sambatypac Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Hi All Just got a Autotrail Imala.It has two 6kl bottles for filling LPG on Service forecourts.So a few days ago went to Asda Queens Ferry to fill the bottles as I did not know how much LPG was in them.Did everything right and began to put gas in.10 minutes later still stood there with my finger hard on the start button.Vehicles be hind are not to happy they cannot get around me stayed another couple of minutes then gave up and replaced the pump in the holder.I had put in a grand total of 6 litres £3- 24p. The guy in the kiosk was not to happy when I gave him £20 pound note.Happy to drive awaythinking I had done something wrong.1 week later picked up courage to try again and went to Morrisons at Wrexham. Hell same again over 10 minutes and about the same amount put in £3 40p although the pump switched this time.I did not upset anybody because plenty of room for other vehicles to go around me. My question is does it take all this time to fill bottles aswhen watching Youtube they fill up faster than I can fill up with Derv. Thank you for all the answers I am sure I will get Thanks again sambatypac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 If it's nearly full it takes longer. It sounds like you've put in all it will take. I go to an autogas depot and queue up with the taxi drivers. They will help if you are unsure, if only to get you out of their way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I will assume you were using an external fill point, as many forecourts will not even turn the pump on if you have cylinders outside the MH with adapters etc. The routine is:- connect filling nozzle to MH fill point, you should hear a hiss as the pressures equalize, then, holding the button in the on position the pump should start, slowly at first but quickly up to normal speed, an empty cylinder could take a few minutes to fill, maybe 2 or 3, I haven't counted! When the cylinder is 80% of it's capacity the pump switches off, you should hear it doing so. The button has no control once the pump has switched off. My guess is that you are trying to fill an almost full cylinder, hence the small quantities. You could weigh the cylinder to see what is in it, the Tare weight etc is on the cylinder. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 No, if you have a properly installed refillable installation it doessn't take long to fill up with LPG and assuming you have proper refillable bottles, you cannot over-fill them either. As you press and hold the fill button (after connecting the hose to your filler point) you should see the pump reset to zero and then start filling - it usually only takes a couple of minutes at most fill my 2 X 11kg bottles. You can tell when you are full because the numbers on the pump stop rotating. You may need to get a gas engineer to check your installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Dennis Refilling of a motohome’s gas system that has user-refillable gas canisters should normaaly be a quite rapid process - certainly nothing like as slow as you have described. This link advises on what might cause slow filling https://www.gasit.co.uk/support/knowledgebase.php?article=17 As you didn’t know how much LPG was in your bottles, there is the possibility (as has been suggested above) that they were near full when you visited the ASDA service-station. You haven’t said whether you used any gas between the ASDA refilling attempt and your visit to Morrisons, but if you had completely filled the your two bottles at ASDA and used around 6 litres of gas during the week prior to visiting Morrisons, that would explain why the same thing happened again. From what you’ve said, your bottles do not have any form of contents gauge, but you should be able to guesstimate how much gas is in them if you undo their fastenings in the motorhome’s gas-locker and try to lift them, as a full 6kg-capacity bottle will be noticeably heavier than an empty one. This would be a crude test and, for a accurate measurement , you would probably need to remove the bottles to weigh them as hallii has advised. The following checking method is sometimes recommended Fill up a jug or bottle with hot water Pour it down the side of the gas bottle Wait 5 seconds Using your hands, feel for a temperature change on the bottle. The part that’s cold to touch will indicate how much gas is left. If it’s cold near the top – you’re ok. If it’s warm the whole way down the bottle is near empty. If you run all your motorhome’s gas appliances a few minutes before trying the 'hot-water test', this will cause the LPG in the gas bottles to vaporize furiously and (assuming your bottles are metal) you may then be able to judge the level of the gas inside from the appearance of the bottle’s outer surface, avoiding the need to pour water down the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 If the gas has stopped going in (rapidly) then the tank is full. Always ensure that both tanks are turned off when filling. The amount of gas you were putting in is insignificant so my suggestion is just use one gas bottle at a time (leave the other one turned off) and when it runs empty you can switch to the other one and diarise to fill with LPG at the next opportunity. That way you’ll be able to do a decent size refill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisecontrol Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I nearly did the same when I first attempted to top up a 2nd hand van that I'd just bought and assumed the tank was empty. During the 1st couple of minutes I could see it filling nicely. I then waited, and waited, trying to put more in, before realising the tank that was already full. Fortunately no queue behind though! The van was an Auto Sleeper with a level indicator in the cab. It wasn't that reliable, nor was the van - but that's another story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 The first fill I ever did was also at Asda Queensferry. I also stood with my finger hard on the button and gave up after about 10 minutes. I hadn't noticed the dials going round fast but they appeared to be creeping one penny at a time. I had expected more gas to be required than the 6 litres it took as the gauge showed half full.. I've discovered since that the pump at that Asda always continues very slowly as if forcing more gas than it should. I never now use that filling station. I regularly use Morrisons at Wrexham without problem. When full the pump stops dead. The gauges are very inaccurate so you learn roughly how much the tank will take. When my gauge shows half full it has actually only used a quarter. I should add that my tank is an underslung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I often use Smithy View Service Station Chester Rd, Wrexham LL12 8DY ( on the way into Wrexham). They are always helpful and will help or offer advice and Autogas is much cheaper there. Well worth a divert if you are not far from that area!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 For the future, you could look at a Bluetooth sensor from Gasit, will tell you how much is in the bottle. If it's any help, I reckon to use about a litre a day for cooking, fridge and (unless plugged in at a site) water heating, so a 6kg bottle would last about 12 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 It might be useful to know the make/type of Dennis’s gas-bottles, as some bottles are designed to accept a simple inexpensive clip-on contents gauge. Such gauges (examples here) https://www.gaslowdirect.com/Gaslow-Clip-on-Gauge https://www.gasit.co.uk/leisure-gas-refillable-products/-gas-it-refillable-bottles/on-bottle-contents/level-gauge-for-gas-it-refillable-bottles.html http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/pdf/Gasit_Gauge_Adjustment.pdf will not accurately measure the contents across a 100%-full to completely-empty range, but should be adequate for a 2-bottle system. For a single-bottle system (or an underslung LPG tank system) accurate 100%-0% measurement will be much more important. A 2-bottle user-refillable system commonly includes a change-over device to automatically swap from an empty bottle to a full bottle, but the switch-over could be inhibited by following BruceM’s advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKen1 Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 I treated myself to the Mopeka bluetooth sensor have it on my tablet ..think it is now marketed by Gasit under there own name ..sat in the house with the van up the garden the other day checking the level this is the reading .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 I once had a similar experience and couldn't get the pump to put anything into a bottle I knew was empty. On the way home called at Autogas 2000 in Thirsk thinking I may have a problem. As he started preparing to fill he said that sometimes the old pumps don't have the pressure to be able to fill these cylinders properly - then found that their fairly new and expensive pump woukdnypt fill it either. He was baffled at first - then gave the cylinder a good rattle while still attempting to fill and in it went. A case of something or other just blocking the filler perhaps. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brugge Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Is it possible to fill up the bottles when in France or Spain or is there an adapter required to fil up with, has anybody had any experience / difficulty of filling up abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 You will need an adapter for abroad, different adaptors for Spain and France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Jump on Ebay, you'll find plenty of adapter packs like this . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 brugge - 2020-03-12 4:40 PM Is it possible to fill up the bottles when in France or Spain or is there an adapter required to fil up with, has anybody had any experience / difficulty of filling up abroad. This link provides details of the four LPG connectors currently used in Europe https://www.mylpg.eu/adapters/ The Dish connector is used in France, while the Bayonet and Euroconnector are used in Spain. It’s worth being aware that there are several designs of LPG ‘pump guns’, but that also the case in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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