nuevoboy Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 As the title suggests, I am unsure if there is a difference of "brands". I have a couple of propane (6kg?) bottles leftover from barbecue system, however these are branded as Shell. From what I've seen most of the caravan sites seem to deal with Calor. Are they interchangeable, or more accurately will a site or dealer be happy to take in one empty brand to be exchanged for a differently branded replacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Hi and welcome to the mad house! :-D Unfortunately, dealers/sites will normally only exchange like for like cylinders. If you want Calor bottles you can either signe a Calor 'rental' agreement for a bottle which you then also have to pay for a refil for, the rental agreement alone costs £29.99! However, you can often get Calor bottles from car boot sales, Freecycle (web based local 'free' recycling site), or even the local tip, for just a few quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John J Thompson Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 nuevoboy - 2010-09-22 8:26 PM As the title suggests, I am unsure if there is a difference of "brands". I have a couple of propane (6kg?) bottles leftover from barbecue system, however these are branded as Shell. From what I've seen most of the caravan sites seem to deal with Calor. Are they interchangeable, or more accurately will a site or dealer be happy to take in one empty brand to be exchanged for a differently branded replacement? Bottles are not interchangeable between brands (Calor at least). Dealers are allocated a loan stock of bottles by Calor and rental agreement forms. The bottle stock and issued forms must agree on a stock check. I had a number of full and empty bottles stolen when I was a Calor dealer and Calor charged the cost of a rental plus 50% more to replace each one of them. Shell in our area became FloGas. For a while they used both brands bottles but now they all seem to be FloGas bottles. My Calor agency was next door to a Shell bottling plant. The clip on regulator used by FloGas and Calor are a different size to prevent interbrand use. Propane regulators are the same for all UK brands. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuevoboy Posted September 23, 2010 Author Share Posted September 23, 2010 Thanks for those replies chaps. I was hoping to interchange my Shell & Calor bottles but thought it unlikely! John, I don't quite understand your last bit: "The clip on regulator used by FloGas and Calor are a different size to prevent interbrand use. Propane regulators are the same for all UK brands." What's different and what's the same? Sorry for being a bit thick here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 nuevoboy - 2010-09-23 5:58 PM Thanks for those replies chaps. I was hoping to interchange my Shell & Calor bottles but thought it unlikely! John, I don't quite understand your last bit: "The clip on regulator used by FloGas and Calor are a different size to prevent interbrand use. Propane regulators are the same for all UK brands." What's different and what's the same? Sorry for being a bit thick here! Clip-on regulators for Calor or Flogas BUTANE bottles differ. Screw-on propane regulators are the same for all UK-marketed STEEL propane bottles, however a different clip-on regulator is employed for BP's 'plastic' GasLight propane containers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuevoboy Posted September 23, 2010 Author Share Posted September 23, 2010 Got it now, thanks Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 That was just a shorthand explanation… For the sizes of ‘normal’ Calor BUTANE canister likely to be employed in motorhomes, the 4.5kg container has a male left-hand-threaded valve-outlet to accept a ‘screw-on’ butane regulator, while the 7kg and 15kg canisters use a clip-on butane regulator to fit a valve-outlet with a 21mm external diameter. There is also a Calor 6kg “BBQ Gas” BUTANE canister that you’d think might have a 21mm valve-outlet suitable for the same clip-on butane regulator as used for 7kg/15kg cylinders. However, (apparently) “BBQ Gas” bottles have a 27mm external diameter valve-outlet, so need a different clip-on butane regulator. The sizes of ‘traditional’ Calor PROPANE canisters generally used in motorhomes are the 3.9kg, 6kg and 13kg. These all use a propane regulator with a male left-hand-threaded connector that screws into the bottle’s female-threaded valve-outlet. Calor does market 5kg and 13kg “Patio Gas” canisters. These also contain PROPANE, but use a clip-on propane regulator connecting to a valve-outlet with a 27mm external diameter. I’ve no idea how many (if any) motorcaravanners actually use Patio Gas bottles, but I do remember them being suggested for leisure-vehicle usage when they were first marketed, as the clip-on propane regulator simplifies their connection. Lots of stuff about Calor cylinders and regulators on http://www.calor.co.uk/customer-services/faqs/regulator-guide/ http://camping-gas.com/Browse.asp?BrandFilter=Calor%20Gas&ContainerFilter=All Details of Flogas cylinders can be found on: http://www.flogas.co.uk/buy-online/gas-cylinders/ It appears that Flogas use the same regulator arrangement as Calor for all their PROPANE canisters – ie. a propane regulator with a male left-hand-threaded connector that screws into the bottle’s female-threaded valve-outlet is normally employed, except for Flogas’s “Leisure Gas” cylinders that use a clip-on propane regulator to fit a valve-outlet with a 27mm external diameter (same as for Calor’s “Patio Gas” bottles). However, you’ll note that the Flogas BUTANE bottles use a clip-on butane regulator to fit EITHER a valve-outlet with a 20mm external diameter OR (for the vomit-coloured 7kg butane bottle) a clip-on butane regulator to fit a valve-outlet with a 21mm external diameter (ie. the same butane regulator as Calor use for their 7kg and 15kg butane containers). BP’s “Gas Light” PROPANE bottles have a valve-outlet with a 27mm external diameter to take a clip-on propane regulator (same as Calor’s “Patio Gas” and Flogas’s “Leisure Gas” containers). The above should show why a 30mbar regulator, suitable for propane or butane and mounted off the gas canister, has now been adopted as the standard for leisure vehicles. In principle at least, whatever the valve-outlet used on a gas container and whatever the gas inside the container, it should now be straightforward (with appropriate gas-hoses/adapters) to link the gas bottle to the leisure vehicle’s gas system without worrying about regulator compatibility. As has already been said, Calor agents won’t accept non-Calor bottles in exchange and (normally) will demand that you pay for a ‘rental agreement’ if you haven’t got a suitable bottle to exchange. Flogas agents may be more flexible as, even though they won’t want Calor bottles, they may be prepared to lob you a full Flogas bottle even if you can’t provide an empty Flogas bottle in exchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Hi Nuevoboy Try Mel B's suggestion first, "your local tip" Take the Shell cylinders with you and ask them if they will exchange for Calor Propane (Red). If not a few quid into their Tea fund should get you your cylinders & they will still take to Shell cylinders off you, if you so wish.. Some Flogas dealers are less than helpful regarding swopping the Shell cylinders, as it is a few years ago when Shell moved their LPG distribution to Flogas. Also there are very few Caravan Sites that stock Flowgas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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