LPG being phased out?

S

StephandJohn

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Our 2x 6kg Gaslow bottles reach their expiry date next year. There has been much discussion regarding options when this happens. I rang Gaslow and they said you could exchange them for tested ones which have a further 15 year life for £90 per bottle or get new ones which are more expensive. However, there has been recent press on LPG being phased out. I think a couple of companies have already stated that they are phasing out LPG at garages. I rang our local garage where we fill up and he said he has had trouble getting his LPG tank refilled and is aware that with declining use it may no longer be viable for companies to sell it.

With this in mind you have to question whether it is a good idea to reinvest in a Gaslow system or whether to go back to Calor gas refillables. However, Calor gas 6kg propane bottles are also now hard to get. You can get them at around £100 each on ebay (which is what we did to get a butane bottle for an indoor fire). The man at the garage also said even if we turned up with empty ones he would not be able to replace them as he has not been able to get 6kg propane for 6 months.

So I suppose as we only use our motorhome in the summer one option is we could swap to refillable butane which apparently is more available.

Anyway, these are all considerations next year when the Gaslow bottles reach the end of their 15 year life.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
Crystal ball time... yes there appears to be a shortage at moment but I believe is due to current situations and suppliers can't get supplys
Yes some are giving up on LPG but I personally don't believe it will disappear completely.
 
I was led to believe the expiry date is only relevant to hire vehicles and not privately owned but no idea where I got that info from😁
 
I've taken a guess that LPG is likely to stay harder to get than it has been in the past, but still available fairly easily.

Had to think about this with a new build about to start that I want to keep for at least 10 years. Decided to go as big as I can with an underslung LPG tank, but change heating over to diesel. Hoping this will make filling easier, but just my guess.

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poppycamper said:
Crystal ball time... yes there appears to be a shortage at moment but I believe is due to current situations and suppliers can't get supplys
Yes some are giving up on LPG but I personally don't believe it will disappear completely.
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I think at the moment it is just MRG and Shell who have said they are phasing out autogas sales. The chap we spoke to at the garage said that he knows a company in Morecambe is still converting some vehicles to LPG so there is a small demand still but LPG only accounts for 0.2% of fuel sales. We will have to see.
 
I don’t have it but surely the main LPG producers have pumps at their depots that will always be there. I recall my local Flogas used to fill bottles there, but had to stop, but they still had a vehicle pump there. Not sure about my local Calor but it has now closed I understand
 
Its a difficult question on future availability on LPG, both refillable & exchange bottles as availability of exchange bottles has been a problem for some time, plus many petrol stations are removing their LPG pumps due to lack of demand/low sale volumes, in favour of EV charging points.
If we used the van anywhere off grid for longer periods in the cooler months, then fitting a diesel heater would be a sensible upgrade, as conventional heating boilers use a lot of LPG. Many new vans can now be ordered with Diesel boilers such as The Truma ED for example, and only have a small bottle if any for the hob.

Others more travelled than me will normally mention that LPG refilling stations are much more readily available on the continent, more so than we have to hand in The UK.......Very True!......But for how long?
I have always thought that if LPG use for transport falls off, as it has here in The UK, then it must only be a question of time before it happens everywhere.
Sadly, I think we can expect to see the same fast reduction of LPG refill points across Europe, not only here in The UK.

Those fortunate campers that have more foresight than me, are already running their vans heating/water on diesel, they probably also have large lithium battery banks, with inverters running induction hobs in the kitchen, all charged up by solar & high amperage DC to DC Chargers.
Therefore no need for LPG other than maybe The BBQ
They Say, Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and changes are moving fast these days, its problems like these that make us focus our minds for the near future, along with the way we intend to use our vans, and where.
LES
 
We’re lucky in that we have a gas supply company in the town, and they have a pump to fill up from. Our Gaslow system was one of the first things on accessory wish list and glad we had it fitted.

I don’t look at the price I just fill up and pay.

We’ve also had no problem filling just off the M5 Bristol, and A17 roundabout near Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It’s available but spread out. (y)
 
We are pretty low gas users - often on EHU , so filling up with LPG is an occasional thing. We have 1 Gaslow, one Calor. We also don't live near a wide range of LPG suppliers - one we normally used closed recently (whole garage, not just the lpg pump) - so it's generally a question of filling up when we see one.

I'd be more bothered if it started to be hard to find in mainland Europe, because we got Gaslow initially to simplify gas in France & Spain.

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Our local Calor agent has a pump for refilling - but won't allow anything but LPG powered vehicles to use it!
 
TerryL said:
Our local Calor agent has a pump for refilling - but won't allow anything but LPG powered vehicles to use it!
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Well I suppose they cannot sell exchange cylinders to cars but they can to MHs so do not want to sell at pump price lower than exchange cylinder price - Sensible - b*stards.
 
I don't t think there is going to be any real problem getting LPG for quite a few years yet.
No shortage of outlets in mainland Europe in Belgium & Germany a very high proportion if garages have pumps, plenty in Holland & France & Portugal, Spain you see more pumps installed every year.
 
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StephandJohn said:
So I suppose as we only use our motorhome in the summer one option is we could swap to refillable butane which apparently is more available.

Anyway, these are all considerations next year when the Gaslow bottles reach the end of their 15 year life.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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I've never seen refillable butane.

Currently, whilst harder than before, I find Autogas for refilling is easier to find than Calor bottles, as well as being a fraction of the price and allowing filling whenever you like, not just when you're empty.
 
cmcardle75 said:
I've never seen refillable butane.
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Actually, that wasn't actually true, LPG in southern Europe is often butane. In the UK it is propane. In other countries it varies, including by season. The equipment in your van is the same, just different liquified gas comes out of the pump. Butane is cheaper, but no good in cold weather.

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cmcardle75 said:
Actually, that wasn't actually true, LPG in southern Europe is often butane
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Not quite, Spain has the highest butane content up to 65%, most countries have a percentage of butane the mix varies on time of year except Portugal which is 100% propane.
 
cmcardle75 said:
I've never seen refillable butane.

Currently, whilst harder than before, I find Autogas for refilling is easier to find than Calor bottles, as well as being a fraction of the price and allowing filling whenever you like, not just when you're empty.
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LpPG is not designated Propane nor Butane, because it is mixed as a % of what is needed in the geographical area/ altitude/season etc to ensure gassing off at the ambient temperatures.
 
No LPG at the Ower Esso service station this evening. (A36 M27)
 
nicholsong said:
LpPG is not designated Propane nor Butane, because it is mixed as a % of what is needed in the geographical area/ altitude/season etc to ensure gassing off at the ambient temperatures.
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Doesn't need to gas off as automotive use its a liquid feed.
 
Don't know who said it on here but the best and most encouraging comment was that the if some stop selling it, although it might be a bit harder to track down, those selling it will sell more and keep on selling it. With a fair size underslung tank which lasts a very long time I just fill up when I see it and I hope that policy will keep me going for many years yet.

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Don Campbell said:
Don't know who said it on here but the best and most encouraging comment was that the if some stop selling it, although it might be a bit harder to track down, those selling it will sell more and keep on selling it. With a fair size underslung tank which lasts a very long time I just fill up when I see it and I hope that policy will keep me going for many years yet.
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Exactly my thoughts. Got a 70 litre underslung tank (56 litres useable) and will fill as and when the opportunity arises.
 
This whole issue is being exasperated at the moment due to lack of supply, not lack of retailers ....there are loads of pumps out there... (actually too many in many places) add on to the that the ever true economics of supply and demand... if the demand wasn't there all these empty pumps up and down the land wouldn't be empty...all the retailers we have spoken to say the same thing...they are still selling just waiting for new stocks..
 
royandsharont said:
I don’t have it but surely the main LPG producers have pumps at their depots that will always be there. I recall my local Flogas used to fill bottles there, but had to stop, but they still had a vehicle pump there. Not sure about my local Calor but it has now closed I understand
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My local calor closed down the pump side of things, only do bottles now, couldn’t give me a reason.
 
Nothing available in Hull or surrounds yesterday, hope my 6kg will last the long weekend.
 
In and amongst all this there must be business opportunities in here for some, for example caravan and motorhome retailers and servicing places could instal tanks and start selling it, ditto camp sites, the caravan and motorhome club could have a number of sites with tanks on. Some servicing places could start selling conversion kits, i.e to fit diesel heaters, replace gas ovens with induction hobs and inverters to remove the need to gas altogether. I wonder if any have the imagine to spot this potential gap in the market and to exploit it.

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Sure I read somewhere that the largest LPG refinery in UK based in Pembroke dock is closing down?

On the other hand, India is probably the largest producer / user of LPG and will be for years to come.

Considering current price increases of 13% pa since 2013 - sound like a good investment for storing long term as its shelf life is dictated by the container it kept in!
 
It's still available west bound at the station near a63-m62 junction, north cave / Newport. 99.9 per litre or at least it was yesterday.
 
Lesanda said:
It's still available west bound at the station near a63-m62 junction, north cave / Newport. 99.9 per litre or at least it was yesterday.
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Thanks for that, unfortunately going to Bridlington from Hedon.
 
Considering Calor have had a virtual monopoly on bottled gas/lpg for years, they seem to be making a bit of a hash of things ?
I know you can't demand people to return bottles, but if they didn't make it so hard to get your deposit back, maybe there wouldn't be so many bottles ending up at rubbish dumps and being fly tipped ?
 
LPG in this country as with many things is a farce, nothing about customer services more about corporate profit maximisation.
One day the public will wake up to the wealth transfer taking place currently.
I will aim for a coal burning steam car, seems like a modern solution to me.
Might burn the odd wooden pallet cut up of course.
Good for the soul and body, getting it up to steam, can think of very few downsides,can you?

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