Where do you get your gas canisters from?

[Diggerdi]

We're picking our new motorhome up next week and asked about gas canisters. Hayes will provide us with a 6kg canister (at a charge!), but the motorhome holds 2 x 13kg. On looking at the website for our local gas supplier, their deposit is £30 regardless of size, so if we take the 6kg one, will we be able to exchange that for a 13kg refill without paying any extra deposit?

Regarding the title of my thread, where do you all get your gas from? Dedicated gas suppliers, B & Q, petrol stations or do you go to a camping/caravan supplies place? Do the prices vary greatly? Our local supplier, Cheshire Gas, charges £19.50 for a 12kg propane + £30 deposit.

 

[Lenny HB]

I'm not sure there is much weight saving overall. I used Calor and BP Lite and cylinders were light when empty.

Try getting them in France/Germany/Greece/Croatia etc.

 

[trophychap]

When we took delivery from Hayes of our new Pilote Reference P716 in 2013 it came with an auto change over valve fitted as standard although it did have French pigtails fitted. They are a different fit to UK bottles. We already had our Gaslow system and simply told Bill Hayes we did not require a gas bottle with the van I am sure that won't have changed. Both Calor and Flogas have web sites showing there site locations but most camping shops etc, will stock LPG of one type or another.

If you are contemplating going abroad for any length of time then a refillable system is desirable as fitting very from gas supplier to gas supplier and you will probably find you are spending loads of money changing fittings etc.

IMHO a refillable system is the way to go but the initial outlay is of course more money, but you will recoupe it over time especiallu if you go away in your Motorhome in the UK over the winter. We have been known to empty an 11kg cylinder over a three day rally in the UK, (we don't like to be cold).

Just as an aside if you can change a gas bottle you will almost certainly be able to fit a refillable system yourself.

 

[Mickey1]

I know @Diggerdi is a newbie, same as me, we pick our vans up next week. I had refillables fitted because of advice from this forum. Everyone wants to help, that's what I like.

Mickey.

 

[suavecarve]

Another vote for refillable.
If you said you could get Gas it for 500 nicker and you got the calor gas bottles for a negligible amount (beer money was quoted earlier.....how long since i heard that phrase!)
When filling up, i think it will work out somewhere around 40 quid cheaper per fill up.
A fill up for both tanks for us would be a month, (summer useage for fridge hot water cooker and bbq).
So after 12 fill ups you would be in profit.
Calculate into that the convenience, you would certainly be beginning to worry after a fortnight abroad, and if you wanted you can transfer the system so you only have to put out once.
For me the cost implications with the convenience far outweigh trying to find a calor gas bottle in europe, but if you use your van for weekend jaunts and a fortnights holiday in the summer it may not be worth it.

To go back to the point initially raised, the dump is a good place to get hold of calor gas bottles.
And a another point, surely if you are buying a van then the dealer has to have it in working order and show you the heating, hot water etc works. I wouldnt be buying the cylinder from them but would certainly be asking them to show me that it all worked. Watch them leave the cylinder in there as a sign of good will.

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[chaser]

Havnt read all this thread so this might have been said , but hope this helps if it hasn't.
Most calor places will swop one size for another , so if you want to stick to calor , take the small bottle , offerered, and swop it for a larger one, later, amazingly if you do stick to calor, "go outdoors " is the cheapest, also as has been said , refillable is the way to go, we now only have one 6kg gasit and fill it whenever we see somewhere that has gas.
You will maybe find you can manage with just the one, as most camp sites carry calor, if that's the way you are going.

 

[EX51SSS]

Try getting them in France/Germany/Greece/Croatia etc.

Yes I know but you've taken the reply completely out of context. I was replying purely to the weight aspect not the availability.
Obviously each country has their own major gas suppliers and Calor is one (or probably) the largest gas suppliers of propane abd butane. The reason years ago I obtained BP Lite because it was supposed to be rolled out throughout Europe but it never caught on in that way. I have a refillable system and in the context of the answer I gave, there is not a lot of weight saved by having empty Calor/BP Lite cylinders and empty Gaslow/Gas it etc cylinders ASSUMING that the contents are the same at full.

 

[Lenny HB]

er I gave, there is not a lot of weight saved by having empty Calor/BP Lite cylinders and empty Gaslow/Gas it etc cylinders ASSUMING that the contents are the same at full.

I have Alugas refillable.

 

[EX51SSS]

I have Alugas refillable.

Same system per se but aluminium cylinders as opposed to steel with others. BP are plastic type. Not knowing the comparison weight and also not struggling for payload, I'm sure that all refillable systems are brilliant.

 

[KeithChesterfield]

There are plenty of different gas systems on the market with GasIt and Gaslow among them.
Under slung tanks are best if you travel a lot and use a large amount of gas or don't have very much room in the Gas locker.
The cost, about four years ago, for a Gaslow bottle, refill kit and hose, bracket, filling kit and French adaptor came to around £200.
I fitted an 11kg Gaslow cylinder to my first MH because of the ease of fitting it and a reasonable price.
It took me, a total amateur, less than 2 hours to fit the system - with the filling bracket inside the Gas locker.
When it was fitted I then took it to a qualified Motorhome Gas engineer and he checked it over for free.
We now have two cylinders and each 11kg bottle holds about 21 kilos of gas and we've never had a problem when filling up despite the filler being in the locker.
We cook most nights with gas, have showers each day, the fridge runs on gas when we are on site, have around half a dozen brews each day, wash pots and pans with gas heated hot water and when it's cold waether the heater runs on gas.
We used a full Gaslow bottle in three weeks in July last year, we rarely if ever go on hook up, and for a fill of €16, cheaper now, in France with no electric costs seems a decent bargain to me.
If you have two Gaslow bottles you should survive easily where-ever or whatever you do on holiday.
There are other systems on the market but Gaslow works for us with no problems so far.
No more lifting heavy bottles in and out, no more swearing when you trap your knuckles or drop the cylinder on your foot and we never run out – when one bottle empties we search for an Lpg station in the next few days.
Many other people choose systems with lighter bottles because of payload worries and it comes down to ease of fitting, any good caravan or Motorhome dealer should be able to fit them, and how much or how little you're prepared to spend on a system.
If you buy bottles of Local LPG while abroad you will need a variety of adapters for each country you visit as their isn't a standard setting for Europe – every country seems to have a different connection.

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[Khizzie]

We're picking our new motorhome up next week and asked about gas canisters. Hayes will provide us with a 6kg canister (at a charge!), but the motorhome holds 2 x 13kg. On looking at the website for our local gas supplier, their deposit is £30 regardless of size, so if we take the 6kg one, will we be able to exchange that for a 13kg refill without paying any extra deposit?

Regarding the title of my thread, where do you all get your gas from? Dedicated gas suppliers, B & Q, petrol stations or do you go to a camping/caravan supplies place? Do the prices vary greatly? Our local supplier, Cheshire Gas, charges £19.50 for a 12kg propane + £30 deposit.

Just a reminder. This was the question. !!!

 

[TheCaller]

We're picking our new motorhome up next week and asked about gas canisters. Hayes will provide us with a 6kg canister (at a charge!), but the motorhome holds 2 x 13kg. On looking at the website for our local gas supplier, their deposit is £30 regardless of size, so if we take the 6kg one, will we be able to exchange that for a 13kg refill without paying any extra deposit?

Regarding the title of my thread, where do you all get your gas from? Dedicated gas suppliers, B & Q, petrol stations or do you go to a camping/caravan supplies place? Do the prices vary greatly? Our local supplier, Cheshire Gas, charges £19.50 for a 12kg propane + £30 deposit.

The 12kg Propane bottle is liquid offtake for a forklift truck. You don't want that one! You want the 11kg Propane bottle.

Calor are, I think, the only people who do a 13kg Propane bottle. A few UK vans will take 2 x 13kg but continental vans will mostly only take 2 x 11kg, which is the common continental size. It's also the common size for the UK 'anyone other than Calor' suppliers.

FloGas is the major competitor. www.gasdeal.co.uk are FloGas suppliers with the extra bonus of free delivery to your home, so location is no longer important.

The economics aren't too bad when you can fit 2 x 11 or 13kg bottles in. 6kg exchangeable bottles lead to very expensive gas & that makes refillables even more attractive to people with small gas lockers.

 

[Khizzie]

The 12kg Propane bottle is liquid offtake for a forklift truck. You don't want that one! You want the 11kg Propane bottle.

Calor are, I think, the only people who do a 13kg Propane bottle. A few UK vans will take 2 x 13kg but continental vans will mostly only take 2 x 11kg, which is the common continental size. It's also the common size for the UK 'anyone other than Calor' suppliers.

FloGas is the major competitor. www.gasdeal.co.uk are FloGas suppliers with the extra bonus of free delivery to your home, so location is no longer important.

The economics aren't too bad when you can fit 2 x 11 or 13kg bottles in. 6kg exchangeable bottles lead to very expensive gas & that makes refillables even more attractive to people with small gas lockers.

Are flogas cylinder connections the same as calor ..Roy.

 

[Diggerdi]

@TheCaller, I wondered why some sizes had 'flt' after them, now I know! This site is amazingly educational

 

[TheCaller]

Are flogas cylinder connections the same as calor ..Roy.

Yes, straight swap.

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[Diggerdi]

Thanks to everyone who has commented. Don't really want to go down the refillable route, certainly not at the moment, due to a) we won't be leaving the UK and b) having just shelled out my total pension pot, there's nothing left for expensive extras . I have learned a lot though, particularly why some sizes of bottle have 'flt' after them I was presuming that Hayes would charge us for the 6kg, but maybe it is "thrown in". And, wow, I've just realised that 7 days from NOW we'll probably be showing off our new pride and joy to friends and neighbours

 

[Tweedie]

If you are just looking for where you can exchange your empty cylinders for full ones (buy), as well as the obvious caravan / camping accessory shops and bigger outlets like Go Outdoors etc, Lots of garages do them and also a lot Marinas do cylinder exchange as well.

 

[Lofty1]

Your local council tip is usually a good source in exchange for 'beer money'

well worth the trouble, most waste sites have plenty.

 

[EX51SSS]

Just a reminder. This was the question. !!!

And it was answered a few times but alternatives were suggested.
This was my suggestion which is directly under the OP's

 

[Khizzie]

And it was answered a few times but alternatives were suggested.
This was my suggestion which is directly under the OP's
View attachment 149519

Your reply was very useful not only to the OP but to myself and others. Thankyou. Roy

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[EX51SSS]

Your reply was very useful not only to the OP but to myself and others. Thankyou. Roy

I'm more than happy that I've been able to give some useful information