Refillable Gas -v- Exchange bottle gas

We had two heavy 13 kg calor propane bottles. Fitted one 14 kg Alugas and freed up space and weight for our inflatable canoe in the other bottles space. Plus so much cheaper to fill up.
 
If it helps, we have, surplus to requirements, 1 small & 1 large Gas-it refillable bottles and a complete set of filler/connection hoses and the filling point all ready to go. Easy to fit up, just an hour or so’s work. Total value about £360. £220 ovno.
 
Bye the way, we just plug the barby into the outside gas point on the camper. Much cheaper than Calor. Mind you, we are lucky enough to have the camper parked in the garden!
 
Hymerbell said:
Thing that worries me...but not a lot..is what happens when all these LPG cars give up for electric...will there still be petrol stations across Europe with LPG pumps ☹
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Interestingly Dacia just lanched lpg factory cars as a replacement for some of their diesels models.
 
agreed....install two nice refillables (plus Euro adaptors) in tne MH and youre sorted, for all gas inside the van and for the small MH BBQ via the external point you already have.
leave the Calor bottles at home to service your large home BBQ.

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Spriddler said:
I fitted one refillable Gaslow and one exchangeable Calor. Belt 'n braces. I only use the Calor as a stop gap if I run out of refillable, something I've not yet had to do. Both are plumbed in. I fitted the whole system myself in 45 mins.
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I have exactly the same set up
1 x Gaslow refillable (with external filling point)
1 x Calor non-refillable

I work on the basis that one is the back up to the other.
I've just done 18 days in the van (admittedly with an EHU) and I've used about quarter of the gaslow 11kg bottle.
 
i have a a large gas locker and do as above, but slightly differently.....
i have a single 11kg Gaslow and normally the other 'slot' is empty, however, when in Spain long terming in winter, i add a large Repsol which can be exchanged everywhere and means i dont have to move the van (unless i want to) for a top up.
the Repsol comes home and i use the Gaslow, keeping the Spanish gas as back up (never needed it) and then take it back to Spain the following year.
 
Barclaybasher said:
Didn't have a drop vent in my boats :wink:
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My boat had a gas drop vent.
Gas was stored in a cockpit locker, which had a small hole with a closable flap into the cockpit, which had scuttles to the sea.

Having seen a boat on a mooring go BANG as a kid, it was one of my prerequisites when buying my boat as back in the early 1980's not every boat had one.
I sold my boat in 1995 and moved to 'land yachts' (Campers, then motorhomes)
I'd imagine that by now only 1960's and earlier boats don't have drop vents built in by design
 
Brains said:
My boat had a gas drop vent.
Gas was stored in a cockpit locker, which had a small hole with a closable flap into the cockpit, which had scuttles to the sea.

Having seen a boat on a mooring go BANG as a kid, it was one of my prerequisites when buying my boat as back in the early 1980's not every boat had one.
I sold my boat in 1995 and moved to 'land yachts' (Campers, then motorhomes)
I'd imagine that by now only 1960's and earlier boats don't have drop vents built in by design
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Before I sold my 1979 Vega 27 in '98 the buyer's surveyor insisted that I vented the gas locker which I did, as you describe.
Tearawa.jpg

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We went through similar discussion as yours and decided on the following system 2x10kg lightweight bottles with external filler.( https://www.lpgshop.co.uk/gasbank-multi-light-composite-motorhome-propane-bottle/ )We found the staff there very knowledgeable and helpful. A previous posters comment to measure carefully your gas bottle cupboard and ITS ACCESS hatch to be sure you can get them in through the hatch and that they will fit beside the regulator is very important to note. We found that generally hatches are set with the regulator for one large and one small bottle but the regulator was offset for this and 2 big bottles would not fit easily.
We are delighted with our decision and find it so simple with the fill in the gas locker door. Getting too old to crouch down and fill from the bottom of the skirt. If weight is important these are light weight bottles and don't explode in a fire. Whatever system you choose you will be delighted to go refillable as cost and ease a such a bonus.
 
Iv had motorhomes for yrs an lpg all day long when in France can use as much as you want so easy to refill no problems 👍👍
 
I recommend gas-it refillable cost about £250 for one £320 for two and can install yourself . Save about £20 /30 per refill compared to exchange bottles and can fill anywhere in Europe so no need for different bottles in each region. If you're worried about fitting a garage will charge you about £600/700 so will take longer to make it viable. If you only go abroad for a week or two or stay in UK and use EHU it probably isn't worth it.
 
DDJC said:
If there is a dedicated thread to this question, I'm sorry, but I can't find it.

I use Gaslight for heating, cooking and external bbq. These are the fibreglass bottles that you get from Homebase. I have a large and a small bottle as this combination is easier to get into our very snug gas compartment. I also use the same gas for the bbq. But it seems to be incredibly expensive and I am quite conscious that if Homebase runs out (like today), I can't get gas and I doubt that in Yerp, there are many retailers of Gaslight.

Our bus has an integrated regulator and I am happy to change pigtails and valves, but is there some sort of extra fitting that a registered service engineer has to fit?

So my question is, do I switch to refillable bottles? We go to Yerp (esp France and Italy) a lot, so availability of filler points is important, both in UK and abroad. We like the lighter weight of fibreglass bottles, but it isn't a deal breaker. I don't really want a fixed gas tank, and I definitely don't want to refill non-refillable gas bottles, despite being told how easy it is. I've enough to worry about with Covid to not need the extra worry of incinerating Mrs DDJC's freedom bus, because she might be a tad irritated if I did that.

I've heard of:
Gas IT in 6kg, 11kg & 18kg
Gas IT Easyfill
Gaslow Direct Fill in 2.7kg, 6kg & 11kg
Safefill 5kg, 7.5kg & 10kg
GasBank MULTI

Are there any others?

What I am hoping for is that someone has done a comparison to weight the pros and cons of bottle v refillable. Has anyone (who isn't a gas dealer) looked at this thoroughly?

Many thanks,
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I reckon that it’ll become more difficult to find filling station with gas in the future as electric vehicles become more prevalent.
 
Hi
Our MH came with autogas2000 bottles. Went to fill up the other day and would not fill!!!!! Garage useless to help said could not fill bottles. Came away and realised yellow tap on top was off.
My MH hasn't got an outside filling point in gas compartment door, do regulations state you need one as gas pumps are for cars essentially.
Also the company behind flogas (shell/calor) are reviewing the business therefore will have less filling points in future.
Has anyone been refused filling at a forecourt recently in UK?

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125BEER said:
Hi
Our MH came with autogas2000 bottles. Went to fill up the other day and would not fill!!!!! Garage useless to help said could not fill bottles. Came away and realised yellow tap on top was off.
My MH hasn't got an outside filling point in gas compartment door, do regulations state you need one as gas pumps are for cars essentially.
Also the company behind flogas (shell/calor) are reviewing the business therefore will have less filling points in future.
Has anyone been refused filling at a forecourt recently in UK?
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Where is your filling point then? If they are autogas 2000 bottles it will not be on the bottle itself. It will either be in the gas locker (separate to the bottles) or fitted somewhere on the outside wall or skirt close by the gas locker. Look for either a round filler cap like a fuel cap or a smaller square one like the photo below. Once you have found it come back and tell us what it looks like and somebody will be able to explain how to use it.
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Hi attached is the fill valve inside compartment
 

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That is a UK bayonet fitting, so the pump nozzle should be inserted and its sleeve turned clockwise until it engages with the lugs either side.

I have never seen one fitted that close to the bottle and I wonder whether is is too close to be able to get a large diameter nozzle onto it without clashing with the shield on top of the bottle. Autogas 2000 are in Thirsk and are usually very helpful. I suggest you give them a ring on 01845 523 213 and discuss it with them. They may want to see the photo.
 
Agree with Peter I can't see you being able to get the filler hose connected with it so close to the bottle.
 
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peterc10 said:
That is a UK bayonet fitting, so the pump nozzle should be inserted and its sleeve turned clockwise until it engages with the lugs either side.

I have never seen one fitted that close to the bottle and I wonder whether is is too close to be able to get a large diameter nozzle onto it without clashing with the shield on top of the bottle. Autogas 2000 are in Thirsk and are usually very helpful. I suggest you give them a ring on 01845 523 213 and discuss it with them. They may want to see the photo.
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Many thanks for info I did contact Clive at Autogas and was helpful and we agreed that the current setup was ok and because the previous owners used it.
Will return to the nearest unhelpful garage to attempt another refill.

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125BEER said:
Will return to the nearest unhelpful garage to attempt another refill.
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Before you do there are lots of helpful videos for first timers to see how to use an LPG pump. It is very different to a petrol or diesel pump. Do a google search to find some, but restrict it to UK, because Europe uses different nozzles.

Edit, one problem you have may well be that some fuel stations may refuse to supply you as they will think it is a direct fill system, which are not allowed. In the long term it would be better to relocate the filler.
125BEER said:
Many thanks for info I did contact Clive at Autogas and was helpful and we agreed that the current setup was ok and because the previous owners used it.
Will return to the nearest unhelpful garage to attempt another refill.
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But they may have only used it in Europe, where the nozzles may be able get into it.
 
Hymerbell said:
Not sure about this but isn’t it the case that when using an underslung you can’t use the Channel Tunnel......could be wrong...I usually am 😊
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your right, your wrong . needs to be turned of for the tunnel strangely you cant take a gas fuelled vehicle on there

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Spriddler said:
I fitted one refillable Gaslow and one exchangeable Calor. Belt 'n braces. I only use the Calor as a stop gap if I run out of refillable, something I've not yet had to do. Both are plumbed in. I fitted the whole system myself in 45 mins.
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The problem with mounting the filler on the door every time you before you fill you have t open the door to turn the gas off prior to filling shut the door attach filler, fill, open door turn gas back on 🙂
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Steve and Denise said:
The problem with mounting the filler on the door every time you before you fill you have t open the door to turn the gas off prior to filling shut the door attach filler, fill, open door turn gas back on 🙂
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It's far less risky (hernia and leak-wise) than the necessity to disconnect and reconnect the hoses when exchanging Calor cylinders.
There is absolutely no stress on the filler hose which is s/steel sheathed and of ample length and falls naturally back into the gas locker when I close the door.
Seeing it in action would convince you ;) .
 
Lenny HB said:
The tap on the bottle should be off when filling to avoid the possibility of damaging the regulator.
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Ive never heard of that, I had refillable bottles for 10 yrs and ever turned them off to refill. Current ‘van has a factory fitted underslung tank & you can’t get to the tank valve to turn it off!
 
OldWomble said:
Ive never heard of that, I had refillable bottles for 10 yrs and ever turned them off to refill. Current ‘van has a factory fitted underslung tank & you can’t get to the tank valve to turn it off!
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Always recommend as there is a chance of the high filling pressure damaging the regulator.
I don't know about underslung tanks but Truma bulkhead regulators have a max input pressure of 230 psi. Pump filling pressure is around 140 psi but can vari quite a bit. Not worth the risk with regulators costing over £200.
 

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