Gas or genie box dilemma (1 Viewer)

[taralabradog]

We have had the new motorhome since February and have used it extensively. However we were a little disappointed when the original gas bottles we had wouldn't fit in the locker because they were too big at 305 mm diameter. At the moment we have only one 6 kg calor propane bottle in the locker and we are using the the other half of the locker for storage which suits us fine in the UK. The trouble will come when we go abroad and want both bottles in the locker. I have also checked the size of some of the continental bottles and they are the same size as the BP Gas Light bottles that we couldn't fit in originally.

We went down to Autogas at Thirsk a couple of weeks ago to see if we could get an under-slung tank fitted. The answer is yes and we have a good quote from them.If we do this then we will have the original gas locker for storage but I have gleaned from different forums that LPG outlets are slowly disappearing and those that remain seem less disposed to let motor homes use their pumps.

Another thought was to just keep the normal gas locker and hire continental bottles when we get there as long as they will fit. If we go this way I would have one or two genie boxes (same as beanie boxes but located up north) fitted for storage.

So for those that do the continent a lot (we haven't yet) Do the continental bottles come in sizes that would fit our gas locker or do we fit the under-slung tank and hope the outlets don't disappear.

 

[Terry]

I think you are getting a little confused -Fitting a under slung tank you will get a outside filling point so have no problem filling the tank --problems may be occurring with refillable bottles that have got a inside filling point and staff at the filling station that are not fully understanding how/what/why the filling of gas bottles work -They have been told not to allow bottles to be filled so they see you have bottles when you open up to put filler on and that's it -you have bottles so no fill --You could argue that your bottles are in fact tanks that look like bottles but the jobsworths only see bottles Get a outside filler fitted then no one can see if you have bottles or a tank or refillable bottles/tanks Hope that clears things up -clear as mud
terry

 

[scotjimland]

Get a couple of refillable bottles.. see what size fits, they come in 6kg and 11kg.. you could use either 2 x 11kg or or if your locker isn't big enough a 1 x 11kg and a 6kg ..

Fit the filler on the skirt and as @Terry said.. Bob's your aunty

I fitted two 11kg Gaslow.. easy job.. the only hard part is putting a 70mm cutter to your van to fit the fillpoint.. .. after that.. plain sailing..


from this , the locker couldn't hold two 13kg Calor.. hence the 6kg Calorlite

To this.. 2 x 11kg Gaslow with Auto changeover valve and a new Clesse regulator..

I've since re-routed the filling hose to less exposed route behind the locker.

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[John & Joan]

Autogas used to be a problem in Spain but more and more outlets are opening every year now. The few UK ones that are closing are offset by new ones opening.

Had a under slung tank since 2007 and been refused 3 times. once in Italy (not for Cooking) once in France (reason not given, but pump turned off as I lifted the filler) and once in the UK (where the manager had issued an instruction to staff not to fill any campervans).

Cost wise Autogas works out a lot less than bottles. I use about 1100 Litres per year. Now that's a lot of bottles to change.

I now use the gas locker for 3 x 110Ah leisure batteries and other leads and storage.

 

[taralabradog]

Thanks folks. Yes I realize that an outside filler would be fitted with an under-slung tank. Jim the idea of the under-slung tank was half to free up the storage of the original gas locker.
Has anyone any experience of genie boxes and is lpg filling widely available in Spain and the rest of the continent.
Also does anyonone know what bottles I would need for various eurpean countries so I can research the size of the bottles?

 

[Terry]

Genie boxes ? do you mean Benie box ? cannot help with eu size bottles but plenty of LPG stations around -we have had 2 close but found 3 more nearby
terry

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[taralabradog]

Genie boxes are the equivalent of beenie boxes just a different manufacturer because I didn't fancy the trip to Cornwall,

 

[scotjimland]

Jim the idea of the under-slung tank was half to free up the storage of the original gas locker.

yes, I appreciate that..

but refillable bottles are a lot cheaper than a tank .. and you can fill in any country.. the main reason I have them..

useful LPG site
http://www.mylpg.eu/
http://www.mylpg.eu/stations/spain

 

[taralabradog]

Jim. I don't mind paying a little extra for the under-slung tank if it frees up the locker. Both would be filled externally anyway. So if I had bottles fitted I would then pay out for an external locker fitment. The money isn't really the problem. The question of LPG availability and continental bottles being small enough to fit in my gas locker are the things I need answering.

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[taralabradog]

Jim. Forgot to say thanks for the LPG links

 

[scotjimland]

The question of LPG availability and continental bottles being small enough to fit in my gas locker are the things I need answering.

there is such a variety of gas bottles in Europe, that I doubt anyone knows all the sizes..

what I do know is that the 11kg refillable bottles, Gaslow and GasIt are the same size as the German 11kg propane exchange bottle.. and most continental vans have a locker that takes two x 11kg , which doesn't help much since you have an Eldis..

an advantage of refillable bottles are the can be removed and re-fitted in your next van..


sorry can't help further.

 

[John & Joan]

If this is the genie-box you refer to http://www.genie-box.co.uk/ It is not the same as a Beeny box http://www.beenybox.co.uk/

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[Minxy]

If this is the genie-box you refer to http://www.genie-box.co.uk/ It is not the same as a Beeny box http://www.beenybox.co.uk/

I think it's the Genie Drawer that they're referring to produced by JH Caravans:

http://www.jhcaravan.com/

 

[Minxy]

The 6kg Calor bottle is 495 high x 256 diameter, a Gasit 6kg bottle is 470 high x 246 diameter so you should get 2 of these in your gas locker as far as I'm aware - what is restricting you getting a larger bottle in?

As for refillable versus tank versus a 'drawer' - the fixed tank and/or drawer will add quite a bit of extra weight to your MH so make sure you've got the spare payload capacity before going down this route.

Personally if you can get 2 refillables in I'd go for that as you can easily move them to another MH in the future and reassess your need for extra storage as we all carry a lot more 'junk' around than we should!

 

[Jaws]

Cheers for that info Mel !!
Darrell ( # 1 son ) has one of those Gene Drawers in his Bessacar
Always admired it and wondered how it had been done..

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[taralabradog]

I think it's the Genie Drawer that they're referring to produced by JH Caravans:

http://www.jhcaravan.com/

Yes that is the one

 

[taralabradog]

The 6kg Calor bottle is 495 high x 256 diameter, a Gasit 6kg bottle is 470 high x 246 diameter so you should get 2 of these in your gas locker as far as I'm aware - what is restricting you getting a larger bottle in?

As for refillable versus tank versus a 'drawer' - the fixed tank and/or drawer will add quite a bit of extra weight to your MH so make sure you've got the spare payload capacity before going down this route.

Personally if you can get 2 refillables in I'd go for that as you can easily move them to another MH in the future and reassess your need for extra storage as we all carry a lot more 'junk' around than we should!

Thanks for the info. Yes I can get two of the 6kg calors in the locker but the BP gas light bottles were 305 mm diameter and the locker is just too shallow to fit them in.

As far as weight goes I went on the weighbridge a month or so ago and we were fully loaded ready to go with full tanks of water and fuel and we still had 300kg payload left.

Now for the point of being able to move refillable bottles to another motorhome. I know alot of people say this but this is the one and only to last us until we have to give up altogether. Besides I don't think we could handle the hassle and stress of another couple of years research and we probably couldn't afford it anyway

 

[John & Joan]

You learn something new every day. I thought the company in Cornwall was the only supplier.

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[Minxy]

Thanks for the info. Yes I can get two of the 6kg calors in the locker but the BP gas light bottles were 305 mm diameter and the locker is just too shallow to fit them in.

As far as weight goes I went on the weighbridge a month or so ago and we were fully loaded ready to go with full tanks of water and fuel and we still had 300kg payload left.

Now for the point of being able to move refillable bottles to another motorhome. I know alot of people say this but this is the one and only to last us until we have to give up altogether. Besides I don't think we could handle the hassle and stress of another couple of years research and we probably couldn't afford it anyway

Being able to move them to another MH is just an example of the benefits over a fixed tank, if you don't want them in the future you can also sell them separately to your MH as you'd get nowt for them if you left them with it, you can't really do that with a fixed tank.

 

[DBK]

We have an underslung tank on our MH and find it very convenient. LPG is widely available in Europe although I think it isn't too common in Greece, but we can last 6 to 8 weeks in summer on a fill, so that gives plenty of time to look round for where to go to fill up.

The All the Aires books show LPG stations in France,Spain and Portugal.

 

[MikeandCarolyn]

Our gas locker will take 2 x 13kg bottles,but I went for the underslung tank option to give us all that extra storage space.
I had the gas plumbing done in a way that makes it easy to turn off the underslung tank and connect a large Spanish bottle (which stands on ground) when we are on a site in winter for 3 mths or so.

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[Neilfg]

Our gas locker will take 2 x 13kg bottles,but I went for the underslung tank option to give us all that extra storage space.
I had the gas plumbing done in a way that makes it easy to turn off the underslung tank and connect a large Spanish bottle (which stands on ground) when we are on a site in winter for 3 mths or so.

I think this is what we would like, can I ask what size take did you go for and who did the work?

 

[MikeandCarolyn]

I wanted a 100ltr,but that was too long, an 80ltr was right length but too deep,so I ended up with 40ltr. Which has proved to be more than adequate.
Our local Bailey's caravan service agent did the work,as he did all my maintenance etc in Talbot Green s.wales. It's not really a specialist job,so long as they are Gas certified.

The modifications to the plumbing to use a Spanish bottle were done by Handy Andy of Costablancamotorhomeservices. at Marjal campsite.

 

[John & Joan]

Fitting a BBQ point is another way to feed from a bottle of any type especially with a gas tank fitted. Just plug into the point with a regulator on the bottle pipe. Turn off the gas tank first.

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[taralabradog]

Our gas locker will take 2 x 13kg bottles,but I went for the underslung tank option to give us all that extra storage space.
I had the gas plumbing done in a way that makes it easy to turn off the underslung tank and connect a large Spanish bottle (which stands on ground) when we are on a site in winter for 3 mths or so.

Thanks. I hadn't thought of being able to have a free standing bottle. Something to consider if we are to spend a long while down there

 

[taralabradog]

Fitting a BBQ point is another way to feed from a bottle of any type especially with a gas tank fitted. Just plug into the point with a regulator on the bottle pipe. Turn off the gas tank first.

Something else I hadn't considered. Some great ideas coming out now. Well worth the subs.

 

[xsparks]

I had a tank fitted about 8 years ago best thing I have added and the gas is such a saving compared to bottled.
I also always carry a spare regulator after the trouble my brother had getting a new one in Europe.
My redundant gas locker has lots of uses.

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[Steve]

Dont forget that just becouse you have fitted tanks/bottles you can still connect a stand-a-lone bottle to the system if required. So even if you did run out there is always the opsion to just get a local bottle.
Steve

 

[gus-lopez]

Something else I hadn't considered. Some great ideas coming out now. Well worth the subs.

Yes ,you will always get some suggestion that you haven't thought of yourself.

 

[taralabradog]

Dont forget that just becouse you have fitted tanks/bottles you can still connect a stand-a-lone bottle to the system if required. So even if you did run out there is always the opsion to just get a local bottle.
Steve

Yes. I have already talked about that with the autogas2000 people who are really helpful by the way.

I think we have made our minds up now to have the under slung tank and one genie drawer fitted so thanks everyone.

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