the gaslow runs out.
Once the gaslow is refilled swap back to that
The Calor bottle could last for years before it needs replacing costing pennies as a backup cylinder.

 

[Toskananomad]

I’m relatively new to motorhoming, 4 months and 3,000 miles, but now live permanently off grid in my Hobby Toskana with a passion for wild camping so I will appreciate advice on refillable lpg systems. Which is best, Gaslow or GasIt or Autogas? Or are they all similar in quality and price. Who would you recommend to supply and fit the system within a hundred miles of Cheshire? Finally, how many and how widespread are places to refill lpg bottles and is it possible to obtain a map or download one of these refill places? Thanks in advance, Graham.

 

[PP Bear]

Mine just switches from one cylinder to the full one.

I simply then exchange the empty one for a new one and start the whole process over again

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[stewartwebr]

Mine just switches from one cylinder to the full one.

I simply then exchange the empty one for a new one and start the whole process over again

Ours does the same, when one cylinder is empty it swaps over. We don't use it though, been caught out in the past where the cylinder has swapped over and we were oblivious to it. We only found out when both were empty and no gas. What works best for us is to leave the auto change over in manual and when one cylinder depletes we know about it. A simple case of going to the locker and moving the change over device to point to the cylinder which is full. We are then aware that at the next convenient place we should fill the empty tank.
I have never come across a gauge which works very well. Although, I have some sort of system on the control panel of the Morelo which alarms when the cylinder is almost empty. It has worked very well so far and normally get about 3 days of use after the alarm comes up before I need to swap over.

We have a gas tank on the current van but have the cylinders only because I had them in the last van. Being lazy and always looking for the best LPG price I normally run the tank to empty then move to a cylinder and hope we are back in Europe before I need to change to the final cylinder, hopefully refilling everything in The Netherlands where LPG is almost half the price of UK.

 

[scotjimland]

Just to clarify..

Do you have the The Gaslow R67 bottle with an integral level gauge.. not a clip-on or any other aftermarket gauge. ?

Other so called level gauges are simply pressure gauges and will NOT show an accurate liquid level .. they measure pressure, and will show 100% then drop suddenly when the bottle is nearly empty.

The R67 bottle the level gauge is operated by in internal float , and shows the level like this .. so when you get to the end of the Green section you only have 30% left ... It only monitors the last 50% of the liquid.

I have always found it reliable.. but your float may have been stuck, and then fell suddenly..

I never depend on it, I had two 11kg R67 bottles, when one empties change over and refill as soon as convenient .. the gauge is only a guide and as noted on the dial.. "Do Not Use For Filling"

EDIT>>

If you are commenting on this thread can you please say which make and type of bottle you have.. ie Gaslow R67 or other..
Older style Gaslow bottles did NOT have a float type level gauge..

otherwise the replies become confusing..

The R67 bottle liquid level gauge is reliable but as shown below is not linear ..


..

 

[Shrimp]

The gauges are not good, ours stays showing full for ages then goes down to about 1/2 then suddenly hits the red but we know from experience we still have another week-at least-left!
We have 2 Gaslow bottles so it doesn’t worry us that much.

 

[irnbru]

Best to have 2 bottles and turn one off. When you start using your 2nd bottle its time to refill when your passing somewhere. Took us a few run outs before doing this.

 

[two]

Gauges (fuel/water/gas/waste/...) tend not to work on a linear scale for all sorts of reasons. They can become useful once you are familiar with each one's characteristics though.

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[webby1]

tend not to work on a linear scale for all sorts of reasons. They can become useful once you are familiar with each one's characteristics though.

Agree that it's all about getting used to how it does work................................as said, it's not linear.
Ours shows full for ages, but I know when it goes down to half it will empty very quickly..................certainly faster than it took to get to the half point

 

[Minxy]

I’m relatively new to motorhoming, 4 months and 3,000 miles, but now live permanently off grid in my Hobby Toskana with a passion for wild camping so I will appreciate advice on refillable lpg systems. Which is best, Gaslow or GasIt or Autogas? Or are they all similar in quality and price. Who would you recommend to supply and fit the system within a hundred miles of Cheshire? Finally, how many and how widespread are places to refill lpg bottles and is it possible to obtain a map or download one of these refill places? Thanks in advance, Graham.

Hiya and welcome to the fun house!

We have Gaslow as that's all that was around when we bought our system back in 2009 but Gasit seems to be a bit cheaper, however Alugas are more expensive as they are lighter weight cylinders but unless you really need to save a few kg I can't personally see the point. You can 'mix and match' the parts (pipes, filler etc) so don't need to get it all from the same place if you are able to do a DIY fit - it's not difficult but I appreciate not everyone is happy to do this. If you need to have it fitted I'm sure others can advise who can do it.

For your needs I'd go for 2 x 11kg cylinders so that you have a back-up one and don't need to keep refilling so often, or you could go for a tank but they are a lot more expensive to have fitted and of course if you change your MH in the future you can't easily take it with you to the new one as you can with cylinders.

There are websites that give details of LPG suppliers, some are better than others so if you are making a special trip then ring them first to make sure they still do it (and the price).

 

[p-c]

There are websites that give details of LPG suppliers, some are better than others so if you are making a special trip then ring them first to make sure they still do it (and the price).

And the access!
p-c

 

[Cat53]

We had the Gaslow system fitted. 2 x 11. Kg bottles with a dial and automatic switch over. We tend to fill it when we see a filling station. Havent touched the second bottle yet. It’s an efficient and effective system.

 

[TheDogMan]

I have an underslung tank, on the board inside the van there is a display with 6 green lights when it gets to one I get it filled up, tank takes 48 litrs and the most I have got in is 35 litres

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[TerryL]

Dave Newell at Telford (Funster - see advert >>>) isn't that far from you. He fitted our 2x6kg Gaslow system which works out fine for us (only have room for 6kg bottles).

We have also bought extras to give us some backup - external hose with adapters that connect to an external bottle. I carry a Camping Gaz 907 plus a screw on gas ring for emergencies that can also be connected to the Gaslow. I also bought a "Jumbo" adapter for use with Spanish bottles but Gaslow have a range for different applications. Also the full set of continental adapters, all live in the gas locker.

The gauges (older system) are useless although I've come to recognise what they're "telling me". We just leave one bottle shut off then changeover when it's empty and plan to refill at the next convenient point. We didn't bother with a changeover valve, almost as simple to just open/close the valves on the bottles.

We didn't buy them for the (much) cheaper gas, but for convenience, however over 8/9 years of use they have now paid for themselves.

 

[stewartwebr]

Just to clarify..

Do you have the The Gaslow R67 bottle with an integral level gauge.. not a clip-on or any other aftermarket gauge. ?

Other so called level gauges are simply pressure gauges and will NOT show an accurate liquid level .. they measure pressure, and will show 100% then drop suddenly when the bottle is nearly empty.

The R67 bottle the level gauge is operated by in internal float , and shows the level like this .. so when you get to the end of the Green section you only have 30% left ... It only monitors the last 50% of the liquid.

I have always found it reliable.. but your float may have been stuck, and then fell suddenly..

I never depend on it, I had two 11kg R67 bottles, when one empties change over and refill as soon as convenient .. the gauge is only a guide and as noted on the dial.. "Do Not Use For Filling"

EDIT>>

If you are commenting on this thread can you please say which make and type of bottle you have.. ie Gaslow R67 or other..
Older style Gaslow bottles did NOT have a float type level gauge..

otherwise the replies become confusing..

The R67 bottle liquid level gauge is reliable but as shown below is not linear ..


..




View attachment 249300

Same as ours and found gauges to be completely useless.

 

[Lenny HB]

We have the C remote with auto change over, when it changes over to the reserve cylinder a red light comes on on the control panel in the van.

 

[scotjimland]

Same as ours and found gauges to be completely useless.

that is a surprise.. can't really say anything about that as mine work as designed..

perhaps your expectations exceeded the designed criteria or the level gauges are faulty.

 

[Chockswahay]

I highly recommend Autogas2000 in Thirsk, Yorkshire. Chris Wise is very knowledgeable and helpful. He will give you all the advice you need to do a DIY fit...... very easy to do, I recently did it!

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[stewartwebr]

that is a surprise.. can't really say anything about that as mine work as designed..

perhaps your expectations exceeded the designed criteria or the level gauges are faulty.

Being honest I don't pay much attention to them and don't really need them as I control my gas as per described in my post. Thanks for giving a positive feedback on them. My opinion has been that gas bottle levels never work so glad to hear that in some cases they do.

Thanks for the update

 

[Reallyretired]

I have Alugas with the remote electric gauges and they are fairly accurate as long as you keep in mind how they work.
They have a float about half way down in the bottle which will therefore read full until the bottle is half empty, it will then progressively go down till there's just one red led alight at which point it is effectively empty though will still have a litre or so left.
We have two 11kg Alugas bottles, they are lighter than the others on the market but more expensive so depends on how important weight is to you.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Another recommendation for the Alugas bottles.
We have two 11kg fitted and they are just short of 13kg (2 stones) lighter than the equivalent Gaslow bottles, so more than just “a few kgs” as previously mentioned. They also have the more accurate R67 type gauges.
We previously had an R67 Gaslow 11kg and was going to add a 6kg to act like a reserve but the two 11kg Alugas are still a lot lighter.
Autogas2000 are very good but the Alugas system is a bit dearer.

 

[PEM]

I've used my lpg.eu app in France and Spain and found plenty of lpg filing stations
I also agree with the above 1 refillable bottle and 1 calor lite

 

[two]

Having a map (app or list of POI) for lpg stations has proved unnecessary for me. With a two-bottle system, there's plenty of warning before running out and I seem to pass places selling it pretty frequently.