gas (1 Viewer)

stevensson10

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is it safe to drive your m/h with the gas turned on.i don't mean to use when driving but just turned on at the bottle.steve
 

Chris

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We always turn ours off, just in case we have a crash.

You don't really want gas circulating round your van in that event.

Not sure who told me that though.
 

sdc77

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I'm sure that in almost every journey you make leaving your gas on will make no difference.. But it's not advised due to the obvious safety implications.

Some people will leave their gas on..
Most don't

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daisy mae

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Good morning, the sun is out here at the moment,

The first owner of my MH always left his gas on at the bottle end, off at the taps in the van, I turn mine off.
 

bobandjanie

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It depends on what your regulator your motorhome has fitted, our motorhome has the secumotion regulator and also the rupture protection hoses, so yes we leave it On.::bigsmile:

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We had it on our last motorhome, but had trouble with the regulator, so put a normal one on, and then turned the gas Off when driving. :thumb:

Bob.

PS. With this fitted, you can use the heating while driving.
 
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ShiftZZ

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We always turn it off, all the instructions that we have stated that it should be off. Makes sense.

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Don Quixote

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Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........
If you where ( heaven forbid ) in an bad RTA and the police held your MH for investigation and find your gas bottle was not closed whilst traveling then must by law inform your insurance company. I doubt if they would pay out which this knowledge.

At the end of the day it takes seconds to switch it off before moving and after you get into the habit it just like checking windows closed, things secure, doors secure etc....
 
Feb 9, 2008
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We had a secumotion device fitted. Recently had a smell of gas that I couldn't trace. Replaced the secumotion with an ordinary hose and this cured it. The device was over 5 years old.

I understand that on the continent it's legal to drive with the fridge on gas, not so in UK however.

Rgds
Bill

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Jan 3, 2008
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If you where ( heaven forbid ) in an bad RTA and the police held your MH for investigation and find your gas bottle was not closed whilst traveling then must by law inform your insurance company. I doubt if they would pay out which this knowledge.

At the end of the day it takes seconds to switch it off before moving and after you get into the habit it just like checking windows closed, things secure, doors secure etc....

Not if you had secumotion the approved system. There would be no grounds to refuse a claim
 
Jan 3, 2008
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We had a secumotion device fitted. Recently had a smell of gas that I couldn't trace. Replaced the secumotion with an ordinary hose and this cured it. The device was over 5 years old.

I understand that on the continent it's legal to drive with the fridge on gas, not so in UK however.

Rgds
Bill[/QUOTE

Thats interesting. What regulation says its not legal in the UK?
 
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stevensson10

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If you where ( heaven forbid ) in an bad RTA and the police held your MH for investigation and find your gas bottle was not closed whilst traveling then must by law inform your insurance company. I doubt if they would pay out which this knowledge.

At the end of the day it takes seconds to switch it off before moving and after you get into the habit it just like checking windows closed, things secure, doors secure etc....
yes it makes sense I will always turn mine off in future thanks for advice I received from all of you regards steve.

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Jun 10, 2011
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It's an interesting question.

I pretty much always turn mine off, although I do forget on a regular basis.

It would be interesting to get a definitive answer as to the legality of driving with it on over here in the UK.

And I don't have a clue about this talk of different adapters. Ours just seem to be standard valve thingy that screw onto the gas canister so don't know whether it would cut off automatically or not.
 

maz

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I always drive with the gas bottles turned off. They have to be off to refill at a garage anyway so makes double sense to me. :Smile:

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MHVirgins

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This question came up on the CC forum a while back, some replies were for and others against. However, as we also have the "Secumotion" regulater system in our van, we drive with ours on. (Like Bob and Jane's)
Same goes for the heating, it can be on whilst travelling, but never gets cold enough though.

However, if we were going across to the Continent on the ferry it would be switched off for safety reasons. I believe the ferry staff will make sure of this.

Whilst in the UK always on, ready for the kettle going on when we stop:thumb:

Bill
 
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Jan 3, 2008
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Just curious...are these things insurance company approved?
If not, they could refuse a claim.

Provided the equipment is approved for use in the manner it is being used by it's manufacturer, i.e. on when driving, there is no requirement for an insurance company to approve it or otherwise. Secumotion is designed and intended to be left on when the vehicle is being driven and it's design which incorporates an automatic emergency rutrure shutoff conforms to the relevant EU directive (I connote remember which one offhand) under those circumstances there would no legitimate reason to refuse a claim.

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johnp10

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Provided the equipment is approved for use in the manner it is being used by it's manufacturer, i.e. on when driving, there is no requirement for an insurance company to approve it or otherwise. Secumotion is designed and intended to be left on when the vehicle is being driven and it's design which incorporates an automatic emergency rutrure shutoff conforms to the relevant EU directive (I connote remember which one offhand) under those circumstances there would no legitimate reason to refuse a claim.

In principle I would agree, but...
They can and will refuse a claim if a required alarm system /tracker etc. isn't approved by them, so is this so different?
The purpose, suitability and legality of the kit isn't in question, just the insurance companies' attitude towards them.
Has anyone actually checked out the insurers' stance on this, or is it another head in the sand job like a frames in Spain etc.?


NO, NO, NO....It's NOT about A Frames!!:thumb:
 
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Dec 6, 2011
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2 points from me:

1. when you insure a vehicle you are asked if its been modified. if a secumotion regulator has been fitted and is not std surly you are obligated to tell them.

2. if you insure an unmodified motorhome and a secumotion regulator is fitted as std then i believe the insurer is accepting that this is a fitment and approved for use in accordance with manufacturers specs and guidelines.

i have a secumotion regulator fitted as standard and unless i am refilling with LPG or travelling by ferry / euro tunnel or parking up the van at home for more than a few days our gas stays on.
 
Jan 3, 2008
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In principle I would agree, but...
They can and will refuse a claim if a required alarm system /tracker etc. isn't approved by them, so is this so different?
The purpose, suitability and legality of the kit isn't in question, just the insurance companies' attitude towards them.
Has anyone checked it out, or is it another head in the sand job like a frames in Spain etc.?


NO, NO, NO....It's NOT about A Frames!!:thumb:

Yes, very different. As you say they can and will refuse a claim if a REQUIRED alarm/tracker is not fitted since that would be failing to comply with a condition of the insurance contract. They do not in my experience want to know the make of the alarm, just that it is Thatcham approved cat 1, or at least that was what happened in my case (three different insurers over the years)

They also want to know if the vehicle has been modified, mine has not since Secumotion was original equipment.

I would be quite happy to take my insurers to the Ombudsman, should they refuse a claim on the grounds of their not having approved the Secumotion. Similarly, if there was a fire from the Truma boiler or Spiniflo oven these would not be grounds to refuse a claim.

On taking out the insurance contract the important question is "modifications" The insurance companies do not ask for a comprehensive list of all items of equipment fitted to the motorhome so that they can approve them individually.

My head is not in the sand, not in the clouds, simply in tune with my insurance contract and it's conditions and small print.

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johnp10

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Not suggesting your head is in the sand or anywhere else, it just seems to be the norm on many issues on here.

Your logic makes sense.
Just asking a question, nothing more.

Cheers.
 

Heyupluv

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I agree with Bob&Jane...we too have the secumotion regulator with the rupture protection hoses, and yes we leave ours On.
But if you have the normal regulator like our last van...then No I would turn it off at the bottles....but I must confess I had forgot several times:Doh:

Quote PhilD( secumotion regulator fitted as standard and unless i am refilling with LPG or travelling by ferry / euro tunnel or parking up the van at home for more than a few days our gas stays on).exactly Same with us ....valid Points
 
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Heyupluv

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2 points from me:

1. when you insure a vehicle you are asked if its been modified. if a secumotion regulator has been fitted and is not std surly you are obligated to tell them.

2. if you insure an unmodified motorhome and a secumotion regulator is fitted as std then i believe the insurer is accepting that this is a fitment and approved for use in accordance with manufacturers specs and guidelines.

i have a secumotion regulator fitted as standard and unless i am refilling with LPG or travelling by ferry / euro tunnel or parking up the van at home for more than a few days our gas stays on.

exactly Same with us ....valid Points I had forgotten PhilD:thumb:

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lorger

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Only time we turned ours off on our trip abroad there was on the tunnel, as it says in our Truma manual that the fridge and heating can be used on the move.

Always turned off the one in our old van though
 

Snowbird

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Hmmm, Well if its illegal to run with the gas on, its a new one on me. There must be a lot of American RVs that are illegal as most dont have a 12 volt facility on the fridge. The fridge runs on gas when on the move. Some even run the LPG genny whilst going down the road. Would you believe there are thousands of LPG cars running around with there gas turned on.
 

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