Refillable Gas

[Doug53]

We are planning to go down through France to Spain March/ April is refillable gas the best way to go as I understand I won’t be able to exchange my Calor bottles

 

[Wombles]

More info. on Safefill here https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...lable-with-discount-code.186475/#post-3112068 - the discount code is still working too.

 

[Basildog]

You might think it a good idea for anyone to buy an adaptor and fill their own exchange bottles but i dont and neither do a lot of other people it is asking for trouble

It’s a lot safer than several of the diy refillable systems I have had to put right this summer

 

[mfw]

It’s a lot safer than several of the diy refillable systems I have had to put right this summer

Yeah says a lot for your skills encouraging people to buy an adaptor and fill yourself

Everyone to their own but dont start preaching gospel - oh sorry do as i say not what i do

 

[Deleted member 57092]

I recently fitted gaslow bottles to our bailey 750 and ran the filler hose down through one of the gas locker breather ducts to the filler which is fitted below the skirt just behind the mudlap.
That way it looks like we have an underslung tank when we are filling
The heavy hose lies on the ground when filling
And most people don’t even realise the (black) filler cap is there.
We did it for convience rather than cost savings purely because we are off to france,spain,italy and greece next year.
We have three filler adapters.

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[Deleted member 57092]

We used to decant R134 refrigerant gas by connecting the full and empty bottles together with a high presssure hose then inverting the full one above the empty one.
(We used to evacuate the empty one first)
That was the approved way to do it.
Presumably it would work with LPG
But I wouldn’t do it myself unless it was a serious emergency (like freezing to death if I didn’t do it !)

 

[10tenmen]

Just bought the Gasit system 2 x 6 kg bottle kit with external fill point will post up some photos once I have it fitted, we are off to Spain in February for 5 weeks so thought it easier to get gas from a fuel station.

 

[TerryL]

We used to decant R134 refrigerant gas by connecting the full and empty bottles together with a high presssure hose then inverting the full one above the empty one.
(We used to evacuate the empty one first)
That was the approved way to do it.
Presumably it would work with LPG
But I wouldn’t do it myself unless it was a serious emergency (like freezing to death if I didn’t do it !)

Yes it does, we've seen quite a few French doing it - although you wouldn't get me near it!

 

[Caztur]

I'm intending to drive down through France to Spain and Portugal. At the moment I have 2 x 6KG Calorlite bottles in my locker. Any bigger will not fit in.
I was thinking I could just buy a spanish bottle when I got there, but have been told that you can't get Repsol or anything else in that small a bottle. Is that correct?
Any suggestions what to do instead, please?

 

[Deleted member 57092]

I think camping gaz (or its local equivalent) is available everywhere pretty much in europe.
???

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[peterc10]

I think camping gaz (or its local equivalent) is available everywhere pretty much in europe.
???

Very expensive and, being butane, no good when the weather gets colder.

 

[Deleted member 57092]

Ah ok
Only used it (or copies of it) in Greece where it is between €8.50 and €10 a bottle.
And not when its particularly cold either !
(May to October !)
Getting hold of an empty in the various countries without paying through the nose will be the problem I guess.
Which is why we have fitted Gaslow bottles.

 

[Deleted member 57092]

I think there is a lot of local decanting into the camping gas type bottles goes on on the Greek islands too , judging by the corrosion on some of the bottles on offer (due to principally being used on boats)
To get a non rusty one you sometimes have to offer an extra euro or two.

 

[Deleted member 57092]

The repsol website (in Spanish) suggests that the don’t sell propane (propano) in bottles (bombanos) smaller than 11kg
They sell butane (butano) in 6kg which is ok down to 0c
It’s described as equivalent to camping gas
The regulators are different though I think ?

 

[Landy Andy]

I'm intending to drive down through France to Spain and Portugal. At the moment I have 2 x 6KG Calorlite bottles in my locker. Any bigger will not fit in.
I was thinking I could just buy a spanish bottle when I got there, but have been told that you can't get Repsol or anything else in that small a bottle. Is that correct?
Any suggestions what to do instead, please?

Check your locker size, and refillable bottle size.
Part of the reason I changed to refillable was due to the fact I could only have a pair of 6kg bottles of calor gas in my locker, no room for the bigger bottles, BUT what I worked out was that I could have a pair of 11kg bottles in the same locker. So I swapped. Max was 12, now 22 in the same locker.

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[Lenny HB]

They sell butane (butano) in 6kg which is ok down to 0c

In theory yes but in practice not much good below 10° also Combi heaters often don't work at temperatures well above 10 ° as butane does not have the same flow rate as propane.

 

[Caztur]

I wouldn't be able to lift 11KG bottles out for refilling, even if they did fit in, which I doubt. The lid only just fits on as it is, with the 6KG ones in it.
Looks like I'm stuck with Campingaz then, thanks. Presume that is easy to find there, same as France?

 

[Deleted member 57092]

Gregano gas 11kg (similar to repsol in Spain) are 30cm diameter and 54.9 cm high.
According to their website
Fortunately pretty much all the relevant words in Spanish are very similar to english
Butano
Propano
Bombano (bottle) as oppose to bottella (as in beer bottle etc)
Dimensiones
Dimensions
Etc
Portuguese is written like spanish and shares many words but sounds like Russian !

 

[mfw]

You could buy a gaslow direct fill adaptor to fill a refillable cylinder cheaply the part is under £20 or buy a new 6kg direct fill gaslow with pol to 21.8 propane adaptor for a propane regulator for about £150 new delivered if trying to keep cost down and you could get a lot of money back if you sold it on ebay afterwards.

Filling wise you would have the same problems that others do with in-locker filling

 

[Caztur]

I wouldn't be able to fill it in the locker as it is midships, under the bed. It would have to be lifted out for filling. Assuming I could lift it - that's why I use Calorlite at the moment.

Would that be a problem? I have heard that garages won't let you fill bottles?

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[mfw]

What i suggested would allow a bottle to be lifted out provided you use a refillable bottle and garage allows it to be filled you could always take paperwork to prove it has 80% cutoff but it could still be refused - cost wise and residual value it would probably be on par or maybe cheaper than faffing with exchange bottles

 

[mfw]

I wouldn't be able to fill it in the locker as it is midships, under the bed. It would have to be lifted out for filling. Assuming I could lift it - that's why I use Calorlite at the moment.

Would that be a problem? I have heard that garages won't let you fill bottles?

Can you not measure distance between a known point and where you actually want it might be cheaper than you think even with a fixed filler point cost out a few 6kg exchange bottles and then work price on refillable at 60p a litre works out at under £7 a fill but you have to fill everytime opportunity arises abroad 6kg bottle only lasts me 4 days in winter with heating

 

[Caztur]

I know how long gas hoses are on UK forecourts - they definitely wouldn't reach into the locker. I don't want to go cutting holes in the side of the van for a filling point or install a proper refillable system as it would be very expensive and I know (as I drive an LPG/Petrol car) how difficult it can be to get "loose" LPG in the UK without driving miles out of my way.

You must be lucky to find gas at 60p a litre, round here it's over 70p a litre. 74.9 the last lot I bought.

 

[WynandJean]

It might be of interest to know that petrol stations charge for LPG as vehicular fuel (with appropriate VAT). Gas suppliers can supply a lot more cheaply for heating and cooking purposes. Our local one, 45p per litre:-

https://dudley-gas-station-limited-lpg-autogas-53-stafford-st-dy1-2aa.business.site

Wyn

 

[mfw]

I know how long gas hoses are on UK forecourts - they definitely wouldn't reach into the locker. I don't want to go cutting holes in the side of the van for a filling point or install a proper refillable system as it would be very expensive and I know (as I drive an LPG/Petrol car) how difficult it can be to get "loose" LPG in the UK without driving miles out of my way.

You must be lucky to find gas at 60p a litre, round here it's over 70p a litre. 74.9 the last lot I bought.

If you have an exterior bbq gas point you could probably use that with a regulator if not you will probably give yourself a lot of grief and problems.

You are restricted on size and worried about weight of bottle if you have to buy foreign bottle and a regulator it will cost you and it could turn into a total nightmare and you will have no option but to put up with it.

And at morrisons here it is under 60p a ltr

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[Caztur]

You are very lucky, Wyn. Our town doesn't have any suppliers of "loose" gas. The only option is the Shell garage, 4 miles out of town.
MF - There isn't an exterior BBQ point. Like Wyn, you are lucky to have a nearby LPG source. Neither our Morrisons nor the one at Shrewsbury sell gas.
It looks like I have no choice other than to go with the expensive option of Campingaz. (I already have a bottle and pigtail for that).
Thank you all for your help.

 

[peterc10]

You are very lucky, Wyn. Our town doesn't have any suppliers of "loose" gas. .

Nor does ours. But we have a motorhome and that moves. We just pick some up on our travels wherever we are in Europe or the UK. We have a couple of apps which tell us where the nearest ones are, FillLPG for use in the UK and myLPG for the rest of Europe.

 

[peterc10]

It looks like I have no choice other than to go with the expensive option of Campingaz. (I already have a bottle and pigtail for that).
Thank you all for your help.

Not sure for how long you are going and where, but this could end up costing you as much as, if not more than, the cost of a professionally fitted refillable system.

 

[Lenny HB]

Shell garage, BP garage & Morrisons in a 20 mile radius of us.

 

[tonyidle]

You are very lucky, Wyn. Our town doesn't have any suppliers of "loose" gas. The only option is the Shell garage, 4 miles out of town.
MF - There isn't an exterior BBQ point. Like Wyn, you are lucky to have a nearby LPG source. Neither our Morrisons nor the one at Shrewsbury sell gas.
It looks like I have no choice other than to go with the expensive option of Campingaz. (I already have a bottle and pigtail for that).
Thank you all for your help.

Autogas in Shropshire:

Link Removed

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[Spriddler]

You are very lucky, Wyn. Our town doesn't have any suppliers of "loose" gas. The only option is the Shell garage, 4 miles out of town.

Surely, travelling 4 miles for gas isn't an issue? Especially in view of the substantial cost saving with a refillable gas system.
I have to drive 3 miles to the next village for petrol and diesel.