Is LPG being phased out?

[LeahRose]

Hi all

Thanks for the heads up about the very disappointing news that Calor is discontinuing the 3.9kg & 4.5kg bottles, having finally managed to get hold of 2 for my Ducato Expedition 66.

So now I need to find an alternative asap. The gas locker is too small for a 6kg bottle and as the van is less than a year old I really don’t want to start modifying anything inside.

Having done some more searching on my, go to ‘font of all motorhoming knowledge’ aka Motorhome Funsters forum (you have no idea how much I have learnt from you guys ) I found a thread about underslung LPG tanks and although expensive it looks like it might be the best option for my van. I’ve since emailed and chatted to the guys at Autogas they sound great, thanks again for the recommendation.

I’ve also however read that LPG is due to be phased out at filling stations in 2024. I was wondering if any of you guys know if that means it will be phased out completely or will we still be able to fill tanks? Obviously I don’t want to spend all that money if I’m unable to use it in 2 years.

I’d be really grateful for any advice. Thanks

 

[Lenny HB]

I should have said at least 4 years.
5 years if I fitted a Gaslow system.
I think I'm going to see how much Calor I use this year.

Simple, use more gas.

It's not really about cost more about convience, just pull up and fill up in any country, no lugging heavy cylinders about or faffing about changing cylinders.
Must be difficult to do a foreign trip of more than a couple of weeks with only 12kg of gas. We get through 14kg in 15 days, a lot more in winter.

 

[Nanniemate]

I used 6 x 6kg Calor bottles last year which cost about £200.
At present LPG costs it would have been about £70.
So I would have saved £130 for the year.
4 years to recoup if I went for the cheapest refillable system fitted myself.
I can see the advantage if you use a lot of gas or if you go abroad but for my low use in the UK I'm not sure it is warranted.

Got no choice now as calor will be unobtainable shortly and my gas locker is so titchy it's rediculas and without gas I have a builders van with beds and cupboards .but had a good chat with Basildog and he can help me out made some good suggestions just have to wait until i get up there and stretch out the gas i have. Im going to try not to buy anymore. So may be eating lots of salads and sarnies when Wilding

 

[headlight]

Simple, use more gas.

It's not really about cost more about convience, just pull up and fill up in any country, no lugging heavy cylinders about or faffing about changing cylinders.
Must be difficult to do a foreign trip of more than a couple of weeks with only 12kg of gas. We get through 14kg in 15 days, a lot more in winter.

As I said, if you're going abroad or use a lot of gas I can see the advantages.
However with my light use and only traveling in the UK, for now I'm going to bide my time and see how much I use this year.
If my usage changes it would obviously become more desirable to have LPG.

 

[headlight]

Got no choice now as calor will be unobtainable shortly and my gas locker is so titchy it's rediculas and without gas I have a builders van with beds and cupboards .but had a good chat with Basildog and he can help me out made some good suggestions just have to wait until i get up there and stretch out the gas i have. Im going to try not to buy anymore. So may be eating lots of salads and sarnies when Wilding

Is an underslung LPG tank an option for your van if the gas locker is so small ?

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[Jonno1103]

Got no choice now as calor will be unobtainable shortly and my gas locker is so titchy it's rediculas and without gas I have a builders van with beds and cupboards .but had a good chat with Basildog and he can help me out made some good suggestions just have to wait until i get up there and stretch out the gas i have. Im going to try not to buy anymore. So may be eating lots of salads and sarnies when Wilding

6x 6kg bottles from Flogas would be £144.

 

[headlight]

6x 6kg bottles from Flogas would be £144.

£24 a bottle ?
I'm paying £34-£36 for a 6kg Calor.

 

[Jonno1103]

£24 a bottle ?
I'm paying £34-£36 for a 6kg Calor.

Just has a quick look, now they're £25.75 inc VAT. We've never been with Calor, always Flogas and they'll deliver to your door usually within 48 hours.

 

[Nanniemate]

Is an underslung LPG tank an option for your van if the gas locker is so small ?

The van is very low , so bottles seem the way to go

Just has a quick look, now they're £25.75 inc VAT. We've never been with Calor, always Flogas and they'll deliver to your door usually within 48 hours.

They have different size small bottles and will not guarantee which they send only one will fit

It's just one of those things thought and discussed it often now been pushed into it . Still lots cheaper than changing the van . If I get another 10 years out of it I will be happy

 

[headlight]

Just has a quick look, now they're £25.75 inc VAT. We've never been with Calor, always Flogas and they'll deliver to your door usually within 48 hours.

That's about £10 a bottle cheaper.
I'm guessing they won't exchange for a Calor bottle same as Calor won't exchange anything other than Calor ?

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[Hoovie]

Most refillable have a removable collar that is why you can often get a 6kg in a locker designed for 3.9kg.

I find it very strange a Motorhome can be designed to only take 3.9kg bottles, you would be changing/filling bottles every day in the winter. Even 6kg is too small for normal use.

For many (most?) people, a Motorhome is essentially a self-propelled Caravan going from one campsite to the next. Electric hotplate and electric heating from EHU ... what need for gas?


(yes, and I know you don't have electric heating as too tight to pay extra for the element )

 

[hja]

Our first Motorhome had an underslung tank, and after years with caravans that was a bit of a revelation. So when we changed our van we opted to have a gaslow system installed. We have never done a price comparison, it’s about convenience.

 

[Hoovie]

Lots of people have fitted their own systems on here, I don’t think you have to have a qualification to fit lpg…

You don't actually have to have them to fit a gas boiler or fire in a house either, as long as you are not doing it for reward. just have to be self-declared as "competent".
rightly or wrongly, that is how it is.


I did fit my own Gaslow bottle and filler, but has been said, it is not really that much different from changing a gas bottle over (and very likely a safer result over time, even as a DIY install, as not breaking and making a gas-tight connection fairly frequently).
One of my gas cooker burners needs attention but I am backing away from doing anything about that myself!

 

[Lenny HB]

For many (most?) people, a Motorhome is essentially a self-propelled Caravan going from one campsite to the next. Electric hotplate and electric heating from EHU ... what need for gas?

I know very few people like that, sounds like they need a caravan not a Motorhome.
We do up to 150 nights away a year sometime we have EHU for 5 or 6 of them, we try to avoid sites.
Every van we have had the heating has been gas only, one on order is gas only I couldn't see the point in paying £650 for the electric option on the Truma when it's cheaper to use gas.

 

[Jonno1103]

The van is very low , so bottles seem the way to go

They have different size small bottles and will not guarantee which they send only one will fit

It's just one of those things thought and discussed it often now been pushed into it . Still lots cheaper than changing the van . If I get another 10 years out of it I will be happy

Never heard of that before, I ring ask for 6kg and they deliver it/them.

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[Jonno1103]

That's about £10 a bottle cheaper.
I'm guessing they won't exchange for a Calor bottle same as Calor won't exchange anything other than Calor ?

You don't need an empty bottle in order to open an account with them. The price is what it is. I'm sure there are a few members who'll cross your palm with silver for a couple of 6kg Calor empties.

 

[Nanniemate]

Never heard of that before, I ring ask for 6kg and they deliver it/them.

Clearly states it on their website and if you have a locker big enough to take 6kg it is of no relevance. So you have probably never had the need to worry about it. It's been mentioned by others who have come.e across the same issue. The size of the locker was never a consideration to me until now.

 

[enark]

Massive amount of misinformation regarding this topic to be honest, scarily it seems the most likely people to attempt diy gas work are normally those with limited knowledge / ability, it seems a definite case of ignorance is bliss
Yes it’s true that privately owned leisure vehicles/ caravans are specifically excluded from GSIUR, what people don’t seem to comprehend is that you would still need to be competent, ( pretty much the only way to provide evidence of competence is training specific to that activity)
The days of saying you have been doing something for 20 years so are deemed competent are long gone .
There is a case where a guy who installed a generator in a boat that killed his partner and her daughter was successfully prosecuted for manslaughter through negligence.
So anyone doing their own gas work even on their own leisure vehicle still has to complete any work to recognised standards using the correct components.

Hi, I don’t disagree, but having just fitted a Gaslow can and therefore connected two hoses, I don’t see this as beyond the ability of someone with minimal skills. Additionally the instructions from Gaslow where very well written.

the most tricky bit been the 70mm hole in the skirt, but Screwfix provided the right holesaw for under a tenner.

I had been quoted £750 for this install, yet I have done it for £305…. So the £445 is a massive incentive to diy.

 

[Orion]

You don't actually have to have them to fit a gas boiler or fire in a house either, as long as you are not doing it for reward. just have to be self-declared as "competent".
rightly or wrongly, that is how it is.

For domestic installations I think it hinges around how any DIY installer could demonstrate their ‘competence’ if anything went wrong and HSE were involved. Plus how they could register the installation with the Local Authority for the Building Regulations Compliance Certification without the involvement of Gas Safe Register ( in England & Wales)? Unfortunately the document that should provide guidance on the subject, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory.

 

[Lenny HB]

You don't actually have to have them to fit a gas boiler or fire in a house either, as long as you are not doing it for reward. just have to be self-declared as "competent".
rightly or wrongly, that is how it is.

Yep, always fit my own gas boilers, don't trust the so called professionals.

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[tonyidle]

That is a pretty good return and as prices of LPG increase saving increase.

I used 6 x 6kg Calor bottles last year which cost about £200.
At present LPG costs it would have been about £70.
So I would have saved £130 for the year.
4 years to recoup if I went for the cheapest refillable system fitted myself.
I can see the advantage if you use a lot of gas or if you go abroad but for my low use in the UK I'm not sure it is warranted.

What hasn't been mentioned is the sheer convenience. No lifting cylinders out, never exchanging a cylinder that isn't completely empty. There are many "unnecessary" conveniences in or on a motorhome that most of us wouldn't willingly be without.

 

[tonyidle]

Yep, always fit my own gas boilers, don't trust the so called professionals.

And me. Two so far. And for the same reason.

 

[Claire Ambler]

I know it’s not close by but Croatia uses the same gas fittings as Calor and is readily available as there isn’t mains gas in most places

 

[Lenny HB]

And me. Two so far. And for the same reason.

Yep two for me & current one 10 years old so won't be long for the third.

 

[cyberyacht]

I find it amazing that the previously mentioned Expedition 66, which is a PVC not a VW type, was designed with such a ridiculously small locker. Having said that, some coachbuilts are poorly thought out. My previous Marquis (Elddis) 125 had a horizontal gas locker door. Had it been vertical it would have been possible to get two large bottles in instead of only one.

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[enark]

For domestic installations I think it hinges around how any DIY installer could demonstrate their ‘competence’ if anything went wrong and HSE were involved. Plus how they could register the installation with the Local Authority for the Building Regulations Compliance Certification without the involvement of Gas Safe Register ( in England & Wales)? Unfortunately the document that should provide guidance on the subject, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory.

My understanding has always been that you can fit your own gas boiler, central heating system etc, but need a Corgi, and now Gas Safe certified engineer to connect the gas supply and sign it off? May be wrong but that’s how I have always done it and fitted a few boilers over the years.

 

[enark]

£24 a bottle ?
I'm paying £34-£36 for a 6kg Calor.

Flogas suggest approx £44 for an 11kg bottle swap, I’ve just filled up my 11kg Gasflow at the Flogas depot for £17.05, that was for 21.33 ltrs at 79.9p a ltr. Happy days

so my £305 install now owes me £278….

 

[Lenny HB]

Flogas suggest approx £44 for an 11kg bottle swap, I’ve just filled up my 11kg Gasflow at the Flogas depot for £17.05, that was for 21.33 ltrs at 79.9p a ltr. Happy days

so my £305 install now owes me £278….

Doesn't take long if you use a reasonable amount. We use about 150 - 170 Lt a year.

 

[Hoovie]

For domestic installations I think it hinges around how any DIY installer could demonstrate their ‘competence’ if anything went wrong and HSE were involved. Plus how they could register the installation with the Local Authority for the Building Regulations Compliance Certification without the involvement of Gas Safe Register ( in England & Wales)? Unfortunately the document that should provide guidance on the subject, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory.

all the above may well be correct. does not stop someone perfectly legally actually doing the installation.

As I said, rightly or wrongly - or if you prefer ... like it or not.

 

[headlight]

Doesn't take long if you use a reasonable amount. We use about 150 - 170 Lt a year.

That's the thing Lenny, last year I used 6x6kg Calor bottles so about 70 litres, I think.

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[robmilton]

If you ever get stuck for a bottle find a canal with a chandlers, all the narrowboats rely on it, and more independent suppliers seem to be popping up i would think due to all the problems with calor supplies.