michaelmorris Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I’ve been looking at different options for gas in our van when we’re away in France later this year. http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Gas-in-France-queries-/48853/ Our present pattern of staying on sites with a hook up and cooking in the van means our gas usage is low (1 to 2 x 6kg cylinders a year). This has been partly influenced by problems we were having with the gas fire and the gas mode on the fridge. Both of these issues are now (hopefully) sorted. As a result we plan to now do a more camping on sites without EHUs. This will inevitably lead to a rise in gas usage as the fridge and hot water will now be gas powered. In cooler climes (such as Highlands of Scotland in April) this will also mean we will heat the van with the gas fire. Up until now we haven’t really used the shower in the van as it is very cramped. We also plan to stay on some Aires in France and may be a little bit of wild camping in France and in Scotland, meaning we may also be using the shower in the van. We’re currently looking at our gas options, but we’re not really sure yet on how much extra gas we’ll actually likely to use. A motorhome engineer is was speaking to said that if he we're heating, cooking, showering, washing up and running a fridge all on gas he could expect to get through most of a 6kg propane cylinder in a couple of days, perhaps less. This sounds a bit high to me, but I don't yet have any experience of camping like this, so he may well be right. So here (finally) is a question for those of you that regularly pitch at sites without an EHU. How much gas do you get through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Impossible question really but I reckon your motorhome engineer is taking rubbish. We use sites and aires in France,Germany etc. About one night site to three on aires and reckon a 6 kg bottle will last at least two weeks. If you are away in winter off hookup then gas use will rocket but we never do this and would always use more sites in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 In summer with no EHU, cooking and showering in the van every day, 6kg lasts us a bit over a week, probably 8 or 9 days. Only been away a couple of times in winter without EHU, but with an outside temperature in low single figures it's been about 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 hi, in winter/spring wilding, all gas stuff on, 3-4 litres a day in summer no heating, just hot water and fridge 1-2 litres a day Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Spring and late summer on the continent we get through 28 Lt (14kg bottle) in approx 18 days we don't use EHU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheer lunar-see Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 It doesn't matter how much you use daily a gaslo or similar system is a must if you want to tour the continent using aires or wilding, as the thought of running out of gas during your holiday will ruin it. It was the best thing I ever invested in for the motorhome and money saving to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 sheer lunar-see - 2018-03-14 9:27 PM It doesn't matter how much you use daily a gaslo or similar system is a must if you want to tour the continent using aires or wilding, as the thought of running out of gas during your holiday will ruin it. It was the best thing I ever invested in for the motorhome and money saving to boot. totally agree :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Hi we carry 2x 6k calor light, and always opt to get a refil the same or next day when one runs out, even if that means spending time searching for one.when in uk. on those occasions when we have ventured abroad , it has been spring/summertime, so we swap over to 3 camping gas , and when one dies, we go to nearest supermarket and get a replacement, so we dont run out. yes, the camping gas is expensive compared to other methods, but over the years we have accumulated the bottles, and bought the regulators years ago when we had a vw campervan,.. recently asked the local caravan fixit man about using gaslow installation, and he thought it would be rather more difficult to fit to the stargazer, so was not keen to do so... we also have one 3k calor red that we can carry under the bunk as a final backstop, but there often is no space free from other clutter. It normally stays at home for the big barbie, which we hardly ever use.. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Individual's consumption will vary enormously, especially with varying seasons but we only start using lots of gas if we use the heating in cold weather. I always top up when we have emptied one of our two gas bottles and it costs about £15. We probably only fill up two or three times per year on average but we aren't full timers - just use the MH for a total of ten or twelve weeks per year. Its the convenience of being able to top up easily to ensure we never run out that make refillables worthwhile for us, rather than the saving in gas costs. We were away for seven weeks last Autumn and did use some heating. We topped up once on the way back through France when one bottle had been used (after about six weeks) and I topped up again in Calais but that was purely to ensure we got back with full bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Totally agree with the above regarding fitting a Gaslow or similar system. We have 2 bottles one of which is refillable, and only once have we part used the spare. That said, in Stuttgart in January, on EHU, using gas for cooking, and heating, we got through a full refillable (18 litres) in a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmorris Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Thanks for the information folks, it's really useful to find out how much other people tend to use with different usage patterns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Touring Britttany last june staying on aires only, no electric i used an average of 1ltr per day over 4 weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 just for interest, 2x11kg gaslow over last 3 years 606 ltrs of gas used 363 pounds cost 576 nights away so i think that is 1.05 ltrs a night, about 0.60p a ltr average, if i was to use non refillables it would approx be 23 x 13kg bottles at £30 a bottle = £699 so i think the refillables have more or less paid for themselves and i didn't have to lug bottles around and find outlets. jonathan :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearles Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Mickt - 2018-03-17 11:10 AM Touring Britttany last june staying on aires only, no electric i used an average of 1ltr per day over 4 weeks Can I ask, did that include running the fridge on gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Yes i run my fridge on gas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 As said in the other thread. About .65 to .85 litres a day in summer and thats with the fridge on gas and hardly ever on hookup. Its the heating that bumps it up not the fridge. I did work out once what our fridge used and its not much at all. We are usually somewhere warm in summer so dont need heating. Winter it could be 2-3 litres a day but I tend to go on hook up as much as possible in winter if we go away in winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearles Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Thanks Mick and Barry, I didn't realise the fridge is so frugal on gas. We will probably only be using gas for the fridge on aires as we travel to Spain, so for at least part of each day will be on battery while we drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyLou Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 I was quoted these figures for gas usage. fridge 380g / day Truma Combi 4 gas boiler – up to 320 grams per hour Truma Combi 6 gas boiler – up to 480 grams per hour Stoves oven – unto 125 grams per hour Stoves grill – 117 grams per hour conversion is 1 kg ~ 2 litres 1 ltr = 1000g boiler on for 5 hours = 480 * 5 = 2.4ltr = 1 kg = 1/6th of old bottle. 6kg = 12 ltr / 480 = 25 hours of boiler use. or 37.5 hours if boiler is combi 4. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearles Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Very useful thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcvit Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 We carry a 6Kg Calor Gas bottle and have a Gaslo tank. Always find somewhere to fill the Gaslo LPG in France and Spain (there's an app for that) and keep the Calor as a reserve. Easy to change the Calor when i the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall_Mike Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 The exact detail is on the thread, interesting detail. - for us, in winter, lots of heating both water and blown air, cooking etc, a 6kg lasts about 5 nights camping, in summer, light use only, no heating BBQ etc, possibly as long as a month. - Perhaps 9 or 10 nights camping. Hookup makes a big difference as all our heating both water and hair comes from the electricity. Hardly use any gas in this situation, just for the hob, and we don,t have an oven. We have 2 6kg's on the van, and one at home, - for continental trips I take all 3 cylinders and it's been fine for 3 week trips, admittedly not in the depths of winter. , I looked at Gaslow and some of the other options, our use is relatively light, it isn't a big outlay at about £23 a re-fill, and whatever we went for would take an age to pay for itself, if it ever did so parked the idea - unless our camping pattern changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Andy&Lou - 2018-03-20 3:49 PM I was quoted these figures for gas usage. fridge 380g / day Truma Combi 4 gas boiler – up to 320 grams per hour Truma Combi 6 gas boiler – up to 480 grams per hour Stoves oven – unto 125 grams per hour Stoves grill – 117 grams per hour conversion is 1 kg ~ 2 litres 1 ltr = 1000g boiler on for 5 hours = 480 * 5 = 2.4ltr = 1 kg = 1/6th of old bottle. 6kg = 12 ltr / 480 = 25 hours of boiler use. or 37.5 hours if boiler is combi 4. Andy The calculation in the final line (6kg of gas = 25 hours of Combi 6 use or 6kg of gas = 37.5 hours of Combi 4 use) assumes that each model of Combi heater would be running continuously at maximum output. In practice, after switching on a Combi heater, how long it will run at maximum output will depend on the size/design of the motorhome, how cold the weather is and how hot the motorhome’s occupants want the vehicle’s interior to be. With a small, well-insulated motorhome fitted with a gas-only Combi 6 heater, when warming up the vehicle’s interior on (say) a not-too-cold May morning, the heater may run at maxiumum blast for just a few minutes before progressively reducing its output (and gas usage) and then turning on and off automatically to maintain a comfortable living-area temperature. Our recent trip to France started from home on April 1 morning, arriving back home on April 12 afternoon and, during that period, just over 6 litres of gas (say 3kg) were consumed. My Rapido has a Combi 4 gas-only heater but I only employed it once for early morning blown-air heating, with the remaining usage being for water heating (say twice per day). A good percentage of the time was spent with the motorhome on EHU, using an electric fan-heater for air heating. Obviously the fridge used gas when the vehicle was not on EHU or being driven and my wife boiled water on the gas-hob for tea/coffee and cooked one evening. This just proves that it’s possible to go abroad for a couple of weeks and, provided that EHU is sensibly exploited, gas usage can be pretty low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Derek while driven your fridge is on 12 volt supply from the fiat generator in case of AES fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 monique.hubrechts@gm - 2018-04-16 5:12 PM Derek while driven your fridge is on 12 volt supply from the fiat generator in case of AES fridge. Monique, That is exactly what Derek said! Keith. Derek Uzzell - 2018-04-16 1:45 PM Obviously the fridge used gas when the vehicle was not on EHU or being driven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Keithl: used gas when not on EHU or Not being driven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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