Tracker Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I filled the tank before we left with no problems. In Spain we needed more gas but I was unable to refill because something would not allow the gas to progress beyond the filler adapter. The adapter is fine as gas pressure builds up behind it OK as the escape tells me when I unscrew it. I also tried other adapters and my own worked filling up another guy's Gaslow so the adapter is not at fault. We managed until we got back into France where on the second attempt I was able to fill the tank no trouble at all using the French type adapter. I suspect that the 80% cut off valve may have jammed and not released itself although Autogas say that they are unaware of any problems with their valve and that the pressure of incoming gas allied to gravity should persuade a sticky valve to drop open. I'm not convinced. Autogas also said that sometimes the gas pressure in the forecourt tank and pump needs time to build up before it can open the non return valve in the system, particularly if the supply tank is low, has not been used for a while, or it is very hot. I can't speak for the forecourt tank but it was not overly hot (except in France where it did work!) and all the pumps tried were on main road sites and seemed to be in regular use. Does anyone have any experience of these sort of issues and if so how did you overcome the problem as running out of gas in a foreign land would be a real pain in the bum, although we always carry a single burner and cartridges just in case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 the LPG pump times out very quickly and someone at till in garage has to reset it or maybe its automatic not sure...So if having difficulty making a connection you need to return handset? to pump and try again..I nearly gave up yesterday trying to get it connected (away at weekend) It took 4 attempts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I always seem to have a bit of grief when filling up and end up getting the assistant to reset it 2 or 3 times. I think the problem is that the panel my filler is mounted on flexes a bit and makes it difficult to get the filling nozzle on correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Now they tell me. :-S 8-) and theres me thinking my new purchase was going to be the Shangri La of LPG usage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-07-17 12:07 PM Now they tell me. :-S 8-) and theres me thinking my new purchase was going to be the Shangri La of LPG usage That's what I thought too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Muswell - 2013-07-17 12:21 PM 1footinthegrave - 2013-07-17 12:07 PM Now they tell me. :-S 8-) and theres me thinking my new purchase was going to be the Shangri La of LPG usage That's what I thought too. And me! On balance I would rather go away with enough Calor gas bottles to last the trip as what price convenience over chasing around to find a gas pump that works given that there are little enough of 'em in Spain already! In over 50 years of use I have NEVER had any Calor gas bottle or any regulator (carry a spare anyway just in case) fail and I have NEVER run out of gas. Progress eh - doncha just love it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Generally no problem, although we did have one pump in France where the hose was on a piece of 'elastic' to 'help' return it to the holder/pump on completion. The problem was, the return 'spring' was so strong that it was causing an anti-clockwise pressure on the screwed-in adaptor and loosening it during the fill process. It was so bad that I felt the gas was leaking out and not allowing sufficient pressure to get the gas on board. After a couple of attempts (and an expenditure of 0.74E) I gave up. But this is the only time I have had a filling problem in France, spain, germany, belgium etc. Would not be without a refillable system now, our pal is so paranoid about having sufficient gas on board yet never uses the stuff!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Blimey Rich! dunna tell 1foot' that!?.... (lol) ...Two days ago,I dare say he would've probably welcomed that "feedback"..but not the day after he's just ordered a refillable system!... :D Edit:Just realised that he's taken delivery of it this morning...... (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 It may be a pain at times to fill up but I would never go back to lugging heavy cylinders around. Mike only fitting one cylinder will soon be a dab hand at filling as he will get twice as much practice as us then he can tell us how to do it. (lol) I think part of the problem is I only fill up about 3 times a year if you had and LPG car filling up nearly every week you would soon get the hang of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I too would struggle now with full 13kg bottles but the Calor gaslight 6kg cylinders are not too heavy to lug about, indeed I find them very easy to fit and remove due to their lightweight. As we rarely go for more than 4 weeks, and three cylinders lasts about 5 weeks, I still prefer to carry two in the gas locker and a third spare inside the van as one bottle change at my convenience in 4 weeks is , for me, much easier than faffing about driving to an lpg station in the hope that the pump will work. The gas may be a lot cheaper but you have to use a lot of gas to recoup the cost of the components and the convenience and lack of gas anxiety is, for us at least, well worth the extra cost! That said we have no option with the Warwick as it does not have a gas locker - just a 20 litre usable capacity tank - which almost lasts three weeks at our average usage of about a litre a day. Can't give up on cold drinks in the fridge so will just have to abandon hot water for showering I guess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I didn't/don't mean to sound like I'm "knocking" refillables..I'm not.. ..I see some of the advantages,I really do.... (Being able to "top up", for one and of cause,for those who cross borders many times and would otherwise have to encounter different cylinder types...) But I suppose I'm just a little surprised that, after all the many threads where folk have talked up these systems and of how they camp "off grid" for weeks(months?)on end, to find that it turns out that refilling actually happens so infrequently..... :-S (Dave/pelmet',posted on another thread how he's only refilled 3 times since 2011 !?...) As for the point of not having to lug the bottles about...wouldn't folk just ask the staff at the dealers/outlet to load it for them?... I know I've seen the staff at our Calor outlet,load them up for folk who needed the assistance... Although I wouldn't object if they brought out a Calorlite in a 13kg bottle. (lol) (..although I expect they'd charge a lot more than the 25 quid that the 13kg steel bottle costs..*-) ) Sorry,I crossed your post Rich. ...and I doubt you're making 1foot' feel any better...as he's already got 4 Calorlites!..it's those that he's switching from!..(lol) I hadn't realised that some vans don't have gas lockers,leaving folk with no other option... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Space (or the best use of it) is another plus that we find really handy. Our gas locker sits behind the kitchen storage so doesnt really impact on our internal space, but, we know have just one 11kg Gaslow instead of two Calor 6kg bottles and this only takes up just over half the locker space. This gives us (approx) the same gas capacity, much cheaper per litre, the chance to top up when the opportunity arises, and plenty of space in the locker for levelling ramps, hoses, toilet chemicals, Gaslow adaptors, gas canisters for our Cadac BBQ and there's still space in there for more................... Yes, the system was £300 but i can make it last my MHoming lifetime.....moving to any new van we get. For anyone with a POI file on their satnav, it's easy to plan your route past an LPG station should you require gas. So, we dont stress about getting gas because we can top up when we find gas, we usually top up when we get fuel if there is also an Autogas pum, so we tend to run 'fullish', rather than on the empty side. I couldn't envisage carrying 3 or 4 or more canisters to spain for 3 or 4 months...........if desperate in Spain, I carry a Spanish 'Jumbo' adaptor so that we can just get a Spanish bottle if the case (never has) arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Hi We fill up regularly. I have two of the smaller gaslow tanks and fill up when I switch to the second tank. Sooo in 8 weeks round scandandinavia this year I filled up in France at the beginning, once in Sweden about 3 weeks in, once in Norway, then a final fill in Sweden on the way home. The only problem I had was the first time I filled in Sweden I pushed the emergency cut off rather than the start button because Of where it was situated. When the girl in the filing station reset she said it happen regularly which made me feel better. For me it's all about convenience, I don't have to worry about how much gas I use, I just top up when convenient. (It's not about cost) The only other time I had a problem since I purchased the system 5 years ago I had been taking the filler off and on trying to get it to work but it turned out the filling station had run out! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 pepe63 - 2013-07-17 2:07 PM (Dave/pelmet',posted on another thread how he's only refilled 3 times since 2011 !?...) We were away for four months last year ;-).................mostly on sites with hookup I'll admit :D........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Don't panic Mike. In the 7 years we have had our Gaslow system we have filled up in almost every country in Europe and never had a problem with filling. We have only once encountered a station where they refused to let us fill and that was because they had an idiot overfill a non refillable bottle. That was at a BP station in Portugal. We drove a further 15 miles to another BP station and filled there no problem. We have 2 11kg bottles and when the first one is empty we just fill up at the next gas station. With just 1 you will just need to remember to top up as and when you see a gas pump - no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Panic, your having a laugh, under the distance selling regulations I have seven days to send the kit back, I'll just drop them an email. I was trying to save myself my grief, not create more, otherwise the van and the kit will be at the bottom of a quarry. :-S Just wish this info had have been yesterday when I was asking for advice. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Don't over react Mike hope you were joking? It's one of the best accessories you can have, never have to worry about running out of gas. OK sometimes it can be a bit of pane filling up but nowhere near as bad as lugging bottles about. As you only have one cylinder and are off grid most of the time it will probably pay for itself in a couple of years and don't forget it can go with you to the next van. Chris's post sums it up well. Even when we do have a problem filling up it just means an extra 5min at the forecourt it's usually because I'm trying to do it to quick, it's a lot easier than lugging bottles about (did I say that before?) and trying to find a dealer and it's sods law you always run out at night because you can't bear to change a bottle that's not completely empty. All those worries gone for the sake of a few quid. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Good post, too, Lenny. I also hope Mike was typing 'tongue in cheek' as this is, as you say, the best accessory you can buy. In fact, I'd add that our solar panel is probably the second best buy we have made. I never get any flat battery issues, our van lives on the drive and the panel charges both of our leisure batteries as well as the vehicle battery via the Sargent 'smart charging' option in the PSU. Although we only have an 85W panel, this seems to meet all of our demands for battery power when we are off EHU. I used these http://www.caravanmotorhomesolutions.co.uk/ of Chard and they were very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Jeez....what I said above was for information only, as maybe others like me don't realise it needs to be reset!. Get it in perspective for pitys sake man!... Yesterday was the first time i have had a problermo in over 5 years of having the system... Saying that there was the "incident" last year in Calais Auchen, were I nearly blew up the fuel station! but that another story!!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Like most things in life one has to try it our for oneself, I have in the past toyed with a system, my reservation has always been the apparent decline in LPG use for vehicles, well at least here which is a very rural area, where you would think it would be very popular, and of the four listed suppliers nearest to us I contacted yesterday only one remains, and even they said they were constantly reviewing the situation, anyway what the hell I've got it now, so come September after the silly season we'll be back to La Belle France for a few months and see how we get on. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-07-17 5:20 PM Like most things in life one has to try it our for oneself, I have in the past toyed with a system, my reservation has always been the apparent decline in LPG use for vehicles, well at least here which is a very rural area, where you would think it would be very popular, and of the four listed suppliers nearest to us I contacted yesterday only one remains, and even they said they were constantly reviewing the situation, anyway what the hell I've got it now, so come September after the silly season we'll be back to La Belle France for a few months and see how we get on. ;-) Mike, as I told Rich on your other thread, I reckon some on here are getting past it. Filling a bottle is no harder that filling your tank with diesel, just a different connection. I only have one 11kg bottle which lasts me about six weeks, when I have gone three weeks I look out for a filling point, rarely have to pull in just for gas it usually gets done when I want diesel as well. Cannot comment on your other question about panels as always on hookup so no need to mess around with this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 rupert123 - 2013-07-17 6:07 PM Filling a bottle is no harder that filling your tank with diesel, just a different connection. Normally yes - and in the UK and France - it seems so, BUT Not when several pumps in succession do not work in Northern Spain it ain't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Didn't have my own euro adaptor last year in Spain but most garages seemed to have some sort of adaptor. However, we did encounter the same type of filling problem with our (then new) under slung tank? The pump simply would not top up more tan about half a litre then shut off. In Seville we went to see a chap who installs LPG systems in cars and, although he has never seen an installation in a Motorhome, dismantled and blew out the filler point and service line to te tank. He accompanied me back to the same garage I had tried earlier and this time it put in 8 litres but over about 10 minutes! The full tank lasted until we were back in France where I filled up with no problem. Have filled up in UK since with no problems. The chap at the garage said that Repsol are going into LPG in a big way now (we saw two new installations in different places) but that they were buying second hand pumps from Portugal to reduce the initial outlay and he thought the pumps were a little past it. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 david lloyd - 2013-07-17 8:50 PM The full tank lasted until we were back in France where I filled up with no problem. Have filled up in UK since with no problems. The chap at the garage said that Repsol are going into LPG in a big way now (we saw two new installations in different places) but that they were buying second hand pumps from Portugal to reduce the initial outlay and he thought the pumps were a little past it. Thanks David - two of the three pumps we tried in Spain were Repsol and the third was (I think) Avia. None of them looked worn out - but how do you tell. It also begs the question - what happens to the stations in Portugal that are left pumpless - are they getting new pumps or will getting gas in Portugal become more difficult? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 We have had some 'fun' when trying to fill our Gaslow bottle on only 2 occasions that I can recall: The first time we couldn't get the 'gun' to 'lock-on' to our filler and it turned out that the 'gun' was faulty, fortunately there was another garage across the road who also did Autogas so we just went there and filled without a problem; since then the garage in question has replaced the pump with a new one which we have used a couple of times (at least) without difficulty. :-D The last time we just couldn't get the gas to flow, no matter what we did, so hubby called the girl came out of the fuel station shop who had a look then went back in and re-set it then we then filled it with no further problem - we suspect that it hadn't been reset it since the last person had used it! *-) As this 'fun' was only on 2 out of 17 occasions I think I can live with that ... much better than having to find somewhere to exchange a Calor bottle at an extortionate price, no doubt with the 'empty' bottle still having some gas in it, and having to travel a distance to get there too - Calor stockists aren't as plentiful as they used to be. 8-) We don't use sites so rely on our gas all the time for heating and cooking but don't go out of our way for gas, so if we see a fuel station with a LPG sign we'll just top up, which is why we've done it 17 times to date, that way we don't have to worry about running out (not that we do anyway!). :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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