mikemelson Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Hi, In my small Symbol gas locker I have a Gaslow 6kg refillable bottle & no room for anything else apart from a Campingaz 907 back-up bottle. I probably have room underneath to fit a 20 litre Autogas (or Alugas) underslung tank but don't know if the two systems can be combined, Gaslow say no (but they would wouldn't they?) We mostly Wild Camp & mainly in Spain, consequently using a fair amount of gas in a country not renowned for it's abundance of filling points, therefore I need extra capacity. Surely, linking up the Gaslow & Autogas containers would be a simple job for a competent gas engineer. Has anyone out there any experience of this?, or any ideas?. Thanks, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Providing the tank of choice is of the vapour take off type there's no reason why you can't combine it with a refillable cylinder. A simple T piece splitting the gas filling pipe to the tank and cylinder is all that you'll need (presumably you have one of their 'cylinder 1s') to ensure you can reach the 80% cut off point in both vessels. You then have a choice of how you extract from both vessels from really simple to unnecessarily complex, much will depend on what's already fitted.A fitter would have no bother. It's also a piece of cake to DIY if you are confident and competent.Gaslow are very good at marketing Gaslow products, but I personally don't think their products or service are up to much. I don't know why they remain so popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We now have a refillable Alugas bottle and a 907 bottle, both plumbed into the same system via a T piece, both have separate gas taps along with the on bottle regulators, works fine for us:D So I don't see why the Gaslow system cant be added if a suitable shut off is provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I also see no reason, in principle, that a Gaslow and another make of cylinder cannot be combined, provided the appropriate fittings and hoses are available. It may well be that Gaslow are looking from the perspective of their products , where, a number one cylinder is not able to be through connected without the use of a number two cylinder and interconnecting hose, they simply do not provide fittings that are seperate from the number two cylinder, i.e it is built in and designed to be combined with a second Gaslow cylinder. I can therefore see why they may have replied in the negative. I have to say that I completely disagree with the comments in the last paragraph made by Crinklystarfish regarding Gaslow and have found them very helpful at all times, also that the products of theirs that I have used have done exactly what they said they would do. As they are so easy to install and use, I fully understand why they are so popular and would certainly use them again. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Glad they work for you Bas and I realise many people are happy. It's just that there are better alternatives that are often overlooked. Gaslow have limited hardware options like filler style (the actual filler, not adapters), filling hose lengths and heads, Tee Pieces, options to change the bottle take-offs to (for example) POL fittings etc, etc. Their float gauges are not as well engineered as some others and have limited scope anyway, and their pressure level gauges are not much good for anything apart from use as leak detectors.They also, on the face of it, appear to have just advised the OP bunkum.As I say, it's not that they don't work, it's just that they seem to dominate the market in spite of there being superior alternatives. Hats off to their marketing skills.You could also tour successfully in an Austin Princess with a camping stove and an inflatable matress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Is it possible to go ahead with the plan for fitting an Alugas tank/system and have the locker for use with a Repsol or Cespa canister and valve/adaptor?Spanish canister for exchange in Spain where there is a shortage of gas on 'tap' and the Alugas for everywhere else in Europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 For longer trips to Spain that would indeed be the best solution if there's only room for a 20L fixed tank. Again, a piece of cake to rig up, even easier than splitting a fill system to serve both fixed tank and Gaslow bottle. Plus Gaslow bottle could be sold to offset some of the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Lee Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 We do exactly that! We have an autogas tank underneath which frees up the cupboard for most of the year, then when we go to Spain in the winter we get a Cepsa bottle locally. All you need is a suitable connection fitting (in our case its in the cupboard) and a regulator. We then use the autogas as the back up when we need to get an exchange for the Cepsa. The other point to bear in mind is that Repsol are starting to instal Autogas in more filling stations in Spain now so the need for a back up bottle may be less than it was. You will need an adaptor for your filling point and these are available from Autogas in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Some good positive responses to a 'compromise' solution. We have been thinking about Spain late 2010 or early 2011 and the 'gas issue' has had me thinking. We don't have sufficient onboard capacity for a long Spanish winterish stay where (oven) cooking is more likely than in a long French summer. I have been toying with refillable for a while but, with Spain a wintering target, the lack of gas at service stations has held me back.The news that this is being addressed by Repsol is encouraging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I read on another site that Gaslow recommend their cylinders are replaced after 15 years. But my Camping Gaz 907 cylinders, all exchanged this year, have dates on them going back to 1977 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Peter James - 2011-07-19 7:13 PM I read on another site that Gaslow recommend their cylinders are replaced after 15 years. But my Camping Gaz 907 cylinders, all exchanged this year, have dates on them going back to 1977 Cylinders that are exchanged e.g. Calor, are inspected when they are refilled and after a given number of fills/ or time time they are stripped and internally cleaned and refurbished then reassembled for further use. As Gaslows, or any other refillable for that matter, are not inspected at regular intervals Gaslow advise that they are, they say must (not sure if there is any legislation requiring this), be exchanged after 15 years for a new/ refurbished one that is then good for another 15 years, this is clearly stated in their literature. I don't know what the cost for the swap is, but I consider it to be just another part of the service/ running costs of motorhoming. At least they offer it don't know if other refillable manufacturers do or not. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Pretty sure that it's a legal requirement and each cylinder is certified individually. Not sure if the requirement is incumbent on manufacturer or supplier. My own cylinders are certified for 10 years before inspection is due. Makes sense, they go bang pretty spectacularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I realise that this is continuing off topic still further :$ but I seem to recall a feature/article in a mag some time back,where they were looking at the condition of underslung tanks.. ...and even some that where only a few years old,were quite rusty and in a bit of a state.. I think I'd want to be slapping some addition coats of paint on,prior to them getting installed ..and also maybe fitting some form of baffle/stone guard... Sorry..as you were... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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