Run out of gas when cooking? - grrrrrr. Solution needed.

[man of norfolk]

With the ever increasing control of just about everything on a MH at the control panel, what about this one.

 

You are cooking your evening meal at night in the winter and the gas runs out. Why no accurate gauge inside the MH?

 

Its not rocket science to develop an accurate gauge that will trip a light to tell you that you are just about to run out of gas. I would rather loose 10 pence of gas & change the gas bottle early.

 

More complex but do able - An automatic changeover so you can in the morning turn the full bottle off and take the empty bottle out when you are ready to change it. If a new bottle is automatically selected it just needs a non return valve to stop gas entering the empty bottle.

[sshortcircuit]

As you say, not rocket science, just do a search

http://www.amazon.co.uk/RF6000-Bottle-Automatic-Changeover-Valve/dp/B003QPMR5C

[colin]

man of norfolk - 2013-11-01 7:49 PM

 

 

More complex but do able - An automatic changeover so you can in the morning turn the full bottle off and take the empty bottle out when you are ready to change it. If a new bottle is automatically selected it just needs a non return valve to stop gas entering the empty bottle.

 

Truma duo control, except there is no need to turn off the full bottle, you can carry on using it.

[lennyhb]

Re-fillable bottles have the option of an electronic remote gauge see here

[Keithl]

man of norfolk - 2013-11-01 7:49 PM

More complex but do able - An automatic changeover so you can in the morning turn the full bottle off and take the empty bottle out when you are ready to change it. If a new bottle is automatically selected it just needs a non return valve to stop gas entering the empty bottle.

 

Keith,

 

Auto change over valves have been around for a long time, a typical one is like this... Link, You can set it to whichever cylinder you want to use first and when that one runs it it auto changes to the other. Simple really.

 

Keith.

 

PS And if you want to check the liquid gas level in a (non-refillable) cylinder then try a Dometic Gas Level checker,,, Link, £30 (or less) well spent.

[bigal55]

change the bottle before you start cooking if you think it,s getting low, i am the chef, never seen it as a problem (?)

[Colin Leake]

We had an auto change over switch in our last motor home. Worked well but you had to keep an eye on it to know when a change over had taken place so that you could replace the empty cylinder.

[gocro]

I'd have thought that something like an in-line flow meter that would be fitted between the cylinders and the regulator that zeroed on fill up or change of cylinder.A digital display would then either show consumption or a countdown to indicate when depleted, could be integrated into the main control panel.

As the originator said it's not rocket science,but it's still beyond 99.9% of us.

[Colin Leake]

We don't use much gas as we are nearly always on CC sites with electric hook up included in the price so one of the light weight cylinders will last us three seasons, around 360 days but a tip for,anyone using them. Don't take any notice of the gauge it is very pessimistic. Ours showed on the red at the beginning of this season and has now been showing empty for some time. What we do is to carry one cylinder only to save weight if the gauge is showing just above the red. When it reaches the red we then take along the spare cylinder that we have kept at home to run the BBQ

[bolero boy]

I hadn't topped our single 11kg Gaslow up since our return from France in July and I noticed that the gauge had slipped into the 'reserve' area. Now, I know that the gauge only really starts to work as you get into the 2nd half of the tank but I wanted to check so I filled up....10.75 ltr at 69p per ltr, so was about half full.

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

lennyhb - 2013-11-01 8:13 PM

 

Re-fillable bottles have the option of an electronic remote gauge see here

 

 

Which are just as useless as the on -bottle gauges. ;-) :-(

[Brian Kirby]

Colin Leake - 2013-11-01 9:57 PM

 

We had an auto change over switch in our last motor home. Worked well but you had to keep an eye on it to know when a change over had taken place so that you could replace the empty cylinder.

I'm a bit puzzled, Colin, because then you said: "We don't use much gas as we are nearly always on CC sites with electric hook up included in the price so one of the light weight cylinders will last us three seasons, around 360 days................................."

 

If the reserve cylinder would last you three seasons/360 days, why the need to "keep an eye" on the auto-changeover valve? Just check when you get home, and change the cylinder if it is empty. If a Truma DuoControl is fitted, it can even have a little red light that comes on in the van to tell you it has switched to the reserve. This assumes the reserve is a) full and b) the seme size as the service cylinder.

 

We have always had an auto-changeover valve with two 13kg cylinders. One cylinder lasts us 10 - 12 weeks, which is a bit more than our average trip length. Different, of course, if there is only room for the 6kg size cylinders. Even then, carrying a spare, if space permits, could give the necessary peace of mind?

[lennyhb]

1footinthegrave - 2013-11-02 5:59 PM

 

lennyhb - 2013-11-01 8:13 PM

 

Re-fillable bottles have the option of an electronic remote gauge see here

 

 

Which are just as useless as the on -bottle gauges. ;-) :-(

 

Mike I thought you had Stako bottles the gauges on ours are spot on.

[lennyhb]

Brian Kirby - 2013-11-02 6:22 PM

 

We have always had an auto-changeover valve with two 13kg cylinders. One cylinder lasts us 10 - 12 weeks, which is a bit more than our average trip length. Different, of course, if there is only room for the 6kg size cylinders. Even then, carrying a spare, if space permits, could give the necessary peace of mind?

 

You are not drinking enough Brian an 11kg bottle lasts us 2 -3 weeks at the most. (lol)

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

lennyhb - 2013-11-02 9:59 PM

 

1footinthegrave - 2013-11-02 5:59 PM

 

lennyhb - 2013-11-01 8:13 PM

 

Re-fillable bottles have the option of an electronic remote gauge see here

 

 

Which are just as useless as the on -bottle gauges. ;-) :-(

 

Mike I thought you had Stako bottles the gauges on ours are spot on.

 

No I bought Gasit brand, but so far the gauge has proved to be useless, reads full, then quite suddenly reads empty even though it has proved to still have loads of gas when re-filled, but on another occasion read full, but ran out completely, perhaps I've got a duff one, that would be no surprise. :-S

[lennyhb]

I am sure Gasit are Stako bottles.

[Guest JudgeMental]

lennyhb - 2013-11-02 10:01 PM

 

Brian Kirby - 2013-11-02 6:22 PM

 

We have always had an auto-changeover valve with two 13kg cylinders. One cylinder lasts us 10 - 12 weeks, which is a bit more than our average trip length. Different, of course, if there is only room for the 6kg size cylinders. Even then, carrying a spare, if space permits, could give the necessary peace of mind?

 

You are not drinking enough Brian an 11kg bottle lasts us 2 -3 weeks at the most. (lol)

 

Kirbys a Tory.....wears a few layers of wooly jumpers! :-D

[Derek Uzzell]

lennyhb - 2013-11-03 7:38 AM

 

I am sure Gasit are Stako bottles.

 

I think you'll find that the GAS-IT bottles come in two flavours.

 

The 2-hole type (example here)

 

http://www.gasit.co.uk/index.php?_a=product&product_id=263

 

or the 4-hole type (example here)

 

http://www.gasit.co.uk/index.php?_a=product&product_id=74

 

It may well be that all GASIT bottles are made by STAKO, but it's to be expected that the type of contents-gauge fitted to a 2-hole GASIT bottle (whoever makes it) will be no more accurate than the gauge fitted to Gaslow 2-hole bottles, with the potential to only record accurately across a limited range (say 50%-15% full). The gauge fitted to 4-hole bottles (though still unable to cover a 100%-0% full range) has a much better reputation for accuracy and allows a remote indicator to be fitted within the leisure vehicle.

 

Whatever type of GASIT bottle he has, from 1foot's description, it does sound like his bottle's gauge is a duffer.

 

Although this is off-topic, these Youtube clips are (sort of) GASIT-related and may amuse, or horrify (or both)...

 

 

[bolero boy]

Both! (To both videos).

Luckily, if he blows himself (and others) up, he's got a piece of paper telling his surviving relatives, and any beaurocratic nobheads, that he was aware of all the appropriate regulations.

Jeez, worrying, ain't it :-|

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

There are plenty of ****heads about, a couple of years ago parked on the Aire at Boulogne sur mer got chatting to another brit but was acutely aware of the smell of gas when I mentioned it he told me what had happened. The blokes underslung gas tank had literally through the failure of one of the brackets dropped on the road whilst on the move, a French breakdown was despatched where they did a botch job with some strapping, he was then sent merrily on his way with it leaking gas.

 

The bloke himself was more concerned with the gas lasting long enough, wait for it...................................until he caught his ferry the next day. I advised him in the strongest terms the implications, and advised him to go somewhere well away from anyone and drain of the gas, whether he did I'll never know and on reflection wished I had telephoned all the ferry operators with his reg number, although at the time I was more anxious to put as much distance from him as possible. (!)

 

The thing that struck me most was his total indifference to the issue, and unlike the guy on the youtube clip didn't seem to be lacking in the grey matter department, so there you go.

[Colin Leake]

Brian Kirby - 2013-11-02 6:22 PM

 

Colin Leake - 2013-11-01 9:57 PM

 

We had an auto change over switch in our last motor home. Worked well but you had to keep an eye on it to know when a change over had taken place so that you could replace the empty cylinder.

I'm a bit puzzled, Colin, because then you said: "We don't use much gas as we are nearly always on CC sites with electric hook up included in the price so one of the light weight cylinders will last us three seasons, around 360 days................................."

 

If the reserve cylinder would last you three seasons/360 days, why the need to "keep an eye" on the auto-changeover valve? Just check when you get home, and change the cylinder if it is empty. If a Truma DuoControl is fitted, it can even have a little red light that comes on in the van to tell you it has switched to the reserve. This assumes the reserve is a) full and b) the seme size as the service cylinder.

 

We have always had an auto-changeover valve with two 13kg cylinders. One cylinder lasts us 10 - 12 weeks, which is a bit more than our average trip length. Different, of course, if there is only room for the 6kg size cylinders. Even then, carrying a spare, if space permits, could give the necessary peace of mind?

 

That's what we did with the last motorhome that had a change over valve though it did mean having the extra weight of the second cylinder on board. With our present AutoTrail we don't have and auto change over valve. Given the limited load capacity of the heavy AutoTrail it makes sense to carry only the one cylinder untill the one in use is in danger of running out. The spare is kept connected to a gas BBQ at home.

 

Just a tip to save gas being poor pensioners when we use the gas BBQ we cook two days meat at a time, say a nice ribeye or pork fillet for immediate consumption and chicken to be eaten cold the next day or sausages that can be heated up in the microwave. Saves on the number of times the BBQ has to be cleaned as well!