LPG Costs

[Loughrigg]

In a few weeks we should be collecting our first motorhome, so are definitely the "new kids on the block".

 

One of the last things to sort out is the gas supply. After reading all the posts/info we can find (thanks to all on the forum), we were just about convinced that a Gaslow system was the set-up that would suit us.

 

I've been trying to find a reliable list of UK LPG retailers - some sources on the web seem to be either out of date (or just inaccurate). Around half of the locations I've contacted have had pumps taken out or just don't sell LPG any more.

 

Of those that are still supplying (in my area (Essex) it seems to be mainly BP and a few larger supermarkets) the prices are all around 50p - 52p per litre. However, if I was passing Wolverhampton, I could fill up at Hilton for 37p per litre.

 

I'd be interested in experiences on availability/price from around the country.

 

Thanks again for all the many and varied posts on the forum - its been an invaluable source of information to a newbie.

[trickydicky]

HI, WE HAVE HAD OUR NEW MOTORHOME FOR SIX MONTHS NOW,SO LIKE YOU ARE VERY NEW TO THIS.WE OPTED FOR LPG AND SO FAR IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE BEEN OK .WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SUPPLIER ABOUT 1 MILE AWAY,WHICH IS QUITE LUCKY FOR US,AS IT SEEMS THAT THERE ARE FEW GARAGES THAT SELL IT, BUT HAVING SAID THAT, WE'VE ALWAYS MANAGED TO GET IT. TRY (PETROLPRICES.CO.UK ).

WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WAS EASY TO GET IT ABROAD,TRUE IF YOU ARE GOING TO FRANCE OR HOLLAND, BUT WE FOUND IT INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN, AND APPARENTLY SPAIN IS THE SAME,WHICH IS A SHAME FOR US AS WE ARE GOING THERE IN JANUARY FOR 2 MONTHS AND WANTED TO DO "WILD CAMPING" AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

BUT ALL IN ALL,WE ARE PLEASED WITH OUR DECISION TO HAVE IT, AND IT DOES WORK OUT A LOT CHEAPER THAN GAS BOTTLES.

HOPE YOU HAVE FUN AND ENJOY .

[rupert123]

I have had two 6kg Gaslow for about two years now and have never had a problem anywhere. I have an auto changeover valve and when indicator turns red first bottle is empty so I just look out for somewhere to fill it, in the summer with hookup this means I have about three weeks, no problem.

[Basil]

I concur with Rupert, had Gaslow for three or may be four years now and never had a problem filling. There are refilling places all over (including Spain contrary to popular belief though they are more sparse so need to be 'planned in' to keep topped up in case).

I use the Gaslows as well though with a manual change over valve as I like to know when the first cylinder runs out as that is the time that I look for my next fill up as the contents of the second cylinder gives me the breathing space should there be any difficulty, though as I have said, so far there has not been any problem.

So don't worry go get them!

 

Bas

 

P.S. If you are in Essex Waitrose is doing it for £0.49p in our area at present, along with cheaper petrol and diesel.

[starvin marvin]

I've been paying between 0.74 to 0.78 cents per litre recently in France and in Spain for a refill into a Stako bottle, no problem.

[Loughrigg]

Thanks Rupert. Is that three weeks usage from two fully charged 6KG bottles?

[Loughrigg]

Thanks Bas. What size bottles do you have fitted?

[trickydicky]

hi, we have a 6kg and a 13 kg bottle and ours lasted 8weeks, but surely it all depends on what you are using gas for, and the time of year.ie; in winter, the gas fire. we also do a lot of cooking. i think you need to have a few trips away noting how long a bottle lasts you, and what you use it for.and get an idea that way.

[Rees]

We like using LPG in our fixed tank beneath the van - much cheaper than Calor (we keep one cylinder as a reserve buthave never ever had to draw on it!)!

 

ASDA supermarket is where we obtain our supplies. Now below 0.49p a litre and even less (2p) if you use their credit card for payment. True also of diesel. Never had any problem in obtaining LPG in Europe - though not all supermarkets offer LPG.

[Curly]

We have had Gaslow for about 5 years (2x13 kilo bottles approx. 42 litres of gas) and in my opinion if you tour Europe for 2,3 and maybe 4 months at a time then of all the gizzmos you can put on our 'vans this for me is the first one to put on as water, fuel and gas are the main 3 items not to be without.

From Nordkapp to Sicily, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro we have never had a problem but this is what I do, I will top up the cylinders at a time I am obtaining diesel but at approx. 4-5 weeks and we keep a track at usage and incredibly it works out at 1.3 litres a day no matter what.

So before any one says "depends on......." in cold weather you use more for heating and warm weather you shower more often and eat more salads, this is not a finger in the air jobee but actual usage over nearly 5 years, in much the same way I track my fuel on going and now at nearly 30,000 miles I know exactly my mpg for all travelling conditions. In the UK I top up at Morrisons on the way to Dover, intrestingly one of the connections you get with the system is the same as I have seen on USA jobbees.

(lol) (lol)

[Basil]

Loughrigg - 2008-12-10 3:39 PM

 

Thanks Bas. What size bottles do you have fitted?

 

Hi we had a 11kg when I origionally fitted it and used a Calor propane as the secondary cylinder, purely as I had five full unused ones and wanted to use up the gas. In practise the secondary was not used much and took about three years to use up one! As friends and neighbours have had the other four over the years I finally fitted a second 6kg Gaslow last year with a level guage, quite handy as I will know when the second cylinder is going low. This is just to let you know that you don't have to have two refillables if you don't want to, we had not used the second cylinder until I decided to run it out and fit the second Gaslow.

 

trickydicky - 2008-12-10 4:09 PM

hi, we have a 6kg and a 13 kg bottle and ours lasted 8weeks, but surely it all depends on what you are using gas for, and the time of year.ie; in winter, the gas fire. we also do a lot of cooking. i think you need to have a few trips away noting how long a bottle lasts you, and what you use it for.and get an idea that way.

 

I do agree with the above quote, it does depend on you and how much you use, as we tend to use a lot more than that (our Gaslows had paid for themselves after around two years, and every fill now is a profit for us. But then I know others on this forum use a lot less than that and believe it would take them forever to recoup the cost so just have them for convenience!

We avoid electric hook ups and shower and cook in the van and I have two very cold females who like the heater on lots even when most people are trying to cool down, LoL!

 

Bas

[Loughrigg]

trickydicky - 2008-12-10 4:09 PM

 

hi, we have a 6kg and a 13 kg bottle and ours lasted 8weeks, but surely it all depends on what you are using gas for, and the time of year.ie; in winter, the gas fire. we also do a lot of cooking. i think you need to have a few trips away noting how long a bottle lasts you, and what you use it for.and get an idea that way.

 

You are right about getting a few trips in to work out some sort of pattern. I guess that many people fitting Gaslow already have some experience with standard bottles. I'm having to make the call now because the M/H I am buying had all the bits removed from the gas locker by the previous owner when it was traded in - the only thing left is a short bit of rubber hose.

[Loughrigg]

Thanks Bas. Now why does that last paragraph sound familiar? In my case it is only one chilly female........

[Loughrigg]

Curly - 2008-12-10 5:16 PM

 

We have had Gaslow for about 5 years (2x13 kilo bottles approx. 42 litres of gas) and in my opinion if you tour Europe for 2,3 and maybe 4 months at a time then of all the gizzmos you can put on our 'vans this for me is the first one to put on as water, fuel and gas are the main 3 items not to be without.

From Nordkapp to Sicily, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro we have never had a problem but this is what I do, I will top up the cylinders at a time I am obtaining diesel but at approx. 4-5 weeks and we keep a track at usage and incredibly it works out at 1.3 litres a day no matter what.

So before any one says "depends on......." in cold weather you use more for heating and warm weather you shower more often and eat more salads, this is not a finger in the air jobee but actual usage over nearly 5 years, in much the same way I track my fuel on going and now at nearly 30,000 miles I know exactly my mpg for all travelling conditions. In the UK I top up at Morrisons on the way to Dover, intrestingly one of the connections you get with the system is the same as I have seen on USA jobbees.

(lol) (lol)

 

Many thanks Curly - I suspect we are going to be spending more time in cooler areas, so might be a little heavier on the gas than some others.

[Clive]

For Gaslow you will be hard pushed to find a better deal that here :-

http://www.waudbys.co.uk/products/refillable_cylinders.html

 

If however you want a genuine inside fuel gauge and a securely bolted in bulk tank then also consider having a Stako tank fitted. You also get a free locker to use for your BBQ equipment!

 

http://www.motts.dsl.pipex.com/GASKIT.htm

 

Unfortunately MTH Autogas are no longer around but several other outlets sell the same kit.

 

Clive

 

[rupert123]

Loughrigg - 2008-12-10 3:30 PM

 

Thanks Rupert. Is that three weeks usage from two fully charged 6KG bottles?

 

No three weeks per cylinder in summer with mostly hookup. Their are just two of us and we cook on gas and use it for hot water sometimes but mainly use campsite showers.

[Tony Jones]

We've only got room for the one cylinder (6kg I think - not enormous) so since we'd heard how vague the Gaslow gauges are, I squeeze in a little 901 Camping Gaz with an adapter as "emergency backup." Never needed it yet, and the Gaslow has kept going for a full week without hookup, using no site facilities at all.

 

Not sure where in Essex you are, but I usually fill mine at Latchingdon, near Maldon.

 

Tony

[Derek Uzzell]

Gaslow canisters come in two sizes and (according to Gaslow's brochure) contain 11.5 litres or 21 litres when filled to the 80% capacity-limit set by their shut-off filler valves.

 

The original Gaslow bottles had no in-built contents gauges, though 'pressure sensitive' Gaslow gauges are available that can be integrated into the gas system. Such gauges have a value for leak testing, but will only provide a reliable warning that a bottle's contents are low very shortly before the bottle is empty. These gauges are also specific to butane or propane, so are not greatly useful if the LPG in a refillable bottle is a mixture of both gasses.

 

More recently Gaslow revised their bottles, adding a mechanical, float-operated gauge. This should provide a reliable reading, but it will only do so over the percentage of a bottle's capacity covered by the float's 'swing'. The mechanical gauge (though no use for leak testing) is far better at telling what's in the bottle than the pressure-sensitive type, but there will still be a need to become accustomed to one's individual usage of LPG in order to avoid running out of gas if the motorhome has a single-bottle system.

 

There are accessories available that will provide an accurate read-out of gas-bottle contents, from full to virtually empty, but they aren't cheap and will not be suitable for all bottle types and sizes.

 

I tend to work on a rough average of 1 litre of LPG consumption per day. Our normal daily usage involves one early morning water-heating for the obligatory two showers, a limited amount of cooking, kettle boiling for tea/coffee, running a large Dometic fridge/freezer, and no campsite 230V hook-ups. If I bring the heater (a Truma C-6002EH) seriously into play, then LPG consumption rockets as this appliance can get through gas at close to 1 litre per hour at full blast. Fortunately, once the motorhome has been warmed up, the heater shifts down to a lower output setting, but, even on it's lowest 2kW heat setting, it still uses about a third of a litre per hour.

 

I could get two 6kg Gaslow canisters in my Hobby's gas-locker, but I continue to use a composite 'see through' 5kg container (the pit-bull of refillable bottles) with a 6kg Calor propane cylinder as backup. I've become used to this set-up over the years and, although I definitely wouldn't recommend it, I'm fond of the flexibility it offers me. Besides which I'm extremely reluctant to spend money when I don't have to.

[mike.wittamore]

reading the above reminds me of something I should have shared before.

We fitted gaslow before a six week trip to France and Spain this year.

It was excelent, cheep and easy to find. Except for one incident.

In France the pipe always seems to be on the wrong side even though we are left hand drive and the pipe has to be streched round the van against a strong retaining wire, this is not a big problem if there are two of you. But on the day my wife wanted something from the shop I tryed it on my own. Big mistake, Half way through I looked back at the van to see it enveloped in a large white cloud of gas. I stoped the flow but the fitting had distorted and the gas continued to come out of the van tanks. The only way to stor it was to go into the cloud and disconnect. Bottom twitchy to say the least, I was shaking for 1/2 an hour. So for those new to it don't try it alon unless it an easy link

[Loughrigg]

Tony Jones - 2008-12-11 9:17 AM

 

We've only got room for the one cylinder (6kg I think - not enormous) so since we'd heard how vague the Gaslow gauges are, I squeeze in a little 901 Camping Gaz with an adapter as "emergency backup." Never needed it yet, and the Gaslow has kept going for a full week without hookup, using no site facilities at all.

 

Not sure where in Essex you are, but I usually fill mine at Latchingdon, near Maldon.

 

Tony

 

Thanks Tony. As you can now see, I'm a fair way from Latchingdon. To start with, I'm going to be keeping the M/H on a serviced site just off the M25 and I know there are (currently) several LPG suppliers within a few miles.

[Derek Uzzell]

An advertised 'plus' for my composite gas-bottle is that one can see how much gas remains in it because the container is translucent. However, as LPG is colourless, trying to spot where transparent LPG ends and the transparent air above it begins is far from straightforward when you are peering through several layers of glass fibre. In fact, unless it's dark and a powerful torch is shone through the side of the bottle, it's extremely hard to discern the gas level while the bottle is in a gas-locker.

 

Because my bottle must be disconnected from my motorhome's gas system in order to refill it, I often go one stage further and remove the bottle completely from the locker prior to the refilling process. The physical positioning of LPG pumps places no priority on easy filling of motorhome gas bottles and, as mike.wittamore highlights, it's commonplace for the pump to be exactly where you'd prefer it not to be. In such circumstances I take the bottle to the pump rather than try to manoeuvre the motorhome into a position where its gas-locker can (if you are lucky) be reached by the LPG hose.

 

I quite like this flexibility and it's something I think I might miss if I opted for a 'fixed bottle' system. (OK, if I had a system with two or three times the capacity of my present small 5kg bottle I would be refilling it less frequently, but there's still plenty of scope for discovering that a service-station's LPG pump is located awkwardly when refilling becomes necessary.)

 

Although it's not always going to be practicable to optimise the position of the filler-point for a motorhome's LPG system, if there is a choice of installing the filler-point at the side of the vehicle or at the rear, then the latter option should simplify refilling.

[Tony Jones]

I've not come across the refilling problem so far - maybe I've nust been lucky, but everywhere I've filled up (UK, France and Spain) has had access either side, just as petrol/diesel pumps usually do. In fact, some places has a safety warning sign against dragging the hose round to the far side of the vehicle.

[Basil]

Loughrigg - 2008-12-11 11:43 PM

Thanks Tony. As you can now see, I'm a fair way from Latchingdon. To start with, I'm going to be keeping the M/H on a serviced site just off the M25 and I know there are (currently) several LPG suppliers within a few miles.

 

Shame you are parking it away from home as Waitrose on the A127, just up the road from you sells LPG (currently just gone back up to £0.50p/l) but is easy to fill at the pump here as you are able to park either side of the pump so it does not matter which side your filler is. If your filler is the same side as your diesel filler you can fill both at the same time though that can cause a little confusion at the pay desk, LoL!

 

Bas