Gas bottles

[M-J]

Our new MH has space for 2 x 6kg bottles but can we just have one in there if we wanted to without the gas system playing up?

 

[berni109]

Depends if there is a connector for each bottle with an auto changeover valve or just one connector you move between bottles

 

[M-J]

This I have no idea, picking MH on Saturday

 

[Robmac]

If you are not sure, post a picture on here after you have picked it up.

Alternatively, ask the people you are buying it from.

 

[M-J]

Another owner of the same has just told me theirs is not joined together or on an auto switch.

On that basis I think I’ll carry a 6kg plugged in and a 3.9kg for my cadac if I don’t want to use the MH BBQ point.

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[Lenny HB]

Have you got room for 11kg bottles as 6kg will only last a day or two in the winter.

 

[M-J]

Have you got room for 11kg bottles as 6kg will only last a day or two in the winter.

Don’t think we have

 

[WynandJean]

Hello and welcome from West Midlands. I am imagining that evening when the weather turns cold and rainy and you go outside to cheack why you have no heat/hot water and, depending on circumstances, fridge, only to find that your only bottle of gas has run out. Would you be driving somewhere for a replacement or freeze overnight? I'd prefer to just swap bottles.


Wyn

 

[suavecarve]

Im imagining life with 1 x 6kg gas bottle, presumably calor gas and not lpg and wondering how many times I would have to pay over the top or freeze. NB @WynandJean and @Lenny HB posts.
Would an underslung lpg system work for you ?
Unless you are only using your van when you dont need heating, or on campsites with electricity all the time (3-5 pound a night premium) then it will work out expensive in the long run. (£700 ish fitted for the underslung which only increases the value of your van)
It does depend upon your usage, but you will limit yourself to this country in the summer on campsites without an alternative (if on calor).
Underslung tanks can be sold on, but you wont find any second hand as nobody sells them !

 

[Lot lover]

Of course you can have just the one bottle but I would not advise it. We have 2 x 11kg propane with manual changeover and that it far enough to go when gas bottle gives up on a cold and rainy night.

Currently part way through a 3 month trip to Portugal so we started with 2 full bottles which, based on last year, will see us safely home. On our summer and autumn trips we take any part used bottles (2 in our sous-sol at the mo) knowing that wecanalways find a replacement in France if required.

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[MisterB]

. On our summer and autumn trips we take any part used bottles (2 in our sous-sol at the mo) knowing that wecanalways find a replacement in France if required.

in an emergency and if you don't have a 'french' bottle an don't want to pay a deposit for a cylinder, try the local tip, they often are happy give them away ... just take it to a garage/supermarket and exchange (at a cost) for a full cylinder. of course you cant take it back and get the deposit for the cylinder though !

 

[Lot lover]

@MisterB - we only have French bottles and they can be legally refilled nearby when in Portugal.

But thanks for the tip about the tip.

 

[M-J]

We normally go on EHU pitches

The only reason I was going to go for 1x6kg and 1x3.9kg is for ease of moving if I use my cadac away from the bbq hook up point.

 

[Robmac]

I would definitely recommend an underslung refillable tank, and as big as you can get.

It will take a while to pay for itself, but the convenience is worth it.

 

[thebriars]

Much easier go for a refillable 6kg or 11kg if it will fit. These cost under £200 for the Gas-It 11kg and can be filled anywhere in the UK or continent that sells LPG. The LPG costs just over half of what Calor costs to refill. You will need LPG adaptors for the continent however, these cost about £20. If an 11kg will fit, you only need one as they are so easy to refill, even if only part empty.

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[Khizzie]

I have managed quite successfully to tour France with just two, 6kg bottles of calor gas Two years on the trot using aires and the odd municipal site. Never had the need for a expensive fitted lpg system . So two bottles per tour approx £42 or £84 for two years extended touring à damn site cheaper than having an on board system fitted.. For me.. .. I just two full bottles in UK prior to leaving.... Now that will get the tongues wagging . Lolol

 

[busbuddy]

can you survive with only one gas bottle? it all depends how much YOU will use because everyones usage is different

my previous german van had 2x5kg bottles which i got rid of and fitted an underslung 20 litre tank but only to gain the gas locker as storage
my current van (a 630G) has room for 2x6kg bottles but after 2 years i have now got rid of them and fitted one 6kg refillable and it lasts fine but we are outdoor type people so we do not have the heating on at 32 degrees 24/7 and we do nearly all of our trips without ehu out of season

you will have to give it a try and see how it goes, you could always run the cadac off a spare 6kg rather than 3.9kg

 

[jollyrodger]

Had one of these for years bottles widely a available all over the eu

Use it to keep cooking smell out of van ,burgers,fish etc alongside refillable for heat and hot water

 

[Spanner]

Our van already has an underslung tank factory fitted but if we changed the van the next one would have a refillable system fitted without delay, very convenient and we never worry about running out of gas.
The BBQ has a 5 metre length of hose which connects to the outside gas point allowing the BBQ to be positioned in a safe spot either side of the van, works a treat

 

[WynandJean]

Gas usage seems to vary remarkably. Our previous van had blown air heating and we could easily last weeks off grid. Our new one uses the Alde system which is very good but uses LOTS more gas.

Wyn

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[Appollo51]

Refillable every time .yes you have the outlay in the beginning but convenience wise a no brainer and a lot cheaper long term .manual changeover does the job and easy to fill in any garage

 

[EssexBoy]

How about just fitting one (or more) extra bbq points so you can use the bbq all round the van?

Or can the connector on the bbq be changed to suit your existing bottles?

Cheers

Steve

 

[Appollo51]

I've got an outside Bbq point to use it while I'm away but at home I use the calor bottle I took off the van when doing the conversion .I purchased an in line connector to split the hose to use 2 different connectors .the van connector and the calor connector

 

[M-J]

I’ve gone for 2x 6kg as recommended, still small enough to move one out if I want to use cadac away from MH.

Got two gas pipes to make it easier, one with bbq point quick release and one with standard regulator

 

[GalvC]

Of course you can have just the one bottle but I would not advise it. We have 2 x 11kg propane with manual changeover and that it far enough to go when gas bottle gives up on a cold and rainy night.

Currently part way through a 3 month trip to Portugal so we started with 2 full bottles which, based on last year, will see us safely home. On our summer and autumn trips we take any part used bottles (2 in our sous-sol at the mo) knowing that wecanalways find a replacement in France if required.

Hi there, about to take delivery of Hymer Free S600 and they saying takes 2No 11kg Propane bottles same as yours.
Having trouble sourcing 11kg bottles people even questioning do I mean 13kg?
Not sure yet whether 13kg would fit & don’t want to drop down to 6kg.
You had any issues finding 11kg bottles?

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[TerryL]

As always it depends on how and how often you use your motorhome; campsites with EHU, wildcamping, touring etc. etc.

As for costs we had a Gaslow refillable system fitted quite early on in our travels, replacing 2x6kg Calors - no room for anything bigger. At the time it was mainly for the convenience of not having to swap or heave bottles about but it quickly became apparent that refillable gas was less than a third of the cost of using replacement (Calor) bottles. Also our intention was to do a lot of continental touring so there was also the issue of getting replacements. (For low usage maybe buying a local bottle and regulator would be more economic if you found it necessary whilst travelling abroad).

I keep records of all our gas (and fuel) expenditure and have worked out the savings over using replacement bottles have covered the initial installation costs more than three times. But to put it into perspective we rarely use campsites and that period covers 120,000 miles and well over 1000 nights away. Being able to refill easily anywhere on our travels (except Morocco but we've found solutions) has been a major benefit.