Help please

[Samantha1239]

Hi - currently touring in Europe for first time. We are now in Brittany France but going to move through Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. We took what we thought were 2 full Calor Gas 6kg Propane cylinders. One ran out after a week or so. We are now on our second but looking to get a local bottles in France and then in the other countries. The questions we have are:

1) what bottles would you recommend. For France it seems Le Cube is a good option. What about in the other places?

2) what size pig tails/regulators would we need (pic of our regulator in caravan attached)

3) anything else we should be thinking of?

We are in a caravan

 

[suavecarve]

3) anything else we should be thinking of?

Getting LPG fitted would resolve all your issues (at a price that will pay back within a number of years)

 

[Samantha1239]

Getting LPG fitted would resolve all your issues (at a price that will pay back within a number of years)

It's a caravan. Sorry should have clarified. We are currently in France

 

[roadwarrior]

2 6KG bottles will get you knowhere anyway, i would take away 2 13kg bottles , anything over a week and you would empty a 6kg easily.
you need to decide how you want to travel and for how long, if you have uk spec gas bottles they need to be 13kg for no longer than 2 weeks, if your going for longer you need french renewables, gas is easily picked up in france, for french bottles you can get a replacement at almost every supermarket in france - even when closed as its totally automated. BUT you wont get one without joining up first. you now have 2 problems as i see it. what do you do with 2 empty uk bottles and where to put a 13kg renewable gas bottle. i suggest to find a caravan/motorhome spares/ sales place or even an open staffed pertrol station and see if you can create a contract for your first bottle. its no help to you right now, but i have 2 13kg french bottles i dont use any more, they are not cheap and retail second hand about 100 pounds each. Your other option is to get a prefilled french gas bottle with pigtails, hence me saying a caravan/motohome spares place who will sort you out with bottle and pigtail and contract for the first bottle, same as in the uk. your last option is to go without gas until you get back to the uk. but as i say 6kg will go nowhere.
but as you are a caravan and have to stop on caravan sites, whay are you using gas anyway to such an extent ? use the electric hook up for everything you can.
With the best will in the world i think you need to realise you cant tour 4 countries with 2 little uk 6kg bottles. i have a built in 25 ltr gas tank and we will fill it about every 2 weeks. does that give you an idea of your dilemma ?

 

[Samantha1239]

2 6KG bottles will get you knowhere anyway, i would take away 2 13kg bottles , anything over a week and you would empty a 6kg easily.
you need to decide how you want to travel and for how long, if you have uk spec gas bottles they need to be 13kg for no longer than 2 weeks, if your going for longer you need french renewables, gas is easily picked up in france, for french bottles you can get a replacement at almost every supermarket in france - even when closed as its totally automated. BUT you wont get one without joining up first. you now have 2 problems as i see it. what do you do with 2 empty uk bottles and where to put a 13kg renewable gas bottle. i suggest to find a caravan/motorhome spares/ sales place or even an open staffed pertrol station and see if you can create a contract for your first bottle. its no help to you right now, but i have 2 13kg french bottles i dont use any more, they are not cheap and retail second hand about 100 pounds each. Your other option is to get a prefilled french gas bottle with pigtails, hence me saying a caravan/motohome spares place who will sort you out with bottle and pigtail and contract for the first bottle, same as in the uk. your last option is to go without gas until you get back to the uk. but as i say 6kg will go nowhere.

Thankyou so much. This is so helpful. The 13kg bottles
..what is the size differential versus the 6kg calor uk bottle we have. Trying to gauge if they will fit in our gas locker in our bailey Pegasus Rimini.

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[Montezuma]

This all sounds a bit odd ?

In a caravan; therefore I assume that you are frequenting 'regular' sites, and using mains hook ups ?

In the past we have toured, on the Continent, using 'regular' sites, both with caravan and motorhome, and taken one 6kg Calor and one of the larger Campng Gaz bottles for the barbecue, and never run out, over a period of 4 weeks, sometimes longer

On occasion I have exchanged the Camping Gaz bottle, if we have overdone the BBQ bit. Not a problem in France.

The only time we used the gas was when parked up for a break, or when busy in the local Aldi or Lidl.

Are you sure that you do not have a leak somewhere ?

Once you are on site, then surely you can just use the site's mains supply, . . . . or are you preferring not to fund such luxury ?

Just curious ?

 

[varaizian]

As someone who arrived in Portugal from France to discover I only had one 13kg bottle to last 6 weeks or more I can sympathise; but that was early January and bitterly cold. We resolved the problem by my wife buying a warm wooly poncho and me eventually finding somewhere that would refill our empty bottle using adaptors! That is unlikely to be an option anywhere on your trip except rural Italy.
I’m with Montezuma. If you are only using gas for cooking and are not frivolous with it you will be fine.
Nevertheless I will measure one of our 13kg bottles in the morning. Something is nagging me about your bulkhead regulator pressure rating. I’m sure the 13kg bottles are 37mB.

 

[Richard n Ann]

You're using a lot of gas. Our 2 x 6kg gas bottles used to last 4 weeks off grid, the 3 way fridge used 99% of it.
Now with the compressor fridge they'd probably last over 6 months continuous. I filled them up last year but before then it was 2021.

 

[roadwarrior]

Thankyou so much. This is so helpful. The 13kg bottles
..what is the size differential versus the 6kg calor uk bottle we have. Trying to gauge if they will fit in our gas locker in our bailey Pegasus Rimini.

Most of the weight is the bottle itself and so a bigger bottle contains much more gas. I cant comment on the possibility of fitting 13 kg bottles in, but I know I did in.my caravan a long time ago. But... there is almost no price difference between a 6 and a 13kg bottle and there is twice as much gas. Go to a caravan spares place and ask for help, and see if you can physically fit 2x13kg in the space. If you can't, it is still better to get one 13 kg bottle than 2x6kg. Now in france different companies make different sizes and shapes. So it's possible you can get 2
bottles in there. But.. I seriously suggest on this particular maiden voyage you stay in france and discover france it's a huge country and is easily the most popular destination in the world. Learn what your doing and build your skills and knowledge. France is more than big enough to experience first time. Good luck !

 

[MichaelT]

It's a caravan. Sorry should have clarified. We are currently in France

You can have refillable fitted in a caravan, lots use safe fill so you can take it to get filled (but some places don't let you) or go for a lightweight one.

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[varaizian]

I've checked and I was wrong about the 13kg bottles being 37mb. It is 30mb the same as your regulator so just a wee small hours bit of over-active imagination! The bottle measures approximately 30cm in diameter and is approximately 59cm high to the top of the valve. I presume you know you must never lay these bottles down? See below also

an image of the valve.

 

[roadwarrior]

On another note I am however bemused how you are getting through so much gas when as a caravan you have to stay at sites and all of which will have electricity hookups. EHU for short. I am going to assume you know the difference between butane and propane. Put simply propane is less efficient (lower calorific value, but works better in cold climates and usually more expensive too. Your idea of getting different bottles as you move through countries won't work as each country will tend to have its own bottles and then you will be stuck with yet more bottles to carry or store or get rid of. You need to identify where all this gas is going and why you need it when EHU is available. I accept making a cup of tea on route is fine but you need to identify where you can do without the gas because soon you won't have any I'm quite sure. The cost of a contract in each country will also clean out your bank account as well. Its possible you have a leak i suppose. Again get it checked when you find a caravan spares place, ie somewhere equipped to check your supply and advise and fit. Most seasoned travellers will have renewable gas bottles or tanks as gas is gas is gas, its the bottles that create the problem for international travellers like you want to be. May I suggest you reassess your situation in foreign lands and work out a plan for this trip and consequent trips.

 

[Lenny HB]

Another point worth mentioning a couple of 13kg bottles will add about 25kg at the front end & may make you over the limit for nose weight on the towbar.

As you are in a caravan I assume you are using sites with EHU.
So why not buy a cheap induction hob, a small electric low wattage kettle. You shouldn't need heating this time of year but if you do a small fan heater.

Edit:
And a small electric cool box.

It will work out cheaper than swapping bottles in every country & you will have bought some useful kit.

 

[varaizian]

I recently exchanged a bottle at Leclerc and it cost about €49. There would be a deposit on top of that for you of perhaps €30. There is a contract to sign and they will want an address. Just use a campsite address or whatever; they are not really interested until you want your money back! Have a look around the racks of bottles there are often empty bottles standing around.

 

[roadwarrior]

A little thought, your fridge does run on electricity doesn't it ? If you fridge was faulty and was only running on gas might explain your high usage of gas. Your fridge should be powered by the car whilst driving and then EHU when at a site. Check that.

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[Rapido666F]

Are you switching the gas bottle OFF before you move? If not then you might be running heating and refrigeration when you don’t need to (and when it is dangerously and probably illegal).

 

[roadwarrior]

Lenny your maths I suspect. That would only be the case if she left the 2 6kg bottles in there as well

 

[roadwarrior]

How do you get 4 elephants in a mini, 2 on the front and 2 in back, how do you get 4 in a mini - you cant its full of elephants.

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny your maths I suspect. That would only be the case if she left the 2 6kg bottles in there as well

No, another 14 kg of gas plus the extra weight of the bottles, far worse if they keep the old bottles and the cost of replacing them in the UK.

I think my suggestion of going electric for this trip is the sensible option.

 

[roadwarrior]

And don't get me started about nose weights on caravans - an art form in itself.

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[Joe Public]

Would you consider buying a camping gaz bottle. Much smaller than you're used to but you can exchange them in France, Spain and Portugal.

 

[Landy Andy]

In my opinion you need to know if you have a gas leak or not. IF you have managed to use 6kg gas in a week, I think you have an issue. 2 weeks away over Xmas and new year running fridge, heating, hot water, all cooking and I use less than 11kg.

 

[PlacidoD]

I go with Lenny's suggestion - use electric. If you stay at any site for a few days I am told you can order and get Amazon delivery if that helps.

By way of alternative get yourself a Campingaz 907 bottle and tail to match. They are universally available in the EU. They contain, from memory, 2.7 kg of gas. That will keep you going probably without major storage problems. You might even consider the smaller 903 bottle if storage is a problem.

Echoing others it sounds like you gas consumption is very high so it may be priority to sort that first before spending big money on alternatives. My best guess would be the gas fridge or perhaps confusing water plus space heating with water heating only ?

 

[roadwarrior]

camping gaz are indeed multinational but cost a bloody fortune as they rip your face off and spank you for the privelige, bottom line is maybe reign in your ambitions and stay in france this time and learn what what will work for you going forwards. The folk here have a wealth of knowledge that will make your eyes water. But you need to take time to work out what will work for you. but here is an example of the huge differances. You will have paid maybe upto 60 quid for each bottle and you have total of 12 ltrs, I have, and many others have an underslung gas tank that has a working capacity of 20 litres which i fill anywhere in europe for about 7 quid. So very much horses for courses you see.
so... get yourself to a caravan/motorhome spares place and get it checked over. once you know you have no leaks,
Then you need to examine why you are using so much when EHU should be doing everything you need at campsites.
THEN decide on a plan, changing gas bottles every week is a non starter, what is it being used for and when, turn off the gas supply when you are travelling dont just leave it on, aside from it being dangerous its illegal and your fridge wont care. I will say fridges dont work as well when driving and things might get a littler warmer in the fridge when on the move but you have to bear that in mind and keep journeys down to about 200 miles at a time or things will thaw out that said its all part of thr learning curve.

Last year i had planned to do the alps, i had to rethink when i discovered my brakes were not upto it, smoking faded brakes are not funny going down a mountain side. We live and have to adapt. Live long and prosper !

 

[PlacidoD]

You can have refillable fitted in a caravan, lots use safe fill so you can take it to get filled (but some places don't let you) or go for a lightweight one.

SafeFill is lightweight - fibreglass not metal. They come in 5kg, 7.5 kg and 11kg sizes. I have two 11kg so I am bomb-proof touring the EU!

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[PlacidoD]

"camping gaz are indeed multinational but cost a bloody fortune as they rip your face off and spank you for the privelige ..."

I cannot comment upon the cost of a refill/exchanges as a quick look online did not give me that info (and actual figures rather than opinion would assist the OP with the options) BUT an empty/part empty bottle and tail should be readily saleable in the UK to the camping fraternity upon return here so the actual cost would be the premium on a CampinGaz exchange cylinder compared with some other bottle which you would be stuck with on return to the UK and thus completely dead money.

The best option if money permits would be a refillable cylinder like SafeFill but prices on those in the EU are not in my knowledge. But that still gives the problem of where to park the empty Calor cylinders once acquired!!!

If the OP is extremely lucky they might meet up with some kind person about to return to the UK who will transport them (or one of them) empty in their garage allowing the OP to collect on their return. A post on this site might just solve that problem? You never know!!

 

[roadwarrior]

yes i did cover the possible situation of half a dozen bottles rolling around the van

 

[MisterB]

Thankyou so much. This is so helpful. The 13kg bottles
..what is the size differential versus the 6kg calor uk bottle we have. Trying to gauge if they will fit in our gas locker in our bailey Pegasus Rimini.

If youre close to a 'local tip' they usually have discarded bottles that you might be allowed to recycle .... You just take it to the nearest garage and use it as the exchange cylinder. I've done it a couple of times .... Not all tip police are accommodating though.

You could always try marketplace or le bon coin, which is a very popular selling site to see if anyone is selling/disposing a cylinder ...

 

[Sue and Rick]

How do you get 4 elephants in a mini, 2 on the front and 2 in back, how do you get 4 in a mini - you cant its full of elephants.

Put their heads through the sun roof

 

[herald_400rl]

It will work out cheaper than swapping bottles in every country

If you get a box, you won't have to worry about bottles.


Oh, we're not talking about wine.