michaelmorris Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 Just found out the Countrywide store in Malvern in closing too. I looks as though many or even all of the retail outlet will close. (as alluded to by Derek earlier in this thread) https://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk/Blog In these circumstances I would imagine it could be difficult to maintain the current network of LPG filling facilities that are associated with many of these stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Michael Although some Countrywide retail stores will have had an adjacent autogas dispensing facility, many of the Countrywide autogas outlets were independently located elsewhere. A list of Countrywide autogas refuelling sites is shown here https://www.countrywidelpg.co.uk/autogas/autogas-refuelling-outlets/ and two things should be evident - that plenty of the refuelling sites were not at Countrywide retail store addresses and that, even whan a refuelling site was at a Countrywide retail store address, the site’s opening hours were in general 24/7 and, consequently, not dependent on the retail store being open. The letter I received from Countrywide LPG regarding my account with the company reads as follows: "Dear Mr Uzzell, From 1st March the LPG business is no longer part of Countrywide Farmers plc. We are now an independent, standalone company called Countrywide LPG Ltd. This is good news for you as it means that we can continue to meet your LPG needs and provide great levels of customer service. You might have heard that Countrywide Farmers plc has entered administration – don’t worry as we have left the Countrywide Farmers group and now operate on our own, part of the DCC Group, so our supplies to you will not be affected. We are pleased to be able to confirm that we are doing business as usual, supplying our customers and paying our suppliers on time. Countrywide LPG Ltd values its customers and looks forward to continuing to supply you with LPG for many years to come. Yours sincerely, George Webb Managing Director Countrywide LPG Ltd” I can’t see into the future, but as Countrywide LPG’s autogas refuelling sites are not ‘associated’ with the shut-down retail stores, there’s no particular reason for the number of refuelling sites to contract dramatically in the short term. As long as a site remains financially viable, why should it disappear? (You seem to be making extraordinarily heavy weather over this ‘gas in France’ business. If you aren’t careful, you’ll paint yourself into a corner where you WILL run out of gas while abroad and then discover that dealing with that situation will be trickier than you think.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul2 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Hi The countrywide autogas refilling site Malvern is NOT at the store it's on small ind estate just off Leigh Sinton road about 2 miles away . The store has large closing down signs outside, yesterday they were no signs by the autogas. (It's embarrassing really the times I've driven along Leigh Sinton road and did not know it was there). As I said before I have not filled a second time yet and do not think it will be a problem as I have seen autogas for sale on all my normal routes. Derek I'm not sure if it would be worth opening an account with countrywide lpg as I didn't fit the system because of the amount of gas I use but the leaving for france with two full bottles. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 When opening a Countrywide LPG autogas account an initial £5+VAT deposit is required for the key that is needed to operate the gas dispenser. When Countrywide LPG is notified of the closure of the account and the key is received back by them the deposit-cost will be refunded. When we started motorcaravanning abroad it was a matter of principle to never use campsites and to pay nothing for ‘services’ (water, waste-emptying, etc.) and the gas usage reflected this tight-fistedness. Nowadays we stay predominantly on campsites and use 230V hook-ups, and gas usage is minimal (well below one litre per day). There is a Countrywide refuelling site conveniently located within 2 miles of where I live and, although I use it infrequently - at most 4 times a year - and very little autogas is involved, this does not seem to bother the company. There is a motorhome-related caveat in the FAQ section of the Countrywide LPG’s website https://www.countrywidelpg.co.uk/autogas/ "Question: Can I fill cylinders in my Motor home? Answer: We can only accept a motorhome for domestic use only if you have an outside filling point on the vehicle. We do not allow stand alone cylinders to be filled due to Health & Safety reasons." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Just an extra note, as this thread has included some questions about what will fit in the gas locker. I noticed the other day that Gaslow now offer a cyclinder similar to the Campigaz 907. Don't know if that helps anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 The Gaslow 2.7kg canister has been marketed for a while. It’s shown in this 2017 brochure http://www.gaslowdirect.com/WebRoot/GroupNBT/Shops/cyujrhdmmu67/MediaGallery/GASLOWCATALOGUE_2015_spreads.pdf that also provides dimensions and empty-weight details of the 11kg, 6kg and 2.7kg bottles. More recently the design of the bottles’ On/Off knob has been improved to make it easier to operate and the bottle’s outlet is now horizontal not angled, facilitating installation (photo of revised valve attached) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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