Refillable Gas Bottles......End of Life.

[barsteward]

Bellow is part of a PM reply I tried to send to a fellow Funster we are limited to 420 word and I couldn't be bothered to count them all and rewrite

Hi Carthorse,
Well now you've set me off, I never really thought about expiry dates and testing etc.
The expiry date is indeed 2024.
The thing is you don't research or even think about what the date is until you need to find the answer,
The bottles appear to be stamped 01 2024, I didn't buy them until 11 2014 so 10 months of their life had already expired,
The information on the internet is very sketchy and I can find no individual who has any experience as to the cost of re testing cylinders many seem to have posed the question but none seem to have a definitive answer.
It really is abag of worms waiting to be opened.
This is from the Gasit web site

What to do with your old gas tanks and gas bottles - Not just GAS IT products.

It would appear that in the not to distant future we are all going to be well and truly stitched up.



There has been just one post on here I think with reference to this subject,

I certainly don't recall any blurb on the Gasit web site when I purchased the system telling me that the system would be virtually defunct.
Oh and how benevolent they would be to us all by not charging us to recycle the cylinders.

There is every price of every item listed on their website apart from the cost of re commissioning the old cylinders they do however give advice on companies who may provide this service.

 

[Macca1954]

Omg have I got to wait 5 years to find out the result.?

 

[Camping Gaza]

What they gonna do at the end of their best before date? All the welding disintegrate? split open melt? self destruct? go mouldy? Eaten by the dreaded tin worm?

Metal fatigue due to pressure/re pressure I can get, but after thousands of cycles.

Bollox.

 

[Nixdorfer]

I asked this question to Autogas about their Alugas and Gaslow bottles the other week.

The response was they have to go back to germany for testing a pallet at a time and its not cheap to send them.

Basically she said I had to return the bottle and buy a brand new one, no discount or test fee (did ask) just buy a new bottle. Not quite what I expected to hear.

I suppose in 10 years the savings will more than cover the bottle cost. But I originally thought there would be some sort of exchange scheme with a bit of discount

 

[Nixdorfer]

Another reason when I've seen used systems that only have 4 or 5 years life left I start to rule them out.

Unless its very cheap its not worth it if you have to buy a new bottle in 4yrs.

I can get a new gasit plus 11kg kit and install it for £225. Its hardly worth bothering with used.

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[barsteward]

Well done Nixdorfer, you should be able to make a healthy profit if you start selling your system.

Gasit do not sell an 11kg kit

They do however sell a 13kg basic kit at a starting price of £412.34

GAS IT self refillable gas bottle and gas cylinder for use in any Motorhome, Caravan, Campervan, Farrier & Catering Vehicles and Road repair companies. - GAS IT Leisure Gas Bottles, Gas Cylinders and Gas Tanks - Catering, Motorhome, Campervan, Carava

GAS IT, gas bottle, motorhome gas bottle, campervan gas, 6kg gas cylinder, 11 kg gas cylinder, calorgas, self refillable gas, self filling gas bottle, self fill, safefill, vw T5 underslung, vw underslung gas tank, VW panel van, fiat motorhome At GAS IT we sell many different size of self...

www.gasit.co.uk

 

[barsteward]

Right here's an interesting bit from the Gasit knowledge base.

GAS IT Technical Support Portal

Note paragraph 2 about UK EU legal requirements.

Also nice to see that they do a discounted exchange scheme although I have no Idea how much this discount may be.

 

[Nixdorfer]

Well done Nixdorfer, you should be able to make a healthy profit if you start selling your system.

Gasit do not sell an 11kg kit

They do however sell a 13kg basic kit at a starting price of £412.34

GAS IT self refillable gas bottle and gas cylinder for use in any Motorhome, Caravan, Campervan, Farrier & Catering Vehicles and Road repair companies. - GAS IT Leisure Gas Bottles, Gas Cylinders and Gas Tanks - Catering, Motorhome, Campervan, Carava

GAS IT, gas bottle, motorhome gas bottle, campervan gas, 6kg gas cylinder, 11 kg gas cylinder, calorgas, self refillable gas, self filling gas bottle, self fill, safefill, vw T5 underslung, vw underslung gas tank, VW panel van, fiat motorhome At GAS IT we sell many different size of self...

www.gasit.co.uk

Don't think it can be done do you... Ok I'll just roll my sleeves up

They don't sell an 11kg kit now as they just brought out a 13kg Gen2 bottle. Which they told me is just a standard bottle but now has removable shroud on top... Whoop de do ?

BUT they do sell an 11kg plus bottle on its own

11kg Plus bottle £169.99 on offer right now
Filling point £22.22
White round filler £16
0.75mtr lightweight filler hose £21.36
POL to 21.8lh adaptor £6.20

(give or take as had to roughly try and remember some prices)

Apart from a bracket if fitting in locker that's all you need for a basic 1 bottle setup.

FREE delivery and minus Mhfun 5% discount is about £225

Ta dahhhh! ?

 

[Nixdorfer]

For another 42 or so you can get the Bluetooth version.

Could of had that setup for £255 but just gone up to £267

I get a bit OCD when start looking at stuff... I've got a bloomin spreadsheet with it all on ?

 

[Nixdorfer]

Use the same fittings but with an 11kg Alugas bottle and can do it for about £275 if Autogas will still give the forum discount on just a bottle.

Can do a Gaslow for about same price as the Gasit plus

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[barsteward]

Don't think it can be done do you... Ok I'll just roll my sleeves up

They don't sell an 11kg kit now as they just brought out a 13kg Gen2 bottle. Which they told me is just a standard bottle but now has removable shroud on top... Whoop de do ?

BUT they do sell an 11kg plus bottle on its own

11kg Plus bottle £169.99 on offer right now
Filling point £22.22
White round filler £16
0.75mtr lightweight filler hose £21.36
POL to 21.8lh adaptor £6.20

(give or take as had to roughly try and remember some prices)

Apart from a bracket if fitting in locker that's all you need for a basic 1 bottle setup.

FREE delivery and minus Mhfun 5% discount is about £225

Ta dahhhh! ?

errrr
https://www.gasit.co.uk/

Just a bit of banter

 

[Nixdorfer]

Lol no problem... Just banter back

Knew someone would query the price I posted. Hopefully someone takes advantage of it and saves a few quid

Problen is I spent so much time looking into it all I can't decide which to get now so haven't bought one yet

Alugas for weight or Gasit plus or with BT Aaaaarrrggh ?

 

[jockaneezer]

Just checked a Calor gas bottle in my garage. It looks to be an older style bottle as it has the Calor logo embossed around its shoulder. It has a pristine aluminium collar with some info stamped on it, including what I presume to be a date code, i.e. 18/07 , making it at least 12 years old. This was a refill purchased (begrudgingly, but that's another story) last year from a Calor depot. It looks to have had a respray, as there's flaked off patches of base paint with a thinner top coat over them. So I wonder how often the likes of Calor are required to test their bottles ? Ok, you presume their will be a cursory visual inspection at refilling time, but they must need a hydraulic or ultrasound test at some point ? My Gaslow bottles have their info stamped direct into the bottle, not on a replaceable collar, so if they go off for a retest, do they just overstamp the new expiry date ? I wonder if the retest is as much for the "overfill" mechanism as much as anything ? Most Gaslow type cylinders must have a far easier life than the average Calor bottle that's getting swapped over, thrown around, stood outside and bashed about ?

 

[Nixdorfer]

I've emailed Gasit asking for info and prices for exchanging an expired bottle. See what they come back with.

I originally thought they would replace all the valves, test the bottle and recertify it. If thats not happening maybe the cost is too close to manufacture price at the moment for it to be viable.

I'm sure they will get re-used somehow or melted down and made into new ones. At least they aren't plastic and going in landfill. Just being asked to fork out full price for a new one that smarts a bit as dilutes the saving we make fitting one in the first place.

Calor being non-user refillable (legally) maybe they have different rules or because they don't have the fancy overfill and rupture protection are cheaper to refurb. Not sure

 

[Nixdorfer]

Do bottle dates get checked on a hab check? Was told hose dates do

If so is a hab check compulsory for insurance purposes?

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[Pausim]

My Alugas cylinder came with a certificate making it perfectly clear it only had a 10 year life. Exchange cylinders like Calor are regularly inspected, hence the recall of their lightweight cylinders a few years back when the spotted problems. A propane cylinder sits at about 100psi and can reach near 200psi when being filled. As it contains highly flammable potentially dangerous liquid gas I am very happy to know that they will get tested/replaced from time to time. Nothing lasts for ever and lpg is not area where corners should be cut.

 

[Nixdorfer]

We would all be happier to know its safe and tested. Last thing anyone wants is avoid any safety checks and 10yrs life is fine.

Think some just didn't realise their expensive systems may soon be coming up for replacement and the potential cost

 

[Ninjabob]

To my knowledge scuba diving tanks have no expiry date and require visual inspection every year and testing every three or five years. Vast difference in cylinder pressure so it is puzzling why gas cylinders should expire unless the gas is corrosive in some way.

 

[bigtree]

I had saw an old Alugas bottle for sale a while ago and asked Autogas2000 about testing and it worked out almost as much as a new bottle so I posted a link to it on here. tonyidle picked it up for a song, maybe he will comment what he has done.

 

[Pausim]

To my knowledge scuba diving tanks have no expiry date and require visual inspection every year and testing every three or five years. Vast difference in cylinder pressure so it is puzzling why gas cylinders should expire unless the gas is corrosive in some way.

Yes, but they are inspected and tested and they have significantly thicker walls. Has anyone ever inspected the inside of their lpg cylinder? I doubt it would be safe to do so.

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[Nixdorfer]

Ok had a positive reply from Nick at Gasit as follows

TBH I hadn't got round to reading through the Gasit link earlier

--------------------
We have has a section on the GAS IT knowledgebase for many years that gives people all the information they need to know on not only what to do after the so called ‘ 10 year period’ but also what to do when they finish with them or ‘the end of life’ of any privately owned gas bottles and gas tanks. Here’s the direct link : https://www.gasit.co.uk/support/knowledgebase.php

In a nut shell it says that for privately owned gas bottles and gas tanks there is no legal requirement to replace or get the tank or bottle tested in any form. It is only when the vehicle or trailer the tank or bottles are used on is used commercially in say hire and reward applications ( motorhome hire, catering, road repair, farriers etc) then they have to be re certified or replaced after 10 years.

I have not seen the current forum thread you mention but i know from the significant scare mongering that i’ve seen over the last 25+ years when it comes to old tank and bottles owned by the private market, that there's a need to know the truth which is why we’ve always been transparent and made the legal story clear on what they can and should do.

I can tell you that the subsidised prices should anyone want to exchange a 10+ year bottles and tanks vary depending on the price of the bottles and tanks at the time. There are a lot of tanks sizes so I won’t list all those prices, but I can tell you the current exchange price for a 10+ year old 6kg & 11kg 2 hole GAS IT bottle (that have been returned to us, as we don’t want old bottles all dumped in verges at the side of the road, so we can safely dispose of them in lines with current environmental regulations ) is currently 25% off the standard retail price. This is todays prices and the discounts and prices can change and vary at anytime in the future obviously ) As we have introduced the new Gen2 bottles recently all future 2 hole bottles will be exchanged for the new type under the same scheme.
------------------------

So we aren't legally forced to replace them. Wether you would still prefer to for peace of mind is a personal choice

And 25% off is at least a better offer than Autogas

 

[Pausim]

I don’t find it at all reassuring that there is no legal requirement to have bottles replaced or tested.

 

[Lenny HB]

The gas is corrosive to aluminium and aluminium bottles have the insides coated to prevent it. The first incarnation of aluminium Calor bottles were recalled due to corrosion.

Another reason for the 10 year check is to inspect the valves.

Lastest bottles have a 15 year life before testing is required.

 

[pete4x4]

I had my Gaslow bottles replaced in 2016 I think when they were 9 years old, I think I had 25% off new cylinders which suited me as they were the new R67 cylinders which included hos rupture built in.
Always knew they had a limited life.

 

[tonyidle]

I had saw an old Alugas bottle for sale a while ago and asked Autogas2000 about testing and it worked out almost as much as a new bottle so I posted a link to it on here. tonyidle picked it up for a song, maybe he will comment what he has done.

The guy had 2. Bought both & using them.

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[jockaneezer]

I've cut a few steel propane cylinders up in my time and none have been particularly rusty inside, usually just a bit of mill scale rattling about (isn't there some sort of oil in lpg that would inhibit rust and it's hardly an oxygen rich atmosphere that would be conducive to rusting ?) A check on 47kg cylinder in the yard shows a metal thickness of 3mm, a 0.006" of an inch thick steel drinks can will withstand well over 100 psi and the propane cylinder comes fitted with a safety valve too. I don't think I'm going to worry too much about my refillables as they approach their ten year anniversary.

 

[TinaLes]

I think what we maybe should all be concerned about apart from the safety aspect obviously, is the question of whether LPG gas will be "easily"available in 5/10 years time, as it looks like some of the usual providers like (shell) are currently reviewing the viability of providing pumps on their forecourts, as mentioned in another thread recently.
Dont know about you guys but the biggest refill cost I have had with two cylinders one with a bit left in, is about 14/15 quid, however tank full of the devils juice is more like 100 quid, so its easy to see their point.
Fingers crossed we will all get our monies worth back from the initial layout of refillable cylinders for a few years yet, but its not going to be as easy finding a refilling station.

Les

 

[Basildog]

The gas is corrosive to aluminium and aluminium bottles have the insides coated to prevent it. The first incarnation of aluminium Calor bottles were recalled due to corrosion.

Another reason for the 10 year check is to inspect the valves.

Lastest bottles have a 15 year life before testing is required.

15 year life was the older cylinders the newer ones all say 10 ⚠?

 

[pagey]

interesting do you think if i had a sign printed in french stating my gas bottles are 12 years old it would stop them parking 6 inches away from me

 

[Lenny HB]

interesting do you think if i had a sign printed in french stating my gas bottles are 12 years old it would stop them parking 6 inches away from me

What's special about you, 6 inches I dream of distances like that between me and a French van. ?

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