Newbies./gas bottles (1 Viewer)

[Daveo2006]

Hi Everyone, We are Dave and Julie and have bought our 1st motorhome in September and after many issues have it back and are ready for the off.We intend trialing it on a trip to Scotland to visit family and other places whilst there.We are from the SE coast by the way and have purchased Swift sundance 590rs.After few short trips in the uk we intend to travel over to France which brings me to my question to which im in need of an answer.When i purchased the van i was sold(hired) two calor gas bottles (6kg) and they charged me deposits on the bottles.I have since found out these are not exchangeable over seas so intend buying two gaslow refillables.What id like to know is can i get deposits back at any calor agent or will i have to go back to the dealer where i got them?I did think they charged a high rate too which was £34 a bottle which is alot more than i pay for the 13kg bottles i use at work.I would be grateful if anyone would have any info.Cheers.

 

[Phill D]

The 2 x 6kg could be ok dependant on time of year and type of camping you do. We did 6 weeks in France last year and barely used 6kgs as it was june and early july.

On the bottle hire, as i understand it if you have the hire agreement you can hand them in at most calor outlets.

6kgs in a lite bottle is generally £22.

 

[Stewart J]

Returned an 11 kg calor cylinder with the contract document issued when purchased earlier this week, 2.5 years ago it was £30. There is a sliding scale of refunds and I was only entitled to 50% IE £15.00.

Bit of a rip off after purchasing so many refills but there you go.:Sad:

PS We went for Alugas the cylinders empty are less than half the weight of Gaslow or Gasit a consideration if payload is tight,:thumb:

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[Daveo2006]

Thanks for the replies guys,i will certainly take on board your comments and weigh up the options.

 

[Daveo2006]

Stewart i just checked out the alugas cylinders.Defo makes good sense and not alot of difference price.The only thing i need to check is that two will fit in the locker as they are a different shape in the 6kg size.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Hi Daveo I too am off overseas for the first time this year,for a two and a half weeks, and had worries about gas and the amount required.
As Phill D points out a lot will depend on the time of year and the type of camping,be it with hook up or not.Last summer myself and family spent two weeks off the west coast of Scotland wild camping .For the whole 2 weeks we needed no hookup and relied on solar power,however the fridge ran off gas constantly,the water heater and cooker also using gas.At the end of the fortnight we had used around three quarters of a bottle 6 kg.
My van like yours carries 2 6 kg bottles which in hindsight in May will last more than long enough.
If money is not an issue get the refillable bottles and adapters however its money which could maybe be better spent elsewhere!

Regards Vlad .:thumb:

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[Stewart J]

Stewart i just checked out the alugas cylinders.Defo makes good sense and not alot of difference price.The only thing i need to check is that two will fit in the locker as they are a different shape in the 6kg size.

On the Alugas cylinders the trick is to remove the lifting collar which is fixed by 3 x stainless steel bolts, gives you more height space above. :thumb:

 

[Roryboys Dad]

I don't know if you've had the Swift weighed or not but if you're going to add extra weight by putting in 11k Gaslow, or similar, bottles rather than the 6kg bottles you already have it might be a good idea to get it weighed.

At least then you'd know whether to go for the lightest option (gas tank) or the extra weight of the Gaslow system and if you have sufficient payload to cope with the extra weight.

As mentioned earlier make sure you have enough room in the locker to take a Gaslow system.

 

[Daveo2006]

Hi roryboys Dad, im going to stick with the 2 6kg size,its just the issue of not being able to change them abroad and also im thinking it could be alot more convenient filling them up at the fuel stations rather than having to take them out all the time.The understanding i have is that you just fill from outside the vehicle as you would an lpg car?

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[Chockswahay]

Hi Dave,

Not quite the same problem but does this help ?

Broken Link Removed

 

[plumbomb]

Hi Daveo, i am all so looking at refillable gas bottles. I will be calling in to alugas in Thirsk on Monday hopefully will pick up 1 11kg gas bottle and fittings to fit to my M/H when arrives.Ill let you know cost of 6kg bottles & fittings. :thumb:

 

[DP+JAY]

I went for one 11kg alugas as it is cheaper lighter & less pipework than 2 x 6kg & as it's refillable there is no need for seperate bottles as you can top it up rather than wait 'till it's empty.

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[GlobeStar]

We have the same as Jay, one 11kg alugas. Much lighter and gives you some storage in the gas locker for a Cobb BBQ and other bits.
Toured Scotland Sept during fairly crap weather, used gas for heating and water as there is no electric option in van and cooked food in the van most of the time. I topped the gas up twice and in total used just under a cylinder full.
To make sure the vent is uncovered the Cobb sits on a Trivet which is about the same diameter.
Hope this helps.

Tim

Forgot to add that the fridge used electric form hook up for most of the time apart from stops during the day.

 

[Daveo2006]

Thanks everyone, good to hear different views,i think ive nearly made my mind up:Confused: Plumbbomb it would be great to know costings for 2x6 and maybe 1x11.If i do change to refillable bottles i will most definitely fit the external filler as i dont think it will look too odd.

 

[Roryboys Dad]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Dave2006 - this may be of some help to explain what is a relatively easy system to fit - [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]www.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]gaslow[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif].co.uk/pdf/[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Filling[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Instructions[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]-2012.pdf[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The filler point can be either outside or inside the locker, there are threads debating the merits or otherwise of which to use on these forums, and it took me less than a couple of hours to fit it myself.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If you do it yourself then get it checked by a competent Gas fitter.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have an 11[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]kg Gaslow bottle and a 6kg Calor as standby and the metal filler bracket inside the locker.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]There are plenty of filling stations in the UK and on the Continent but you shouldn't need more than the two bottles of gas you are going to fit unless you go for many weeks or in deepest Winter.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Filling is as easy as topping up with fuel and fitting any refillable system saves having to lift out heavy cylinders, trapping fingers and dropping on toes and for anyone of a certain age or fitness level the system is well worth the initial monetary outlay.[/FONT]

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[f6c]

welcome

Welcome aboard

 

[Daveo2006]

I have just read somewhere that some garage require you put a min of 5ltr at any time.Can anyone throw any light on this?

 

[Phill D]

I have just read somewhere that some garage require you put a min of 5ltr at any time.Can anyone throw any light on this?

that is true there is a minimum delivery at the pump. however a 6kg bottle @ 80% takes about 11.5 lites, so 5 kgs is half full.

on the alugas 6kg bottles gasit have got some on offer at £120 each and the gasit fittings fit and are considerably cheaper than the Alugas and Gaslow fittings.

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[magicsurfbus]

A couple of things spring to mind here:

I was led to believe that the Calor 'deposit' is non-returnable. You can however sell empty Calor bottles on eBay so the buyer avoids paying the initial deposit. A start price a bit below the deposit is a reasonable one to ask. Better than earning nothing anyway. By the way - does anyone want an empty 13Kg Calor cylinder? No reasonable offer refused

With Gaslow, my only reservation about a 6kg cylinder is that the standard Gaslow bottle neck gauge is very inaccurate, and your cylinder may not be as empty (or as full) as it seems. You'd need to be sure that it was more than half empty if you wanted to put more than the minimum 5 litre delivery into it. I have an 11Kg Gaslow cylinder with a gauge that told me it was virtually empty when it was nearly half full - imagine my surprise when only 10 litres went in before the pump cut off.

 

[Daveo2006]

Im not thinking straight:Blush: If i get a 2 bottle system, as long as one is empty i wont have any issues.So is that with all stations Phill ? Theres only one local to me according to mapping of them. Not a shortage on any route out of here though.

 

[Phill D]

Im not thinking straight:Blush: If i get a 2 bottle system, as long as one is empty i wont have any issues.So is that with all stations Phill ? Theres only one local to me according to mapping of them. Not a shortage on any route out of here though.

i believe that is the case.

if you are going to have a refillable system i have looked into this a a lot and i am still a little undecided. but erring on a 11kg refillable and a 6kg calor lite replacable as a back up. this should keep initial costs down and have some benefit of refil in the EU and cheaper gas.

Gas it ( and i have no link with them ) as said before their fillers are half the price of Gaslow or Alugas and fit and the fitting is simple.:thumb:

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[Daveo2006]

So many different options,:help:

 

[Sidney]

So many answers - most of them good

As a newcomer to motorhoming you would benefit from giving yourself a chance to try-stuff-out before spending plenty of cash on updates and improvements.

who am I kidding I surf for motorhome stuff all the time!

But I can say that as an experienced user of the 2 x 6kg configuration that I no longer bother swapping part-empty bottles for full 6kg bottles so I have two full bottles for a three week trip to France because we don't even use one bottle in this period. We cook on gas, heat the MH overnight (May/June) use a barbecue on the gas point and use it to heat water if we need to boost the elec water heater or if we are using Aire without services.

I'm not certain but I think your MH can accommodate the 11kg bottles anyway. I'll know when Swift have finished building my latest E582

That said this new Safefill bottle looks an easy and affordable system!!!

 

[Daveo2006]

Safefill cylinders look great Sydney,only trouble is we are back to the point about wether the garages will let you fill them.I would imagine word spreads pretty quick with concerns like this .Then your stuck with refillable cylinders you cant refill.

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[Gunner29]

6kg Calor Gas

We have been motorhoming for the past 8 yrs now and have always used 6kg Calor Propane gas.
My current vehicle has room for 3 bottles (which I have) but I only travel with two.
We stop on Aires a lot when in France and use the cooker,fridge & heater (when reqd) on gas and when on EHU my lady wife cooks on the gas cooker.
Most trips are between 6 weeks to 4 months (when in Spain) and we have never run out.:thumb: Touch wood
In UK my local depot charge £21.50 per bottle so I exchange my bottles at Go Outdoors and they charge £19.50 !!:thumb:

 

[DesRes]

Agreed Gunner29.
I can see the pros of having the refillable system but the cons just outweigh it for me.
We've previously had two six week trips abroad on two 6kg propane cylinders and have not run out. I've carried around one "2kg camping gaz" cylinder, just in case but it's never been used.
When I become unable to lug cylinders around or if we ever "full time" then I may reconsider.:Cool:

 

[Daveo2006]

Thanks guys.:thumb:

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[Sidney]

So...

So there you go Dave you don't need 'em.

So which system are you going to get?

I think one other factor to consider is storage. Most locker, cupboards and footwells in our old van were full most of the time. So I'd ask, "why have a fixed refillable system in the gas locker when you can have a LPG tank fitted under the van?"

Another locker for more stuff! Worth considering eh?

Anyway I'm off to look at upgrading my sat system (3rd time) for a van I don't have yet and while I'm there I'll browse a few motorhome covers...

 

[Sidney]

One thing you must buy...

As a newbie it's worth having a look at the jack. I suspect Swift still send their motorhomes out into the world with a pathetic wind up scissor jack. I found out just how poor this is on our first trip when I had to change a flat

MachineMart 2 tonne bottle jack a little over £10 - store mine in my gas locker. But right now it's on a garage shelf waiting for a new homeriving2: