Eurotunnel - When do you turn the gas off.

Jasz

Jasz

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How late can you leave it before turning the gas off, when going on Eurotunnel? Do people find that the fridge is off for a short enough time to keep the food cold that is in it? Obviously we do not want to take meat in the fridge if it would be off for too long.
I have read on other threads that they check to make sure the cylinders are turned off.
Also LPG cylinders can only be 80% full, can ordinary cylinders be full?
 
Mike usually turns ours off at the gate where the eurotunnel staff check its off, just before joining the lanes. Maximum time off 45 minutes.
 
they stop you and ask you to open locker just before boarding, or at least joining the queue to board, we have never had an issue, it will be back on inside 40 minutes and will still have a few more minutes on 12V even after turning off presuming you have auto selection on your fridge
 
So long as you don't keep opening up the fridge the contents will stay cold for a long time, a good few hours in fact, such as when going on a ferry instead of Eurotunnel.

They ask you if you've turned it off shortly before you go to the boarding lanes so you can leave it on until then.

Refillable cylinders can only be filled to 80% as they have a shut off, and other cylinders, such as Calor will be at 80% anyway even when full (unless you're someone who fills their own Calor ones and gets the calculation wrong!:eek:).
 
This is where they check your gas - after the British Passport Office and before the French Passport Office.

You are told to go to the left to either bay 1 or 2.

Eurotunnel GasOff (800 x 438).jpg

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Are you supposed to turn the gas off .... how would you cook your breakfast on the journey in the tunnel?





I jest ... just turn it off when they ask to check it ... if they don't ask, then do it while waiting to board.
Your fridge will not be a problem so long as you remember to turn on the gas when you reach the other side,
 
LPG and ordinary bottled gas are the same thing. Gas bottles are weighed when filled to ensure they aren't over 80% full. Gas tanks (which can look like bottles - Gasit and others) can be refilled by the user and have automatic shut off valves to prevent filling in excess of 80%.
 
Your fridge will be OK for hours with no power to it, usually 24 hours if you don't open the door. The tunnel takes 35 minutes.

I usually turn my gas off when they stop me to check it. No point in doing it before and I've got to open the locker anyway.

I don't bother stopping just to turn it back on. That gets done wherever we end up stopping for the night.
 
KeithChesterfield said:
This is where they check your gas - after the British Passport Office and before the French Passport Office.

You are told to go to the left to either bay 1 or 2.

View attachment 120142
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We've never had it checked there, never had to stop there at all. Every time we've been through it's been checked at the little hut where they tell you which boarding lane to go in apart from the odd time at Folkestone they've done it before we leave the terminal car park and scribbled something on the hanger.
 
Arrive. Make a coffee. Turn off gas before moving off towards customs. Always been checked. Drive to boarding lanes. Always been checked there too. Drive on train. Drink coffee. You fridge contents will be fine.

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Mines off when we travel, so is already off when I get to the check point and will be running on 12volt till you stop on the train.
 
Thanks for your replies, I thought it would be fine but SWMBO does worry rather (y)
 
Jasz said:
How late can you leave it before turning the gas off, when going on Eurotunnel? Do people find that the fridge is off for a short enough time to keep the food cold that is in it? Obviously we do not want to take meat in the fridge if it would be off for too long.
I have read on other threads that they check to make sure the cylinders are turned off.
Also LPG cylinders can only be 80% full, can ordinary cylinders be full?
Click to expand...
Its called Ullage. Any container, liquid, gas etc has to have a maximum filling to allow for expansion possibly during temperature changes. Either way, you don't have to concern yourself as @tonyidle said either a cut off at 80% or cylinders such as Calor (other suppliers are available) are filled to 80% of the cylinder. The 20% is ullage.
 
Our van is fitted with an electric gas isolation switch / valve. The switch is located beside the main control panel above the habitation door. Does using this switch satisfy the Eurotunnel requirements?
 
Dorset Diver said:
Our van is fitted with an electric gas isolation switch / valve. The switch is located beside the main control panel above the habitation door. Does using this switch satisfy the Eurotunnel requirements?
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No. You have to physically turn the valves on the bottles off.

We have the same switch.

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My dad was going to get one of those switches fitted because he struggles to turn his gas off so thank you for the above info Nick.
 
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Am I correct in assuming that everyone has one of those safety gadgets fitted to enable driving with the gas on?
 
matamoros said:
Am I correct in assuming that everyone has one of those safety gadgets fitted to enable driving with the gas on?
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I haven't but I don't turn the cylinder off just the fridge. I run on 12v and at the tunnel I turn it off when parked at the terminal. If we get waved straight through to boarding SWMBO turns it off while we wait to board. We have never been checked.
 
matamoros said:
Am I correct in assuming that everyone has one of those safety gadgets fitted to enable driving with the gas on?
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It has never even occurred to me to travel with the gas on...

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I've just one week into our 1st Mh trip and we have moved every day , and I find myself getting into the habit of driving with the gas turned ON ,
 
The reason I asked is that there seems to be quite a few people that do travel with the gas on and fridge lit whilst travelling, why else would it need to be turned off......or am I missing something?
 
matamoros said:
The reason I asked is that there seems to be quite a few people that do travel with the gas on and fridge lit whilst travelling, why else would it need to be turned off......or am I missing something?
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Habit I suppose, probably a boat thing, but I can't reconcile a naked flame with gusts of 70mph sucking at the vents. Maybe I should try it, because it is a pain really but it is one of my "pre-flight" checks and off goes the gas and on goes the 12v

mitzimad said:
cant beat driving with a nice casserole bubbling away in the oven
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Mrs D's crock-pot thermos cooker thingy. Get it bubbling away, seal the lid, and shove it in a locker.

see here
 
I must admit to driving with the fridge lit on our last caravan and the 5'er as we did not have an auxiliary connection on the pickup, no mishaps but always switch to 12v now ( leave the gas on though in case we need a brew! ).

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matamoros said:
I must admit to driving with the fridge lit on our last caravan and the 5'er as we did not have an auxiliary connection on the pickup, no mishaps but always switch to 12v now ( leave the gas on though in case we need a brew! ).
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We usually make a flask of just boiling water before we set off or breakfast time ish then if we want to stop for a cuppa, we don't need to put the hob on and importantly not have to wait for the hob to cool sufficiently to put the glass top down.
 
My milk is still ice cold in my fridge after it has been switched off for over 24 hrs when doing Portsmouth Bilbao..There was a time years ago when we managed very well without fridges,,,,BUSBY :):)
 
matamoros said:
The reason I asked is that there seems to be quite a few people that do travel with the gas on and fridge lit whilst travelling, why else would it need to be turned off......or am I missing something?
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On most m/h there would be no flame in the fridge while travelling as it should switch to 12v while the engine is running.
 
icantremember said:
On most m/h there would be no flame in the fridge while travelling as it should switch to 12v while the engine is running.
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Not if the fridge is not automatic selection, our current one isn't so I have to remember to switch.
 

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