Conrad Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 This may be of interest to others with refillable gas bottles. Mine is a GasIt, which has a "full excess flow valve meaning the tank will shut off automatically if the pigtail bursts" to quote from their website. So why do I have to switch it on and off every time we stop or set off again? The following is a reply from the company, seems that it's not so much their bottle which could be risky, rather the type of appliances you have on board and where you are. So I'll be a little less fastidious about getting the key and opening and shutting the gas bottle cupboard. "Should I turn my gas bottle off when i am travelling and during refilling with LPG/ Autogas on my Motorhome" is a question our technical team get asked quite regularly. The Safety answer is 'Yes' you should always turn the gas outlet valve off on your GAS IT bottle whilst travelling or before refilling at an LPG station and again with our safety hat on we'd have to add that having any gas bottle turned off when not in use is generally good practice. The reason this is worth thinking about (whether your using off the shelf exchange type gas bottles or self-refillable gas bottles like the GAS IT type ) is that some gas appliances in your motorhome or caravan automatically ignite and run on gas once the vehicles engine and ignition is turned off - Fridges left in auto mode that was running on the vehicles 12 volt supply spring to mind. This has always concerned us as it means the fridge could ignite and start immediately running on gas when parked up at a fuel station taking on petrol or diesel. We know some fridge manufacturers have now included a longer pause between the vehicle being turned off and the fridge starting but it’s still worth considering and thinking about if you go to fill up and your gas it turned on. The only time you need to reconsider this practice of turning the gas off is if the vehicle has been approved to use its heating whilst travelling ( check the owners manual or contact the vehicle manufacturer to see if it is approved to do so ) Don't assume that because the heating works whilst your travelling that its legal to do so. Only when you have confirmed that the vehicle is certified and its thus legal to have the heating on whilst travelling (and it has the manufactures required gas safety components installed to comply with that approval) would we recommend that the bottle is left on whilst travelling - and even then its not a practice we would carry out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g7eor Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 I have a Gasit cylinder on my Autotrail. The tap is under a cover underneath the van. The only way I can reach it is by lying on my back under the van something I do not wish to do in a wet muddy field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted October 14, 2019 Author Share Posted October 14, 2019 g7eor - 2019-10-14 9:35 PM I have a Gasit cylinder on my Autotrail. The tap is under a cover underneath the van. The only way I can reach it is by lying on my back under the van something I do not wish to do in a wet muddy field. ??? don't get that, there should be a knob on the cylinder to turn the gas off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 If the words “cylinder”, “bottle” and “tank” are used indiscriminately, it is hardly surprising that confusion results... Plalinly, if a motorhome has a fixed gas-tank beneath its chassis, turning off the gas supply at the tank’s outlet every time before the vehicle is driven is unlikely to be practicable. If a motorhome has a gas bottle/cylinder/canister (exchange type or refillable) then turning off the supply at the outlet of the bottle/cylinder/canister will probably present little difficulty. The ‘turning gas off’ recommendation has been argued over here repeatedly and the caveat about ‘smart’ fridges automatically relighting themselves on gas needs bearing in mind. But it really comes down to personal choice and comparing the potential disadvantages against the potential risks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 The Gasit advice seems to be mainly about turning off bottle to prevent a AES fridge firing up whilst refuelling, for most motorhomes the gas to fridge can be isolated at the manifold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I understood that auto switch over systems didn't actually switch over for a set period of time (10 mins?) to alleviate the fuel station situation?I am very much a turn off when not in use person.....gas included! 8-) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 The fuel-source of more-modern ‘smart’ fridges can be manually selected and doing this will override auto-selection. So, if you think you are going to spend an inordinate amount of time refuelling or refilling an LPG tank/bottle, you could always manually select 12V or 230V operation and that would stop the fridge switching automatically to gas operation (and also put the fridge into error-state) - or you could just turn the fridge off before refuelling/refilling and then turn it back on afterwards. While there are credible/valid reasons for turning off a refillable gas bottle at its outlet before refilling it, it has to be asked how one would do this when the motorhome has an under-chassis LPG tank and its outlet is inaccessible without crawling beneath the vehicle. My Rapido has a Truma “Combi” heater that is certified for use in a moving vehicle, a Thetford ‘smart’ fridge/freezer and refillable gas bottles. The only time I turn off the gas at the bottles’ outlet is when the motorhome is on a ferry or not being used for motorcaravanning - otherwise the gas bottles remain switched on. If I religiously turned off the gas at the bottles EVERY TIME before I drove the motorhome, I would be doing this several times a day as I treat my motorhome more like a car than a caravan and I rarely stay in one place for more than 24 hours. But if people want to turn off their motorhome’s gas supply and doing this does not inconvenience them, I certainly would not suggest that they should stop doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 about the crawling underneath the van to turn off the gas, i believe that they (Autotrail) supply some sort of tool/brace to save you crawling underneath, to be honest if there isn't one i would make one, stuff the crawling underneath lark!! 8-) :-S B-) Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 The ability to turn off a motorhome’s underfloor LPG tank at its outlet without crawling underneath the vehicle has been discussed here previously on several occasions. As far as I’m aware there is no electrically-operated outlet-valve commercially available nor any electrically-operated (or clockwork) off-the-shelf gizmo to perform that task. DIY-made tools/braces have been pictured, but their use requires that the tank’s outlet-valve be accessible and that normally means that the tank be mounted longitudinally and close to the motorhome’s side, whereas many tanks (particularly on ‘van-based’ designs) are mounted crosswise. If you Search the forum you’ll see what ideas people have come up with and you may be able to offer better suggestions. There are links to relevant forum threads in this 2017 discussion https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Remote-gas-shutoff-anyone-/46078/?DisplayType=nested&setcookie=1&go=Go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Every time I use the channel tunnel I am stopped and the staff physically check if my gas bottles are turned off. Sounds an interesting exercise with an underslung tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Eurotunnel has confirmed that, when a motorhome has an underfloor LPG tank, if it can be satisfactorily demonstrated to Eurotunnel staff that the tank’s gas-supply can be isolated via gas ‘stop-cocks’ within the motorhome’s interior, this will be sufficient and there should then be no need for anyone to crawl under the motorhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisCM Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Derek Uzzell - 2019-10-18 8:59 AM Eurotunnel has confirmed that, when a motorhome has an underfloor LPG tank, if it can be satisfactorily demonstrated to Eurotunnel staff that the tank’s gas-supply can be isolated via gas ‘stop-cocks’ within the motorhome’s interior, this will be sufficient and there should then be no need for anyone to crawl under the motorhome. My PVC has an under slung gas tank, it has an electronic valve which only opens when the vehicle is stationary with the engine off and the habitation 12v system switched on and it’s own switch on, I wonder if this would satisfy Eurotunnel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowy Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 If I turn my gas bottles off on the valve, my fridge will carry on ruñning for at least five minutes afterwards. If I was to drive straight off it would change over to battery, when I then stop, it would go back to gas and start up. If I know I am going to stop at a garage I then make sure the fridge is not set to Autochange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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