Gaslow Fitting (1 Viewer)

motorhomer

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I know that there are other threads on this, but I have a couple of specific questions and I wonder if others can help.

I am looking at gaslow because I have discovered that I cannot take my current gas cylinders on DFDS (see separate thread) - annoying!

A couple of questions:

Is it sensible to consider fitting gaslow yourself? (to save money really since the whole thing looks expensive) - but other than the filler it looks straightforward.

Where can you fit the filler? On my van - a rapido - there does not seem to be a sensible outside wall. So, is an "in locker" filler OK? (I have read of difficulty filling in france and italy if you have to open the door). Or can a hole be drilled in the door itself to mount the filler?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 

Heyupluv

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I know that there are other threads on this, but I have a couple of specific questions and I wonder if others can help.

I am looking at gaslow because I have discovered that I cannot take my current gas cylinders on DFDS (see separate thread) - annoying!

A couple of questions:

Is it sensible to consider fitting gaslow yourself? (to save money really since the whole thing looks expensive) - but other than the filler it looks straightforward.

Where can you fit the filler? On my van - a rapido - there does not seem to be a sensible outside wall. So, is an "in locker" filler OK? (I have read of difficulty filling in france and italy if you have to open the door). Or can a hole be drilled in the door itself to mount the filler?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Motorhomer
This is where mine is fitted on a Rapido 9090DF similar to yours the 7090DF ...exept the cab is different...(low profile to A Class)
Mine was fitted by Dave Newell.....Alu gas...so a lot lighter....I have had no problem in France re-filling....Spain one big problem not many gas filling stations..
The Black cap is the LPG...the White cap is a BBQ point also fitted by Dave
I hope this helps you.

Mel:thumb:
 

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Dec 6, 2011
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they do nor recommend fitting the filler into the locker door, it risks kinking the pipe.

you can get a bracket that the filler mounts into and fixes into thne locker.
 
Jan 3, 2008
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gas

We have two large Gaslow bottles in our locker but because the skirt on our 9048 seems a little flimsey we went for an in locker filler between the bottles.

In three years and probably seven months in France, Germany and Ialy we have never been refused a refill even when it was obvious we had the filler in the locker. I suppose we have filled up probably 18/20 times as we like to keep topped up.

There have been reports about being refused (Particularly on this site) but I have never heard of any other reports of refusal. There was once a post where people who had been refused were asked to report it and, from memory, I don't think there were any replies.

We did take the precaution of fixing the bottles with u bolts to the floor of the locker and steel bands (B&Q) to the sides instead of the plastic straps that Rapido supply. Having said that we have not been questioned about the bottles.

Gaslow will provide you with a certificate to the effect that the bottles comply with EU standards and I have laminated mine and keep it handy.

I have little doubt that you will get stories od doom and gloom and refusal but I am just telling of our experiences, others may have had problems but as I said, few were reported.

Just one point on the Rapido, I undertand that Alugas have a filler which would fit better on the skirt as it is smaller than the Gaslow one.

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Heyupluv

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We have two large Gaslow bottles in our locker but because the skirt on our 9048 seems a little flimsey we went for an in locker filler between the bottles.

In three years and probably seven months in France, Germany and Ialy we have never been refused a refill even when it was obvious we had the filler in the locker. I suppose we have filled up probably 18/20 times as we like to keep topped up.

There have been reports about being refused (Particularly on this site) but I have never heard of any other reports of refusal. There was once a post where people who had been refused were asked to report it and, from memory, I don't think there were any replies.

We did take the precaution of fixing the bottles with u bolts to the floor of the locker and steel bands (B&Q) to the sides instead of the plastic straps that Rapido supply. Having said that we have not been questioned about the bottles.

Gaslow will provide you with a certificate to the effect that the bottles comply with EU standards and I have laminated mine and keep it handy.

I have little doubt that you will get stories od doom and gloom and refusal but I am just telling of our experiences, others may have had problems but as I said, few were reported.

Just one point on the Rapido, I undertand that Alugas have a filler which would fit better on the skirt as it is smaller than the Gaslow one.

We have never been refused, but at Valencia Spain two weeks ago, 4 pumps nobody using any of them, the attendant came over checked our filler connection...then requested our passports or our Driving license.. then gave us his Spanish filler connection ...he would NOT even look at our four adaptors.... he was not interested..:Sad:but apart from that no problem
 
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motorhomer

motorhomer

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Thanks to all who replied. Sounds as if dave newell is worth a call.

My van is different from the a-class rapido, the gas bottle locker is at the front on the left not the right, so there really is no available skirt as in front of the locker is the cab, and immediately to the rear the "skirt" opens to give access to the double floor area.

Looks to me from the replies that a filler inside the locker may be best, if not the only option.

I'll look at alugas as well.

Many thanks to all!

Jeff O
 

MikeandCarolyn

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There have been several posts on this subject-as there has been on 'gassing' ::bigsmile:
There are 2 pieces of legislation in France concerning LPG-I personally have no experience of these being enforced,nor have I met any one who has themselves,but i have met people
who know someone who has ::bigsmile:

1.LPG or PLG is sold on forecourts for propulsion and not for domestic use.-This is because lpg for domestic use is taxed at a different rate.-Its the same scenario as for diesel for boats in UK-boat owners have to declare the % of diesel used for propulsion and domestic,they are then charged accordingly.

2.It is illegal to fill gas bottles on the forecourt. We automatically think of a calor or propane bottle with a home made adaptor,but,this is not the case-It is illegal to fill a gas bottle on a forecourt !!-What is Gaslow ? It is refillable bottles.
As soon as you open a gas locker door the guy on the 'caisse' knows that you are going to refill bottles.If he is feeling 'jobsworth' that day he can switch off the LPG (GPL) and tell you to 'go away'.
This why it is reccomended that your filler cap is 'sur la carrosserie' -on the coachwork.

As I said earlier,I havn't had any experience of enforcement-I have a fixed tank-if I need LPG and diesel at same time,I will fill with LPG first and then the diesel-my assumption being that once I've got the LPG they can't take it out ::bigsmile:

Mike.

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philk

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Jul 21, 2011
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Gaslow

I know that there are other threads on this, but I have a couple of specific questions and I wonder if others can help.

I am looking at gaslow because I have discovered that I cannot take my current gas cylinders on DFDS (see separate thread) - annoying!

A couple of questions:

Is it sensible to consider fitting gaslow yourself? (to save money really since the whole thing looks expensive) - but other than the filler it looks straightforward.

Where can you fit the filler? On my van - a rapido - there does not seem to be a sensible outside wall. So, is an "in locker" filler OK? (I have read of difficulty filling in france and italy if you have to open the door). Or can a hole be drilled in the door itself to mount the filler?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Motorhomer,

There is nothing to it. I plumbed the whole thing outside my van and uswd ptfe on every joint then when happy moved it all into the cupboard. I used an in cupboard filler.
Philk
 

MikeandCarolyn

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Motorhomer,

There is nothing to it. I plumbed the whole thing outside my van and uswd ptfe on every joint then when happy moved it all into the cupboard. I used an in cupboard filler.
Philk

I assume you used ptfe gas fitting tape which complies withn BS 6974 ::bigsmile:
Mike.
 
Apr 27, 2008
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I know that there are other threads on this, but I have a couple of specific questions and I wonder if others can help.

I am looking at gaslow because I have discovered that I cannot take my current gas cylinders on DFDS (see separate thread) - annoying!

A couple of questions:

Is it sensible to consider fitting gaslow yourself? (to save money really since the whole thing looks expensive) - but other than the filler it looks straightforward.

Where can you fit the filler? On my van - a rapido - there does not seem to be a sensible outside wall. So, is an "in locker" filler OK? (I have read of difficulty filling in france and italy if you have to open the door). Or can a hole be drilled in the door itself to mount the filler?


Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I have Alugas fitted to my Rapido. The filler is mounted through the van wall just behind the gas locker door, so the other side of the filler is within the gas locker (the door being sightly narrower than the compartment). If yours is the same as mine there is just room. Because it is through the wall it is a nice rigid fitting unlike fitting through the plastic skirt which needs reinforcement to take the weight of the nozzle.:thumb:

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philk

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Gas installation

I guess so. That asside its since been moved into my new Pilote by SMC
Philk
 
Jan 3, 2008
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refilling

There have been several posts on this subject-as there has been on 'gassing' ::bigsmile:
There are 2 pieces of legislation in France concerning LPG-I personally have no experience of these being enforced,nor have I met any one who has themselves,but i have met people
who know someone who has ::bigsmile:

1.LPG or PLG is sold on forecourts for propulsion and not for domestic use.-This is because lpg for domestic use is taxed at a different rate.-Its the same scenario as for diesel for boats in UK-boat owners have to declare the % of diesel used for propulsion and domestic,they are then charged accordingly.

2.It is illegal to fill gas bottles on the forecourt. We automatically think of a calor or propane bottle with a home made adaptor,but,this is not the case-It is illegal to fill a gas bottle on a forecourt !!-What is Gaslow ? It is refillable bottles.
As soon as you open a gas locker door the guy on the 'caisse' knows that you are going to refill bottles.If he is feeling 'jobsworth' that day he can switch off the LPG (GPL) and tell you to 'go away'.
This why it is reccomended that your filler cap is 'sur la carrosserie' -on the coachwork.

As I said earlier,I havn't had any experience of enforcement-I have a fixed tank-if I need LPG and diesel at same time,I will fill with LPG first and then the diesel-my assumption being that once I've got the LPG they can't take it out ::bigsmile:

Mike.

Hi Mike, I understood it was NOT illegal to fill fixed installations i.e. Gaslow or similar installations in france. Otherwise it would not be possible to refill a motor car PGL tank, which incidenatally is often shaped like a bottle. Of course I understand that movable gas bottles are a different matter. Do you have any further information?
 

MikeandCarolyn

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Hi Mike, I understood it was NOT illegal to fill fixed installations i.e. Gaslow or similar installations in france. Otherwise it would not be possible to refill a motor car PGL tank, which incidenatally is often shaped like a bottle. Of course I understand that movable gas bottles are a different matter. Do you have any further information?


Obviously you consider Gaslow to be a 'fixed' installation-I personally don't. and I doubt if the guy in the 'caisse' does or could care less if he's in bad mood.
Very often it can be down to the way the guy in the front line interprets things.
Tell me this,do Gaslow have a fitting service in France? And if not,why not?
But, as I said before,I've not seen anything being enforced-but I'm aware of what could be.
Mike.

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jhorsf

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We have never been refused, but at Valencia Spain two weeks ago, 4 pumps nobody using any of them, the attendant came over checked our filler connection...[HI]then requested our passports or our Driving license.[/HI]. then gave us his Spanish filler connection ...he would NOT even look at our four adaptors.... he was not interested..:Sad:but apart from that no problem



I do not understand why someone at a garage forecourt would ask for this:Eeek:
 
Apr 27, 2008
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Someone posted on here a while back about telling the service station that it was for domestic purposes to try to get a reduced rate (lower duty or VAT). This seems a very bad idea as it will encourage them to stop you filling as I'm sure they don't want the extra hassle.
 
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Refusal

We were told at a shell filling station in Brittany in 2010 that we were not allowed to fill our gaslow system there, but by the time the young man from the service station counter arrived to tell us this we had allready filled up!!

He said it was shell's rules not the service stations, so I told him in my best fronglaise that "if shell didn't want me to fill up with their gas, they wouldn't want me to pay for it either then I guess" unfortunately he said they would LOL.

Its the only occasion that we have encountered any problems filling the gas other than the fact that we have had on occasion had to turn round against the natual flow of forecourt traffic fill it. Due in part I suppose to being an english m/home.

Been filling up there now for three years. Auchan at Dunquerk is usually cheaper than here in GB so we usually fill the tanks there before returning home.

Our filler is in the gas locker by the way

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sedge

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I would like to add that the chap kept telling us our van would explode, which caused a great deal of mirth in the Trophychap & Sedge partnership, but unfortunately did nothing to improve the young man's mood. He was actually jumping up and down by this stage. :ROFLMAO:

So we then put some diesel in, then drove it round the side and parked it adjacent to the building, for an hour and a half whilst we paid for the fuel and then partook of a leisurely lunch in their Caff.

However to be fair it transpired that someone had had an exploding comping-car in a Shell station whilst putting gas in, fairly recently to the temper tantrum we endured. Of course, no info on what happened. Perhaps the bloke lit a Gauloise? :Doh:
 

GJH

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Interesting to read this thread because we're having an Alugas cylinder fitted by Dave Newell on Wednesday. We didn't have room in our previous van but the gas locker on our current one is much bigger and the door takes up just over half the width so plenty of wall to have the filler fitted to.

No experience yet, obviously, but I don't think most would have any success telling the service station that it is for domestic purposes to try to get the reduced VAT rate. I should have thought that those pumps, being set up to sell gas for automotive use, probably only have a single price setting.
 

Jaws

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We went with Alugas rather than Gaslow

Main reason was a £100 saving, second reason ( found out after ! ( is that when you get the Alugas kit you get EVERYTHING you need,,, absolutely nothing else needed.. Even a choice of pigtails so you can ask for the type that will allow you to switch to an ordinary calor bottle if all else fails just as easy as swapping a bottle normally..

I installed mine in an hour and that included an awkward fitting for the external filler ( this was down to me being a stubborn cuss and wanting it in a specific place rather than anything else ! )

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scotjimland

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No experience yet, obviously, but I don't think most would have any success telling the service station that it is for domestic purposes to try to get the reduced VAT rate. I should have thought that those pumps, being set up to sell gas for automotive use, probably only have a single price setting.

Agree Graham ..

The clue is in the name.. Autogas .. asking for a vat reduction is only drawing attention to the fact it is not for engine propulsion.. best not rocking the boat for a few pence.

I was once refused on a French Autoroute ..
When I pulled up the attendant came out and asked if it was for cooking .. looked at my LPG tank and said "non" . .. I asked for a reason and she pointed to the Autogas sign and said it was only for engines.. I protested, but to no avail .. I think she then said 'piss off' :roflmto:
That was the one and only time I was refused in France .. so I was just unlucky..
 
Jan 3, 2008
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Gaslow

Obviously you consider Gaslow to be a 'fixed' installation-I personally don't. and I doubt if the guy in the 'caisse' does or could care less if he's in bad mood.
Very often it can be down to the way the guy in the front line interprets things.
Tell me this,do Gaslow have a fitting service in France? And if not,why not?
But, as I said before,I've not seen anything being enforced-but I'm aware of what could be.
Mike.

Hi Mike,
My bottles each have four large U bolts fixing them to the floor of the locker and steel bands around the bodies fixed through to the rear of the locker. To remove them would take around 30 minutes under the van with spanners etc. So, yes I do consider them fixed, certainly as fixed as a tank.

Gaslow, as far as I know don't sell or fit in France or other EU countries, I don't know why, but I do know some, Germany in particular have their home grown suppliers. I suppose Gaslow stick to the domestic market and EU manufactures stick to theirs, I don't see anything sinister in that.

Obviously, it's down to the chap in the forecourt but in my experience, and it appears yours, they don't usually give a ......... I suppose I might meet one who is a jobsworth one day but till then I won't worry about it.

I think the greatest change of refusal is because of the tax issue but again as you said there is little enforcement.

C'est La Vie
 

spannermanwigan

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Easy DIY instalation,11kg gaslow and filler fitted inside gas locker,fitted system 2 years ago filled in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal,without any problem both on garages and in gas depots. Filler L bracket is bolted to side off locker at a height which easily allows connection of filler gun and hose which are quite heavy. Have also found Gaslow excellent on aftersales service,arranging a replacement bottle for me to collect at my local dealer when my gauge proved faulty, no problems since.

Broken Link RemovedBroken Link Removed

Leaves us half the locker to store other things.
I also carry my own Gas adaptors x 3

Broken Link RemovedBroken Link RemovedBroken Link Removed
Hope this helps
Regards
Steve

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Apr 27, 2008
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I also carry the 3 adaptors, they are quite cheap except the new Euro quick release (middle picture in previous post) one which is around £25.
 

Leigh

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Gaslow compartment door filler

I just had a Gaslow install done by Vanbitz. They put the filler in the door on my Rapido 996. It's on the hinge side so there is very little movement on the hose internally that runs to the bottles.
They said that they discussed it with Gaslow about the filler going in the door so that is good enough for me.
Did slightly worry about the weight of the gun on the door but was told that it wouldn't be a problem.
Only just got the 'van so not been anywhere to fill it yet.

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