Calorlites to be replaced?

[pepe63xnotuse]

This is lifted from a post on another forum(which in turn had taken it from another one).

Quote:

 

"Just got this calor update from another forum

A decision has been taken to replace the 6kg lite cylinder with another lightweight product which we plan to bring to market in the future (Expected 2018) There will be no new 6kg lites entering the market in 2017 - existing cylinders in the market will continue to be available they are not being withdrawn To minimise customer disruption, weve invested heavily in standard 6s for 2017 so there will be sufficient availability Additional 6kgs will be delivered to make up any shortfall in 6kg lite supplies so you will still have the same stock quantity in store What does this mean for my customer? Customers returning an empty 6kg lite should be offered one in return They should be sold If no 6kg lites are available the customer should be offered a 6kg in return They will be able to exchange for a 6kg lite in future (Subject to availability) Customers with an empty 6kg (Standard) should be offered one in return No Empty OR Plus Cylinder Refill Agreement at £39.99 Customers without an empty cylinder should be sold a 6kg cylinder along with the Cylinder Refill Agreement (CRA) priced at £39.99" (end quote)

 

..I've just had a quick squint at the Calor 'site and I couldn't see anything, but the above may be of interest to 'lite users..

 

 

[Brock]

Replaced my remaining 'heavy' 6kg for a lite this morning at the local Calor depot [promoted by a post from Derek U a while ago]. No mention of ay changes by the staff although they had few lite containers in the depot.

 

They did have two large lpg tanks which motorhomers, and others, use to fill up their gas tanks.

 

Thanks for the tip off.

[Derek Uzzell]

I assume this 5 May thread is the original...

 

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/topic/122524-calor-lite/

 

Pehaps Calor plans to go down the ‘plastic’ route that seems to be fairly popular outside the UK for exchange-only bottles.

[daviddwight]

I contacted Calor about this a couple of weeks ago as I had hear they were withdrawing the 6kg lite, but to date have not heard anything from them.

[Brock]

Well these add to the confirmation.

 

https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/caravans/news/calor-gas-to-phase-out-6kg-lite-cylinder

 

https://twitter.com/TinTent/status/864781911411097600/photo/1

 

 

[Zydeco Joe]

Its now on Practical Motorhomes web site so it must be true RIP Calor Lite. :'(

[AndyLou]

I don't have an agreement for either of my lite bottles.

 

What should I do with them?

 

Andy

 

 

PS. I have had a 11kg GAS-IT bottle installed now so only need 1 bottle for Cadac. Is there an alternative lite bottle do you know?

[Derek Uzzell]

I’ve returned unwanted Calor bottles to Calor agents (no refund given) but, even though you do not have Calor Refill Agreements, you should should still be able to get some money back if you return your CalorLite bottles to a Calor Centre. See following link:

 

https://www.calor.co.uk/unwanted-calor-bottle-return

 

The only other UK-marketed ‘lightweight’ exchange-only bottlles I know of are the “Gas Light” ones:

 

https://gasdeal.co.uk/gaslight-bottled-propane

 

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/gaslight-propane-%28refillable%29---10kg-115611

[Derek Uzzell]

Andy&Lou

 

I suppose it’s worth adding that - if you want to carry a ‘lightweight’ gas-bottle in your motorhome just to fuel your Cadac barbecue - the logical (though undoubtedly frowned upon) approach would be to retain your CalorLite bottles and refill them with autogas when necessary.

 

Adapters are marketed for that purpose (example here)

 

http://lpggpl.com/product/gas-bottle-adaptor-for-filling-lpg-propane/

 

Although some primary-school arithmetic would be needed to calculate how much gas could be pumped into the CalorLite bottles without exceeding the 80%-of-capacity recommendation, as you’ll be refilling your GAS-IT bottle at an autogas pump it’s not as if you’d be unfamiliar with the procedure involved (and, presumably, your Cadac gas usage will be small and a full CalorLite bottle would last a long time).

 

Alternatively, you might consider the Safefill containers

 

http://www.safefill.co.uk/

[Intransit]

I can't believe the recommendation to refill the Calor lite cylinders.

As someone who has worked with pressurised systems all my working life I would work on the side of caution with these cylinders.

Firstly there has been a quality recall on some of these cylinders in the past, so can you be sure that your cylinder is still suitable for refilling. When refilled by Calor they can be pressure tested before refill.

Secondly if they are being withdrawn from the market do we know why? I don't know but what if it were due the long term viability of the cylinders. Good for one or two refills but then deteriorating. The implications of continually refilling would be disastrous.

Thirdly on refilling as they are lightweight cylinders are the safety margins as large as on standard cylinders?

Would this mean a much tighter tolerance on any overfilling?

 

[Derek Uzzell]

It is a practicable proposition to refill Calor propane canisters with autogas. Doing so conflicts with Calor's Hire Contract terms and conditions (as does offering unwanted Calor bottles for sale) and the act of refilling will likely conflict with autogas suppliers’ regulations. All of this has been said in the past, but an adapter is available to do it and people do do it. I’m not ‘recommending’ that Andy do it, merely saying that it’s an option. In his position, with two spare Calorlite bottles and a wish to carry a ‘lightweight’ bottle just to fuel a Cadac, plus his having a user-refillable GAS-IT bottle, I’d certainly consider Calor bottle refilling rather than go for an alternative bottle.

 

The 2014 CalorLite recall is covered here

 

https://www.calor.co.uk/recall

 

and describes how to identify whether a CalorLite bottle is safe for use.

 

Calor tests its bottles infrequently, normally only when they show definite signs of wear and tear. (Once again this has been discussed here previously.)

 

CalorLite bottles are not being withdrawn from the market. The original advice from Calor (see above) was "There will be no new 6kg lites entering the market in 2017 - existing cylinders in the market will continue to be available, they are not being withdrawn.”

 

A CalorLite bottle contains the same 6kg-weight of propane as a standard ‘heavy’ Calor 6kg propane bottle and has the same POL outlet-fitting, so there’s no reason to believe that Calor uses different procedures for refilling Calorlite or ‘standard’ 6kg bottles?

 

Similarly, merely because CalorLite bottles gain their ‘lightness’ from being made of thinner gauge steel, there’s no reason to believe that the safety-margin (ie. the free space in the bottle) is any different to that of a 6kg ‘heavy’ propane canister. A full Calor 6kg propane bottle (CalorLite or ‘heavy’) holds approximately 12 litres of liquid gas. If either type of bottle were empty, putting 12 litres of autogas into the bottle will leave adequate free-space above the liquid gas. In any case, if the bottle is only going to fuel a Cadac, it will not need to be refilled to full ‘safe’ maximum - just put in 10 litres.

 

If Andy wants a ‘lightweight’ bottle for his Cadac, his options seem to be to take the SafeFill route, or obtain a “Gas Light” bottle (assuming either will fit in his motorhom’s gas-locker), or refill his CalorLite bottles. The last option has significant negative implications, but there’s nothing compelling Andy to choose it.

[Robbo]

In southern Africa, Cadac marketed pre-filled butane gas cylinders.

 

Each bottle had a large red warning saying ALWAYS OPEN THE VALVE BRIEFLY PRIOR TO USE TO ENSURE ONLY GAS VAPOUR IS DISCHARGED. Obviously, in the open and away from any naked flame or other forms of combustion.

 

This procedure became second nature and I still check pre-filled cylinders in this way.

 

PS. A serious incident did happen in a site portacabin where a cylinder (not necessarily a Cadac product) had been overfilled and liquid gas was discharged through the regulator and on to the appliance, a heater.