Additional Gas Low or A Calor Bottle?

[MichaelT]

We currently have 1 Gas Low 11kg and (an empty) Calor Lite bottle as a spare case we could not get LPG. I was planning to add a 2nd Gas Low which is why I used the Calor up plus the Lite bottles have a short life span but with the slow demise of LPG filling stations would you go for the 2nd Gas Low or just get a new Calor as a spare?

 

[68c]

Personally I would run with one Gaslow and one Calor Gas bottle. Keeping the Calor Gas bottle full as a reserve while normally using and topping up the Gaslow. If you intend to tour Europe you could buy a French Camping Gas cylinder, again keeping it full and only using abroad as a reserve.
It is handy to have a bottle you even even hand carry to a supplier to exchange it if you unexpectantly run out of both Gaslow and Calor but do not want to move the van.

Edit. Not sure about the life of a Calor lite bottle or if they can be exchanged at normal outlets. You can always visit your local recycling centre and pick up a standard Calor bottle for £10 or so.

 

[MichaelT]

Personally I would run with one Gaslow and one Calor Gas bottle. Keeping the Calor Gas bottle full as a reserve while normally using and topping up the Gaslow. If you intend to tour Europe you could buy a French Camping Gas cylinder, again keeping it full and only using abroad as a reserve.
It is handy to have a bottle you even even hand carry to a supplier to exchange it if you unexpectantly run out of both Gaslow and Calor but do not want to move the van.

Edit. Not sure about the life of a Calor lite bottle or if they can be exchanged at normal outlets. You can always visit your local recycling centre and pick up a standard Calor bottle for £10 or so.

I think they are phasing out Calor lite so need to be used before end of life when it needs retesting. I think there was some issue with them at one point where they needed replacing.

 

[SteveJulesMontycame2]

We currently have 1 Gas Low 11kg and (an empty) Calor Lite bottle as a spare case we could not get LPG. I was planning to add a 2nd Gas Low which is why I used the Calor up plus the Lite bottles have a short life span but with the slow demise of LPG filling stations would you go for the 2nd Gas Low or just get a new Calor as a spare?

It’s a no brainier; go for the second refillable. Ease of use, no lifting and lugging, top up when you like and not worrying about how much is left in a bottle. The demise of the LPG filling station has been greatly exaggerated!

 

[Speve]

I would go for the second refillable there are usually a few adds in the classified section here on fun and as for demise of lpg filling up we’ve not experienced it and have travelled widely in Europe and UK??

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[tandc]

Just checked my calor lite bottle and it is ok until 2031 which have along side my refillable bottle

 

[Brains]

I have 2 x Calor
I'm intending on spending 6 weeks in the EU this summer.
I'm thinking I should swap one on the Calor's for a Refillable
I don't intend on fitting an external filler point if I can help it

The question is:
SafeFill
AluGas
GasLow
GasIT

All appear to be self fillable at an LPG station.
(I'm also aware that some LPG fill points don't like bottles being filled except via external fill points)

I'm inclined to get a SafeFill bottle as they are translucent plastic, so lighter than the rest and you can see how full they are.

Anyone got plus or minus points on the above ?

 

[Minxy]

MichaelT

It depends on your usage really and how you 'holiday'. If you spend a lot of time abroad and don't like to move too often then having 2 refillables will extend your 'static' time and also mean you don't have to worry about it so much. If you do cooler weather MHing having 2 refillables will also be beneficial as you can get through quite a bit of gas if you have the heating on (assuming it's not diesel or you use a site's electric). As for cost, as you've already got a system adding a second bottle won't be difficult and probably be roughly the cost of roughty 3 Calor exchanges but as it's rare for people to use all of the gas in a Calor before exchange it could be as little as 2 ... we wouldn't be without our 2 refillables.

 

[MichaelT]

Many stations in France will not allow you to fill unless it is a fixed point, we have been checked in the past though not often. You can just mount the filler point inside the locker if you do not want to drill a hole?

 

[MichaelT]

It depends on your usage really and how you 'holiday'. If you spend a lot of time abroad and don't like to move too often then having 2 refillables will extend your 'static' time and also mean you don't have to worry about it so much. If you do cooler weather MHing having 2 refillables will also be beneficial as you can get through quite a bit of gas if you have the heating on (assuming it's not diesel or you use a site's electric). As for cost, as you've already got a system adding a second bottle won't be difficult and probably be roughly the cost of roughty 3 Calor exchanges but as it's rare for people to use all of the gas in a Calor before exchange it could be as little as 2 ... we wouldn't be without our 2 refillables.

I think the cost to recoup is likely 10 bottles @ £24 a go however the cost is not the main concern.

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[Minxy]

I have 2 x Calor
I'm intending on spending 6 weeks in the EU this summer.
I'm thinking I should swap one on the Calor's for a Refillable
I don't intend on fitting an external filler point if I can help it

The question is:
SafeFill
AluGas
GasLow
GasIT

A Safefill cylinder is likely to be frowned upon by some garages so although you can 'see' the contents if you can't fill it, it won't make any difference. The other 3 are pretty much the same thing (lighter weight for Alugas ones) and can be used with an internal mounted filler or external one.

I really would suggest you consider installing an external filler as I believe your gas locker is internal and accessed via the garage so having to mess about opening the garage door and then the gas locker could be a pain in the bum especially in wet/windy weather (been there, done that, got the soggy t-shirt!). If you go for Safefill you won't have any option but to mess about with the doors.

 

[Minxy]

I think the cost to recoup is likely 10 bottles @ £24 a go however the cost is not the main concern.

I thought it cost at least £30 for an exchange (6kg) however I'm not sure why it would cost £240 for a second refillable cylinder as you'd just need the cylinder connection pipe, regulator pipe and cylinder (assuming 6kg).

There's actually a Gaslow 6kg cylinder for sale on the forum:

Gaslow R67 6kg

Gaslow R67 6kg bottle complete with hose to regulator. Only had it a year and only selling due to changing motorhome with gaslow already fitted. Location is near Bridlington East Yorkshire. £110 This is the bottle with one inlet and one outlet. £110

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Brains]

A useful write up here
https://vandogtraveller.com/installing-gas/

 

[mikebeaches]

The question is:
SafeFill
AluGas
GasLow
GasIT

I'm inclined to get a SafeFill bottle as they are translucent plastic, so lighter than the rest and you can see how full they are.

Anyone got plus or minus points on the above ?

I assume you realise the Safefill is a completely different proposition to the other three types.

With Safefill the bottle HAS to be disconnected to fill it, whereas the others don't.

We have 1x11kg Gas-it (external filling point) and one full 6kg Calorlite as a back-up. Works for us...

 

[MichaelT]

I thought it cost at least £30 for an exchange (6kg) however I'm not sure why it would cost £240 for a second refillable cylinder as you'd just need the cylinder connection pipe, regulator pipe and cylinder (assuming 6kg).

There's actually a Gaslow 6kg cylinder for sale on the forum:

Gaslow R67 6kg

Gaslow R67 6kg bottle complete with hose to regulator. Only had it a year and only selling due to changing motorhome with gaslow already fitted. Location is near Bridlington East Yorkshire. £110 This is the bottle with one inlet and one outlet. £110

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

These are the prices for what I need, I would go for a 11KG

1 x 01-4011-67-2 11kg Refillable Cylinder £165.00 or 01-4006-67-2 6kg Refillable Cylinder £ 145.00

1 x 01-4200 Connection Hose £ 54.00

1 x 01-6020-SS HP Hose £ 34.50

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[pagey]

i have one 11k refillable and a small calor as a backup it works fine for me also i use the small calor for the outside cooker for the fish

 

[Rapido925M]

I have one refillable and one large (13kg) Calor. I also have 2 very large (47kg) Calor for home cooking and a couple of 13kg Calors which I have acquired by various means.

I always have at least one 13kg Calor totally full: partially full bottles get swapped with one of the large "cookers" and used so that they can be exchanged asap for full ones.

During the summer, or if abroad, I use the refillable with the 13kg Calor as spare (full at the outset) and top up the refillable as necessary, keeping the refillable in play as much as possible.

During colder months in the UK I use the Calor as my primary source, safe in the knowledge that I can move onto the refillable if necessary and replace the Calor at any of the distributors in this country.

I used to have 2 refillables but one leaked and I reckoned that a replacement bottle would not allow me to recoup my cost within a reasonable time-frame.

Gordon

In times of dire emergency I have used my refillable on the home cooker and, of course, on the BBQ in the garden. Obviously, it isn't a Gaslow type!

 

[thebriars]

A much cheaper and far simpler option is to simply get one of these:

Its the Gas It sensor for refillable bottles. That way you can constantly monitor the amount of gas left and fill up at an appropriate time, and long before it is empty. Then you don't need a second cylinder.

 

[Lenny HB]

We currently have 1 Gas Low 11kg and (an empty) Calor Lite bottle as a spare case we could not get LPG. I was planning to add a 2nd Gas Low which is why I used the Calor up plus the Lite bottles have a short life span but with the slow demise of LPG filling stations would you go for the 2nd Gas Low or just get a new Calor as a spare?

I would go for the 2nd refillable, it's only in some areas filling stations have closed. More where we live than there was 10 years ago and never a problem in mainland Europe.

 

[Lenny HB]

I don't intend on fitting an external filler point if I can he

No logic in that far easier to fill an with external point. Also if they refuse to fill bottles you can tell them it's a tank as I have done. If you use the small square filler is very neat and easy to fit in a sill.

The question is:
SafeFill
AluGas
GasLow
GasIT

Safe fill will be a PIA as they are a single hole and you have to disconnect to fill. Gas-it are Stako bottles made in the same factory as Gaslow. Alugas bottles are half the weight if you are tight for payload and they also do a 14kg bottle we have 2 x 14kg Alugas bottles one bottle lasts us 15 days but we don't do UK in the winter.

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[namwaldog]

It depends on your usage really and how you 'holiday'

Just to add a little to this advice from Mel Minxy Girl .....

When we overwinter in Spain, we do a mixture of travelling about and longer periods on Sites.

We were on a site over Christmas three or four years ago when there was a coolish spell when I managed to get through both the 11kg Gaslow and the 6gk Calor backup fairly quickly. This meant taking the awning down, breaking camp etc so that I could refill the Gaslow. No big deal but something to consider when making your choice.

We now have a Gaslow 11kg refillable and a Spanish Repsol exchangeable bottle which most sites will exchange for about€16-€17 so roughly the same cost per litre as lpg at the pump. Yes it does mean physically handling the cylinders on exchange but I can still manage that at the moment!

The choice is yours but as Mel says, how you use the van is a big contributory factor in the decision making.

Barry

 

[MichaelT]

We normally move about only staying one night or two, maximum we have done since getting the MH is 5 nights so looks like refillable may be best route.

 

[March Hare]

We’ve just got back from our first France/Spain/Portugal Trip - we were away for about six weeks. We had a fantastic time but got caught out by the Calor gas bottle issue when our 2 x 6kg bottles ran out in Spain!

Thanks to all the great advice we received on here, we got fixed up with a Spanish 13kg bottle and the necessary adapter and hose to connect into the bulkhead fitted regulator.

The Spanish bottle lasted to the end of the holiday as we used the gas very sparingly and made sure we stayed on sites with EHU’s on our way back to through Northern Spain and France where it was colder.

On our way back to Northumberland we stopped off at Thirsk in Yorkshire at Autogas 2000 and they did a really great job at fitting an Alugas 14kg refillable canister (with external filling point fitted on the skirt), and we’ll use that alongside a full Calor Lite 6kg for backup.

On future trips we plan to stay on a mixture of sites and Aires, so we hope that our new gas configuration will work well for us.

 

[SteveRallye]

Had the 2 11kg Alugas on one of previous M/H,s and they were very good, but would not fit next M/H. However I would heed all the sensible advice on here and perhaps go for refillable with bottle backup as its a ballache having to up sticks for gas. I use a Safefill and Spanish Cespa bottle abroad as there are lots of LPG staitons in France and they are on the increase in Spain. I have 3 adapters for the safefill and had a great neighbour on one site who luckily for me had a safefill and took us to to the local Repsol garage and we filled them up, mines the old 8.6kg ( I think) bottle and it cost just under 10Euro to fill actualy aided by a very helpful member of the staff. That lasted as backup for 6 weeks and got us back up thru France.