gas in france & spain? (1 Viewer)

buggy man

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Hi all. I am a brand new newbie, and i would like some help please. We are planning to motorhome it down to southern spain.When we arrive in spain (god willing) we will need gas. Any advice as to what gas bottles we should buy and what type of regulator to suit these bottles ?.
p.s.. would be gratefull for any other info.Many Thanks Colin..:Smile:
 
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old-mo

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Once in Spain,,, get yourself to one of the many flea markets,, which are numerous and like our car boot sales..

You will pick up a bottle for about 5 euros,, make sure it is the orange bottle with a black line round the middle, I believe they have REPSOL printed/painted on them., and most Ferretereos (Dont think that is spelt right) they are like a buiders merchants come general diy store,, buy a regulator to suit that bottle from the same shop,, (Cost 9 -10 euros) and most garages and ferretereos will exchange, some may not,, cos to get a gas bottle you are supposed to have a permanent address and get issued with paperwork which you will need your passport and an nif number which is a pain in the arse.. and as said you cannot legally get one with out an address.

Go down the road of a flea market,, then if you dont want to bring the bottle home flog it to another camper.. some sites will lend you a bottle but at a big cost (Spanish dont do owt for nowt I find)

Think I am pretty well correct but some one will come along to put you right I am sure.

Good luck.:thumb:
 

captmike

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Nov 26, 2008
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Old mo is quite right with his advice on getting a gas bottle. Some garages and ferreterias will sell you a bottle for about €25 (plus the cost of the gas, presently about €11.50). However you need to watch the kind of gas inside the bottle.

The most commonly available type is butane and is most easily available from Repsol in the orange bottles. Only butane regulators are available in ferreterias. If you want propane (and in recent weather you do need it) you need the orange 12kg bottles with the black band round the middle. The fitting is identical to the butane bottles but regulators are not available except from specialised gas fitters. However you can get a special valve which will fit directly to the cylinder and the outlet will be at full bottle pressure. You then need a high pressure hose to go to your own regulator fixed in the van if you have that set up. If you have a bottle mounted regulator you'll have to buy a new one which will connect to the special bottle valve I described above. You can buy all these parts in the UK from Gaslow.

http://www.gaslow.co.uk

Cheers,

Mike

Cheers,

Mike

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motorhomer

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I guess it depends on how long you plan to stay in Spain.

We have had 2 trips of 9 weeks to S Spain, and decided to take gas with us rather than bother buying different regulators and bottles. One 13 and 2 6 kg bottles of Propane proved to be enough. We did use mains some of the time but did stay in aires in France and a few times in Spain I refused to pay 5€ for 5 or 6 amps!

But of course if having got to spain you intend to stay there for some months then you will need to change regulators and buy bottles there.
 

Kon tiki

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You will also need different bottles/regulators for France & again for Germany (if you ever go there) It is probably best to bite the bullet & go for a refillable system such as gaslow, alugas or one of the others. Although it seems expensive at the outset you benefit from cheaper gas & not having to bother with switching bottles & regulators. Also if you fit it with the regulator inside the gas locker you can remove the system when you sell the van.

France & most of the rest of Europe is fine for refillable LPG (or GPL as they call it) Spain is a bit more difficult as there are fewer filling stations.
 
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buggy man

buggy man

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gas in france & spain.

Thanks for all replies and suggestions. Captmike mentions 12 kg. bottles ..(problem) the gas locker on the bessacarr 745 is rather small and i can only get 6kg. bottles in there. Are there smaller bottles to be had in spain. Many Thanks Colin .. :Smile:

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old-mo

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There are smaller ones in Spain,, but they tend to be the "GAZ" type,, the blue ones,, and they are ridiculously expensive to change.

Just need a long length of gas hose and a chain and padlock,, assuming you have a vent in your gas locker to poke the hose through. :thumb:
 

captmike

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Are there smaller bottles to be had in spain.

Yes there are but they are not easy to come by. You will probably have to go to a large B & Q type hardware store (look out for Leroy Merlin) or more likely a Repsol depot. They have a small bottle around the 6kg size which is used for barbecues and the like. Your first bottle may have to come from the likes of Leroy Merlin; I don't know but you might run into the contract problem if you went to buy one at a depot. Don't even think about a contract which involves an expensive inspection and certification buy a so-called qualified technician.

On balance Old-mo's idea is best but where to keep the bottle when on the road?

Cheers,

Mike
 

froghopper

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gas in spain

hi, had this problem many times, was at shepton mallet show, bought a refiilable set up,, 12 ltr bottle, holds a useable 10, cost with regulator and an adapter , well 3 in fact, can in theory go anywhere in the world now, 2 years ago , just over 170 pounds, to fill up even know is only about 4.50, it has a gauge fitted, so when half full, look for more, even in this country no problem,,,, has to be filled in sittu,, not sure how you long stop full timers would find it, a medium bottle, ? 18 pounds !! i reckon after about 10 refils i had paid for it, no extra bottles to carry, know just how much is left in tank, it has to be worth thinking about,, good luck,, travel well:thumb:

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lebesset

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May 31, 2009
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small 6Kg butane bottles are extremely easily obtained in spain , virtually every repsol petrol station sells them

last time I had one , paid a €20 deposit on the bottle , if you use a low pressure system [ regulator on bottle ] they are available at every ferreteria and supermarket , if you have an on board regulator every repsol gas agent sells an adaptor to the same thread as calor dumpy butane bottles
i kept the receipt , when I left spain handed in the empty bottle to a repsol garage and got my deposit back

can't guarantee that the prices haven't changed , has been a while
 
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buggy man

buggy man

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Gas in France & Spain.

Thanks again to all. I quite like Old -Moe's idea.. in fact where we have planned to stay on getting to southern spain for the first couple of weeks (Mojacar), (we were there in may last year on a rece). The owner of the camp site where we are going to who we met and is british suggested the same idea ideal. But no good for touring around no where to store bottle. We do plan to stop at sights with hook ups and probably a bit of wild camping, another suggestion was a dumpy blue camping gas no problem to store and these are exchangable with the spanish ones.
I think when we return to the uk will look at LPG. conversion.:Smile: Colin..

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wanderer

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Hi
We are at Cabo de gata in Almeria and everybody on site has been going to the main cepsa depot near Benadoux 10kms and buying a full bottle without deposit for 11.05 euros you need a passport and your camping site invoice. Then buy a spanish regulator from the ferritiere and away you go.
Wanderer
 
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buggy man

buggy man

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gas in spain..

Thanks Wanderer. I was concerned about the gas situation in spain but with all the help of all you fellow funsters there seems to be plenty of options.. no worries. Colin.:Smile:
 

Sasha

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Hi Wanderer, could you tell me please if the Cepsa gas bottles people are buying are stainless steel or aluminium? I swapped my Repsol orange gas bottle for Cepsa last year with another motorhomer but now I have heard they no longer sell the stainless steel cylinder and have changed to aluminium. If this is the case do you know if they will change the stainless bottles for the new ones?
Many thanks
James

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lebesset

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bottle hasn't changed , some say they are inox , some say they are alu

you don't REALLY think cepsa threw away all those bottles , do you?

I stick to repsol , propane more readily available , so haven't tested a cepsa bottle but they look like an alu alloy to me
 

blucamp2

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Thanks again to all. I quite like Old -Moe's idea.. in fact where we have planned to stay on getting to southern spain for the first couple of weeks (Mojacar), (we were there in may last year on a rece). The owner of the camp site where we are going to who we met and is british suggested the same idea ideal. But no good for touring around no where to store bottle. We do plan to stop at sights with hook ups and probably a bit of wild camping, another suggestion was a dumpy blue camping gas no problem to store and these are exchangable with the spanish ones.
I think when we return to the uk will look at LPG. conversion.:Smile: Colin..
We are in Cartagena and thinking of moving on to mojacar next week somtime do you have the name and web address of the site in Mojacar
regards phil
 

Sasha

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bottle hasn't changed , some say they are inox , some say they are alu

you don't REALLY think cepsa threw away all those bottles , do you?

I stick to repsol , propane more readily available , so haven't tested a cepsa bottle but they look like an alu alloy to me

Hi
I realise the Repsol bottles are more readily available but the Cepsa stainless butane bottles are very light, the Cepsa propane is silver painted steel, not so light.

I can't imagine Cepsa have the scrapped stainless bottles but have been told they no longer stock them only a new type of aluminium one.

Don't really want to carry it to Spain when we go, only to find out they won't change it.

Regards
James

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buggy man

buggy man

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We are in Cartagena and thinking of moving on to mojacar next week somtime do you have the name and web address of the site in Mojacar
regards phil


Hi Phil. Here is the name and address of camp site at Mojacar. This site is a couple of miles outside Mojacar Playa.It is on the right hand side going from motorway to Mojacar on the A370 keep your eye out for the small MOTOR CARAVAN CLUB sign at entrance to the site. All the best Colin.:Smile:


Canada Camping
Turre 04639Almeria
Spain
Mobile: (0034) 627763908
E Mail: canadacampingmojacar@yahoo.co.uk

The campsite is only 6Km from the E15/N340 motorway with access from J 525 via the N340a & A370. Almeria is 80Km and Allicanti 170Km



 

wanderer

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Hi Sasha
We are sure that the Cepsa bottles are stainless steel, we are getting them from the area depot and not the local retailers
Wanderer
 

Detourer

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I think you may find that the Cepsa stainless bottles are slowly [very] being switched to a more plastic, red/grey, looking type.....size, reg etc is the same of cause.

I am sure someone will say there is a problem, but if you can carry a bottle inside or wherever and have a BBQ outlet when you stop you can just plug into that......if you know what I mean....... we do it all the time on extended Moroccan tours due to heavy gas use and all the different bottles/fittings........:Doh:

Ray

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Sasha

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Thank you for the replies about the Cepsa stainless steel gas bottle.
May be of interest I have just weighed it, 8Kg empty so if they are changing
to a plastic type bottle it could be even lighter !

Thanks again
James
 

Detourer

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I am not sure if they are plasic.......They look like they are, but...... I am in the station every day so check the weight difference by getting Debbie to lift one, above her head, with each arm......

If nothing else the new bottles look nice!

..
 

Sasha

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If Debbie can lift one above her head with each arm I definitely want one
especially if they are full of gas ! :) :thumb:

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