sailor girl Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Can anyone tell me if it's easy to exchange calor gas bottles in Europe? I've been looking into this on the web and in magazines and I seem to have read conflicting advice, although it seems Camping Gaz is the company to go with. We can carry two large calor gas bottles in the van and would hope to exchange these for similar size if possible. Any advice appreciated. Thanks Liz :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 No Calor bottles are available in Europe only UK. Plenty of places sell CampinGaz. You are better off just bringing one Calor bottle and then buying a full bottle in say Spain or France etc, they cost about 10€ extra than the gas and they usually give you the regulator for free. It all depends on where you are going really. Or you could go for 1 Calor and have 1 refillable bottle fitted then you can top it up at most places in europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Grumpy Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 How long are you going to Europe for? We use One 13kg bottle in 28 days on average (for us) usage. Because of this we have had a Gaslow re-fillable bottle fitted and now just carry a small Calor as an emergency back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor girl Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 We're going for a year! Thanks for this. One calor and then one different one sounds like a good idea. Thank you :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 If you are going for a year I would suggest you leave the Calor in England and perhaps take a CampingGaz. Then when you arrive in France you could follow Randonneur's advice and buy a French bottle with regulator which is usually free. Last time I bought a CampingGaz refill in Spain it was only about £3 but it may have gone up now. Either that or have one fitted and fill up at petrol stations. Personally I have two French propane bottles (Le Cube) which are light enough for me to pick up (just!) and are about 12€ to refill whereas CampingGaz is 17€ now (and not much good if the temperature drops below freezing). I do a fair amount of motorhoming in England and just about manage until I arrive back in France. If you save all the paperwork you can return French bottles for a refund unlike Calor bottles. More experienced people will advise on other countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 In France nearly all petrol stations also sell LPG ("GPL"), so if a lot of your "Gap-year" (?) will be spent there it would be well worth getting a "Gaslow" or similar system fitted - it's by far the cheapest way of buying the gas itself. BUT I'm told that in some European countries forecourt-LPG is much harder to find, so buying a "local" bottle is your best bet for those. If (as has been suggested) they're only about 10€ then for a long stay it could almost be worht buying a local bottle on arrival, using it (and changing it when empty) during your stay, and discarding it on leaving, if they don't do a "refund" system. It all depends on how long you'll be in each country - but whatever else you do, I'd advise tucking one CampingGaz bottle away somewhere in reserve, even if you've only got room for a little one. You can exchange them almost everywhere, but they're the most expensive of all! Wish we were going with you, but that'll have to wait for retirement (in 3242 days' time!) Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 If travelling extensivily probably best to go for a refillable system of at least one bottle. Youi can then fill up at gas/petrol stations selling LPG througout Europe, A year trip will probably save you the cost of installation as LPG is cheaper then replacement bottles, less hassle no humping heavy bottles etc.... main installers are gaslow and MTH but there are others. The MTH bottles have a gauge on the top so you can see how you are doing for gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 sailor girl - 2008-06-09 8:39 AM Can anyone tell me if it's easy to exchange calor gas bottles in Europe? I've been looking into this on the web and in magazines and I seem to have read conflicting advice, although it seems Camping Gaz is the company to go with. We can carry two large calor gas bottles in the van and would hope to exchange these for similar size if possible. Any advice appreciated. Thanks Liz :-) Go for two Gaslow bottles with an auto change over valve. Keep an eye on the valve, on which an indicator changes colour when first bottle empties, then refill so you always have gas in reserve. LPG in france is now about 65p a litre but still a lot cheaper than bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I would also suggest refillable and not waste space and weight by taking a Calor bottle. You will have to carry it all the time and never be able to exchange it away from these shores. We manage very well with just one refillable bottle, it has a dial/metre showing the contents. So it's easy to see what we have and can refill as required. Mind you if you were visiting places where LPG isn't as available perhaps 2 bottles may make sense for the winter months... http://www.autogas.co.uk/motorhometanks.htm They aren't cheap but the convience soon outweighs the initial cost Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor girl Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 This has all been really helpful. Thank you so much. I'd never heard about the refillable bottles, and I think two of these is probably a much better idea, especially as you can fill them in the UK too. We're planning to go to France, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Italy and Greece at the moment, with the longest stops being Spain and possibly Greece, so as long as we can fill the bottles in most of those places this definitely seems the best option. Once again, many thanks Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 sailor girl - 2008-06-10 5:19 PM This has all been really helpful. Thank you so much. I'd never heard about the refillable bottles, and I think two of these is probably a much better idea, especially as you can fill them in the UK too. We're planning to go to France, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Italy and Greece at the moment, with the longest stops being Spain and possibly Greece, so as long as we can fill the bottles in most of those places this definitely seems the best option. Once again, many thanks Liz Just a couple of points with refilable. Make sure you get the filler fitted to outside of van, mine is on locker door, I have never had a problem at petrol stations with anyone questioning my refilling gas bottles with this system. You will also need two converters as most pumps in Europe use a differant fitting to UK twist type. Also go for an auto changeover valve as the contents indicators are not that accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrytraveller Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Hi Henry, I would advise against fitting the filler to the locker door. There was a case reported on this forum about the flexible pipe from the filler fracturing after some use. The flexible stainless steel pipe when filled with the very cold liquid gas is quite stiff, and maybe this caused a premature failure, coupled with continually opening the locker door to turn the gas on and off. I have fitted the system around 4 years ago, the filler is behind the locker door, and have filled up in all european countries without a problem. Another popular site for the filler cap is in the MH skirt, although a reinforcing bracket would have to be fashioned. Regards Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor girl Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Damn- we'd pretty much decided to go for two refillable bottles, and now someone on another thread has said they're not easy to refill in Spain as not many places sell the gas. I imagine we'll be spending most of the winter in southern spain so this would be severely limiting. Can anyone confirm if LPG is hard to refill in Spain? If so, perhaps we'll go with one refillable and then see if we can do swapsies with a calor bottle with anyone heading back to the UK as we're arriving and needing to shed a camping gaz or something! Thanks Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Terrytraveller - 2008-06-11 5:40 PM Hi Henry, I would advise against fitting the filler to the locker door. There was a case reported on this forum about the flexible pipe from the filler fracturing after some use. The flexible stainless steel pipe when filled with the very cold liquid gas is quite stiff, and maybe this caused a premature failure, coupled with continually opening the locker door to turn the gas on and off. I have fitted the system around 4 years ago, the filler is behind the locker door, and have filled up in all european countries without a problem. Another popular site for the filler cap is in the MH skirt, although a reinforcing bracket would have to be fashioned. Regards Terry Hi Terry a good point but I feel not now valid. I have had mine for some time on two vans, it was changed to new van about two months ago and the new flexible steel pipes are very flexible, just cannot see one fracturing and apart from opening the door why should it flex any more than other methods of fixing. Incidently I have a boiler system that the makers say can be used on the move so never turn my gas off now except when filling up. I usually stop turn it off and fit adaptor before going to pump as I have heard of problems although like you have never had any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 sailor girl - 2008-06-17 8:51 AM Damn- we'd pretty much decided to go for two refillable bottles, and now someone on another thread has said they're not easy to refill in Spain as not many places sell the gas. I imagine we'll be spending most of the winter in southern spain so this would be severely limiting. Can anyone confirm if LPG is hard to refill in Spain? If so, perhaps we'll go with one refillable and then see if we can do swapsies with a calor bottle with anyone heading back to the UK as we're arriving and needing to shed a camping gaz or something! Thanks Liz Consistantly hear this one and although I have not been to Spain this year have never had a problem. They are not as plentifull as France but you just have to be a little organised. Download a list of LPG stations, buy two refillable so when one runs out you have plenty of time to sort out your refill. I only have two 6kg bottles and although their are only two of us and we stay mainly on campsites we cook most nights and we use about one bottle every three weeks so with two large bottles you will have plenty of time to get a refill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Hi Rupert123 With regards to you always leaving your gas on now, I used to do the same (except when transported under the tunnel or on the ferry) until a fireman told me that if there is an accident the first thing they are told to do is to check whether the gas is turned on. If it is they have to report it and the m/h insurers will not pay out on any claim. Does anyone know if this is actually the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Hi Sailor Girl Have you any idea how much a fitted 6kg would cost me? With the price of fuel I might have to motorhome more in England now but also I should like to go to Spain in the winter so my French bottles may not be so useful now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor girl Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Sorry - don't know how much any of this is going to cost! Other than people telling me the refillable system is cotly to set up but worth it once you get it going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 sailor girl - 2008-06-17 9:41 AM Sorry - don't know how much any of this is going to cost! Other than people telling me the refillable system is cotly to set up but worth it once you get it going. Thanks for that reply. I did follow a thread on another post to see where a local installer was but the reply said that they only converted vehicles to LPG and none just supplied and fitted the bottles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Patricia - 2008-06-17 9:30 AM Hi Rupert123 With regards to you always leaving your gas on now, I used to do the same (except when transported under the tunnel or on the ferry) until a fireman told me that if there is an accident the first thing they are told to do is to check whether the gas is turned on. If it is they have to report it and the m/h insurers will not pay out on any claim. Does anyone know if this is actually the case? This may be true for any M|H more than two years old however both Truma and Swift say you can now run with the new type boiler on so would say it is no longer the case. Personally I would always check if in doubt though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinfrier Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Hi LPG stations are thin on the ground in Spain so make sure you down load sites. An alluminium Cepza cylinder 12kg is about 13/14 euros but about 40e for the cylinder. You must go to a main Gas agent and say its for a BBQ if you say its for a Motorhome the gas system has to be inspected and a certificate produced. You can only buy 1 cylinder so you may have to visit 2 agents and you need an NIE number. Once you have a cylinder its easy to exchange at many cepza stations. You might be able to pick up a cylinder at a boot fair best option if you can find one or get a reident to get one fopr you. Colin Frier (Malaga) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Colin's right. If you want a Spanish bottle buy one at a car boot sale. Last year a 12kg was costing 15 euro's with some gas left in. A regulator from an ironmongers will cost about 8 euro's, or you can get one from a caravan sales. I'm looking for a 6kg Cepsa bottle, they seem like hen's teeth! I run on a 6kg refillable, a 6 kg calor and a 907 camping gaz as backup and we have no problems lasting 12 weeks with 3 refills, 1 in Spain and 2 in Portugal. and a replacement 907 in Spain. Never really used the calor. The refillable cost me £220 fitted with the filler point inside the gas locker,as mine's a panel van with no where to fit the filler point externally. Spain is difficult for refills, you have to go to LPG only stations. All the big US RV owners seem to know where these are and they appear to be on the outskirts of cities near airports. Portugal is better, LPG is at regular fuel stations, and contary to MH myth having the filler point inside your gas locker is not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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