LPG cylinder refill in Europe (1 Viewer)

[Cat_tap]

Hi all,
we're new to motorhoming and are starting in style with an 8 month trip around Europe. We are looking into getting a refillable LPG cylinder for our heating/cooking needs rather than changing gas bottles depending on whichever country we end up in, but have some questions about how easy it is to refill.

A website we have viewed (about a year old) says although new lpg refillable bottles are very safe, few gas suppliers on the continent have been educated to know they can be refilled in the cupboard (they expect to see a nozzle hole on the side of the van like for diesel) and therefore refuse to let you fill up. Is that still the case or have things changed?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[geoff1947]

I'm no expert in this field but we do tour a lot in Europe & I usually carry 2 x Calor cylinders and 1 x blue camping gaz cylinder. If needs be and I exhaust the Calor gas, the camping gaz can be exchanged across Europe. The secret is economy and to use it sparingly. If on a site and hooked up to the electric, use an electric kettle and hot air heater etc. I'm not sure if you can refill all over Europe but I'm sure there are more experienced travelers out there who will advise! Eight months is a long time and you will need a lot of gas (and cash) as it's not as cheap in France and Spain as it was last year. As of last week, Diesel in Spain is between Euro 85-1.00 and France Euro 83-1.20 best to fill up in supermarkets when you can. Good luck on your travels. Where do you plan to go for interest sake?:thumb:

 

[Tony Lee]

Problem with refilling a bottle via the locker door is the attendants don't know whether you are filling bottles with an 80% fill limit cutoff or using something you bought off ebay to fill normal bottles without a cutoff. One is regarded as reasonably safe, the other potentially dangerous. Some filling stations don't monitor what you are doing and at others, the attendant comes out to do it for you.

How you go depends a lot on how long you intend to be in what country and what your gas usage is likely to be. Some countries have no restrictions on buying a local bottle and others require formal contracts. Most countries have their own unique bottle and regulator and there is little or no interchangeability. Some countries have few autogas dispensers (Spain, Norway) and some have none (Iceland, Morocco)

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[chewy]

Sounds like Tony has the right experience. We've just fitted (am I allowed to say) Gaslow and bought 3 different adaptors France Spain Italy and are looking foreward with some trepidation to first fill up experience in Europe. We put the refill nozzle inside the locker so as not to advertise the fact that we have refillable. Filled up at local garage..easy plan job!. And pleasantly cheap compared to bottled. Should pay for itself within first year. hope this helps

 

[hogan]

Filled up my gaslow system lots of times all over Europe the only place I could not do it was east Germany on the Polish border but no problem in Poland,Very few filling stations in Spain,
Some pumps in Netherlands have a sticker on the pump saying no bottle refilling but we
just went ahead and filled anyway with no problems.
You will need 2 adaptors Europe and Italian.

 

[activecampers]

I have never had any issue filling gaslow, though filler is external (which it should be)
Well not quite true - a few issues

- Spain - my adapters didn't fit pump, but attendant fitted
- Everywhere - laugh I only put 3€ in!
- Everywhere where it is attended - get confused about putting LPG in diesel.

But seriously - no issues - gaslow for us has been a godsend.

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[Tony Lee]

Spain has a different set of nozzles at some stations - although if they have two pumps, one is likely to fit the dish type adaptor - but the attendants will have an adaptor.

If you are spending time in Spain then you will need to get hold of the POI file because the stations are usually in gas depots in the back streets and impossible to find without a navigator.

 

[Cat_tap]

Thanks for all the advice. It sounds like it's not as bad as we expected... We have a toddler and a 4 month old baby so don't want to worry about gas running out and a gaslow system seems a good option.

We're travelling in France, Germany, across to Slovakia, Belgium, Netherlands, and Italy, plus a few others that take our fancy on the way past.