Gaslow / Gasit / Alugas (1 Viewer)

Puddleduck

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Just been into our local caravan / motorhome / camping type shop. They didn't have what we needed (I've ordered online instead) but we did ask about a refillable gas system..... around £400 fitted he said. 'OW MUCH!!!!!!! I thought.

He said all cyclinder now have to be R67 rated (which I knew) and all fillers on the exterior of the vehicle plus it would be necessary to have a certificate of conformity for both the system and fitting.

Hummmmmmm not sure about the filler on the exterior and a certificate for the fitting - anyone know anything about that?

At £400 I would continue to get calor as not worth having the refillable fitted. The place I get my gas lifts the new cylinders out and in for me and does the connections. If you have to have a certiicate for the fitting it means you would have to have them refitted by a "specialist" when swapping vans as well.
 
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Just fitted 2x 6kg Gasit bottles in locker filler and all pipework. Took less than an hour and cost about £300. That's complete with all European adapters as well. Not heard of the conformity certs.
 
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In theory you don't need any certification for fitting. As you say it would mean you can't even swap Calor bottles yourself.

The only time I can see an issue is if you had a disaster your insurance company might want to know who fitted it and probably wouldn't be impressed with DIY

Nothing to stop you having the filler inside the locker if you have space. Personally I wouldn't as having it mounted externally in the skirt means you don't need to open the locker to fill

As for the cost it really depends on how much gas you use. We have 2x13kg bottles and when I had them fitted I calculated that after about 18 refills it would have paid for itself. The way we use the van that won't take long.

If you have a look online I think you will find Gasit is cheaper than the competition. Fitting is straightforward enough. An hour or so for so bribe who knows what they are doing.

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Puddleduck

Puddleduck

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Only need one cylinder (the 11 or 13 kg one) - and I'd like a BBQ point. The locker won't take two cylinders :)

We are off on a trip on Thurs and may well call in at Thirsk to see what Autogas say.

I think the local man was giving it a bit of flannel as he said a simple installation took him two or three hours! He is a gaslow "specialist".

For certification I know a gas safe (or whatever they call them now) man who would check it over and give me a bit of paper (for a fee) to say that when he checked the installation it was safe. I could then declare it had not been altered or modified since then - just as we do with our domestic oil and solar panel annual declaration.
 
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In theory you don't need any certification for fitting. As you say it would mean you can't even swap Calor bottles yourself.

The only time I can see an issue is if you had a disaster your insurance company might want to know who fitted it and probably wouldn't be impressed with DIY

Nothing to stop you having the filler inside the locker if you have space. Personally I wouldn't as having it mounted externally in the skirt means you don't need to open the locker to fill

As for the cost it really depends on how much gas you use. We have 2x13kg bottles and when I had them fitted I calculated that after about 18 refills it would have paid for itself. The way we use the van that won't take long.

If you have a look online I think you will find Gasit is cheaper than the competition. Fitting is straightforward enough. An hour or so for so bribe who knows what they are doing.
Don't want to be picky but in theory you do have to open the locker because they should be turned off when you fill up.
 
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Don't want to be picky but in theory you do have to open the locker because they should be turned off when you fill up.

Very true if you've forgotten to turn them off before you get there.

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Huwmari

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My husband fitted our "gas-it" system himself for about £180 and it's been fantastic - and we've saved loads of money on gas!. Ring Gas-it in Caernarvon and they'll talk you through it all - 01286 832443. They couldn't have been more helpful and it took about half an hour to do the fitting.
 

GJH

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We are off on a trip on Thurs and may well call in at Thirsk to see what Autogas say.
Well worth having a word with Chris because you'll get an honest price. We had our first Alugas cylinder fitted by Dave Newell and the second by Autogas 2000 (because we needed it quickly and didn't have time to go to Telford). Both did top notch jobs.

As far as certification goes, that comes as part of the job.
 

laird of Dunstan

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If you go down the DIY route , you need to have the system checked by a qualified technician other wise it will give your insurers reason not to pay out

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scotjimland

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If you go down the DIY route , you need to have the system checked by a qualified technician other wise it will give your insurers reason not to pay out

who told you that ?

if that were the case you would need an 'inspection' every time you swapped a Calor bottle ..

Apart from drilling a 70mm hole in the van, (not required if in locker filler used) there are no special skills required.. it's hoses and connectors.. a spanner job... same as changing a Calor bottle.
 

GJH

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who told you that ?

if that were the case you would need an 'inspection' every time you swapped a Calor bottle ..

Apart from drilling a 70mm hole in the van, (not required if in locker filler used) there are no special skills required.. it's hoses and connectors.. a spanner job... same as changing a Calor bottle.
It could depend on the insurance policy Jim. Our previous policy required that the gas system be inspected by a qualified person annually or they wouldn't pay out if a fire started because of a gas fault.
 

scotjimland

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It could depend on the insurance policy Jim. Our previous policy required that the gas system be inspected by a qualified person annually or they wouldn't pay out if a fire started because of a gas fault.

fair comment.. but if that were the case I'd be looking for another insurer ..

there is no gas regulation that says that you must have an annual inspection or that the (gas) installation must be done by a qualified person..

What is the current British Standard regarding this subject?

The current Standard for new installations is BS EN 1949: 2011 +A1: 2013 Specification for the installation of LPG systems for habitation purposes in leisure accommodation vehicles and accommodation purposes in other vehicles


Can a non Gas Safe registered person install any part of a gas system?

A person can undertake their own gas work within their own vehicle providing that campervan is not intended to be hired out. If the vehicle is intended to be hired out, then the person/business undertaking that work must be registered with Gas Safe Register and be suitably qualified to do that work. Even though registration in some cases is not a requirement the person undertaking that work must be competent to do that work. In essence a non registered person would do what a registered engineer would do when installing and testing the gas installation.

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GJH

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fair comment.. but if that were the case I'd be looking for another insurer ..

there is no gas regulation that says that you must have an annual inspection or that the (gas) installation must be done by a qualified person..
I appreciate that Jim :)
It didn't matter to us as it was included in the annual habitation service which we have anyway and it was the same policy under which we were well treated when the old van was visited by Asda :D
It is worth people checking policies though, just in case.
 

laird of Dunstan

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A lot of testing is driven by insurance companies and not by British Standards , Pat testing for example does not appear anywhere in the sparkies regs but is required to be done .
 

Eeyore

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There were - possibly still are- service stations and gas outlets who refuse to fill a van that has the filler situated inside the gas locker. I believe that this was more to do with the duty on LPG and whether you were buying it for propulsion or domestic use rather than any safety features. If the filler was on the inside then there could be no doubt that the gas was for domestic purposes only. That, I understand, is why an external filler was recommended but not compulsory.

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GJH

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There were - possibly still are- service stations and gas outlets who refuse to fill a van that has the filler situated inside the gas locker. I believe that this was more to do with the duty on LPG and whether you were buying it for propulsion or domestic use rather than any safety features. If the filler was on the inside then there could be no doubt that the gas was for domestic purposes only. That, I understand, is why an external filler was recommended but not compulsory.
When the filler is internal it can lead to garages suspecting that people are filling ordinary (e.g. Calor) bottles rather than Alugas, Gaslow &c.
 
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I put a Gas-it system in, took less than two hours, with internal locker filler. Cost £200 delivered with addaptor's. They even have installation video's on you tube. T'was a doddle!!

Keith :cool:
 
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Nov 4, 2011
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Don't want to be picky but in theory you do have to open the locker because they should be turned off when you fill up.
Unless you've got an in-motion regulator valve ,
you should turn the gas off when traveling anyway.

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Puddleduck

Puddleduck

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It was done by Chris at Autogas 2000. Great job and a bigger bottle than was in before.

Very pleased with the whole thing and will get a top up on our way out later this week :)
 

GJH

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It was done by Chris at Autogas 2000. Great job and a bigger bottle than was in before.

Very pleased with the whole thing and will get a top up on our way out later this week :)
I didn't realise this thread had been resurrected today :) Having refillable bottles is much more convenient :)

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We were asked for a certificate at an intermarche near Royan.

The cashier saw SWMBO approaching the kiosk with her magic piece of paper and turned on the pump (without reading the cert)
 

JJ

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I reckon the REALLY big (BIG) advantage of refillable bottle(s) is that you can top (them) up when needed, rather than waiting until you run out (or you give gas away when you swap).

Free Loading Off-Siters don't like giving gas away to the gas people... especially if it those thieves at Calor.


JJ :cool:
 

swidy

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Hi there Ive been looking at gasit and found price at £360 for 2 x 13KG including auto changeover value with white external filler or £195 for 1 x 13kg anyone found a better deal, I will be commiting next week with get gas in Bristol unless someone tells me different

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swidy

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Sorry I mean 11 kg not 13 kg don't know how to edit a posting
 
Oct 15, 2011
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I bought a second hand Alugas bottle with fill hose and have fitted the filler in the gas locker,bottle cost £70 including delivery and the filler £31. Made the bracket myself.
image.jpg
image.jpg
 

vwalan

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I reckon the REALLY big (BIG) advantage of refillable bottle(s) is that you can top (them) up when needed, rather than waiting until you run out (or you give gas away when you swap).

Free Loading Off-Siters don't like giving gas away to the gas people... especially if it those thieves at Calor.


JJ :cool:
the pump is supposed to stop pumping at 90% .but even then you know when its almost there by the sound of the pumping .
calor in portugal?
ha ha

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vwalan

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the gpl pump is supposed to switch off at 90% ......
so you shouldnt ever be over filling .
thought you spent most of the year in portugal you wouldnt be giving calor any half full bottles .
might be repsol or forgot the other one beige bottles getting old .
but when as a garage stopped any one filling a foriegn bottle in portugal?

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