Fresh water tank & gas levels (1 Viewer)

[Karaoke1964]

hi all,
We bought a Carioca 656 in January and have just returned from our 1st outing. As newbies we have a few questions ~
How do we find out how much gas we have left in the bottle?
(btw is the Gaslow system worth going for?)

The external fill point for fresh water is jammed so we are filling via point under dinette seating. (seems previous owner did too). Is this an easy fix and how do we properly drain the tank prior to putting back in storage?

Finally, is there a user manual for our model that's written by someone whose 1st language is English?

thanks in advance.

 

[Phill D]

hi welcome.

we used to have a cArioca 746. the drain was next to the pump behind a small door under the front dinette ( a blue tap )

gas levels in bottles is generally a GUESTIMATE! by weight but there are some products on the market that give a reasonable idea,

on Gaslow, you will not justify it on cost savings, but we fitted a GASIT system last year and its proved its worth in convenience alone. GASIT is the same as gaslow ( except red tanks ) and cheaper.

on the external water filler if i remember correctly its a small flap with a key under which is a screw cap.

 

[Phill D]

ps; we had a user manual that went with the van which was quite reasonable. might be worth searching the net for a download copy.

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[scotjimland]

Sorry.. no idea about the filler cap..

.. Gas bottles.

There is no reliable way of knowing how much gas is left unless you remove the bottle and weigh it and any products on the market that claim to either show level or use pressure to indicate level are a waste of money.. they don't work.. at best they tell lies.
Bottle pressure remains constant until the last dregs of gas.. so a pressure gauge is a waste of money.. it will show FULL then rapidly drop to empty just as you put the spuds on to boil.. ..
Indicators that stick on the side indicate the temperature difference at the liquid/gas interface .. you can physically see this when you are using gas .. sometimes you see frost. When not using gas there is no temperature difference at the interface, so the level gauge won't show anything.

The 'normal' practice is to have two bottles and use one until it runs out, then change and buy a new bottle as soon as possible. That method is reliable and has stood the test of time. Don't fit an auto changeover valve.. it defeats the object of having two bottles.
Gaslow bottles and LPG bulk tanks have float gauges that indicate the level.. and you can fill up at any time, no need to wait till empty.

Gaslow systems are worthwhile if ..

a) You use a lot of gas, ie off site in winter when gas heating drinks LPG
b) travel a lot in Europe and stay for months at a time.

otherwise the payback time will be years.. but can be removed and used in your next van..

Bulk tank.. same as Gaslow but a bit more expensive, bonus being it frees up a locker for more junk.

 

[rosalan]

There are several re-fillable gas bottles available now, one of the first being Gaslow.
I am on my third van with Gaslow fitted and to be honest I do not care that I am buying gas much cheaper this way, although it is much cheaper. If you are using exchange bottles at present, ask yourself, do I enjoy lifting them into the van?... I certainly did not. How often have you knocked the side of the cupboard putting them in. When you go out of this country, what bottles can you take? Every country have their own bottles and yours cannot be re-filled or exchanged.
With my two Gaslow bottles onboard, I drive up to a fuel station and fill them up when I top up with diesel. They do not need to be empty, you just fill them and pay for what you actually use.
My system means having two bottles, when one gets empty I know that I have at the very least a week to find an Autogas point and did I say, it is much cheaper to fill than exchanging a bottle.

Alan

 

[chrisboyo]

We have a built in gas bottle on our auto sleeper
When we were in morocco the gauge lights on the dash showed red , empty so panic , rushed out and bought a gas bottle and ring to last out the final few daze
The tank is rated, according to the manual, at 27 litres when full
On refilling when we got into Spain it took only 13 liters to fill !
So much for gas level indicators oh:

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[SMB]

Had refillable system fitted by Autogas 2000 for the convenience more than anything else, each bottles has a guage so you can see how much gas is left. It has been very helpful traveling around Europe knowing that could fill up at a fuel station without any hassle, I'm one lazy boy

 

[Karaoke1964]

many thanks for all your replies.
Dan

 

[Mousy]

Re gas it gaslow etc, if you are not in a rush and keep your eyes peeled they do sometimes come up for sale second hand. We bought our 2 bottle system from a fellow Funster and I've seen 2 others for sale since.

Find out what size fits your locker, 2 x 6kg or 11kg bottles, sometimes people change vans and their bottles don't fit the new locker or they up grade to a fitted tank. Rending their old system surplus.

More than happy with ours.

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[sedge]

With refillable, it is a lot more about convenience really than price, but the gas itself is far far cheaper to buy at the pump than by exchanging bottles. And because Calor isn't available in most of Europe it means you have to carry adaptors and source foreign bottles, if you are intending to visit Europe frequently.

When you pass through several countries on one trip and don't know where you will run out of gas ......

But there again you still need adaptors to refill the Gaslow (etc) at non-UK pumps.