K2 Rum Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 after a great deal of humming and hawing we are about to purchase our first PVC (don't tell me a motorhome is better I haven't the strength..). Anyway I had the plan of getting a gaslow refillable LPG bottles to replace the standard gas system. Does anyone have one fitted and are the savings worthwhile for about 2-3 months usage a year? What is worth knowing about them as well? Cheers all Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Had 2 bottles fitted to my van a couple of years ago and the only problem is getting them refilled. There are fewer places to refill so its like crossing a desert, always fill up when you can. I think its the better option if you're going around Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 K2 Rum - 2020-01-09 3:01 PM after a great deal of humming and hawing we are about to purchase our first PVC (don't tell me a motorhome is better I haven't the strength..). Anyway I had the plan of getting a gaslow refillable LPG bottles to replace the standard gas system. Does anyone have one fitted and are the savings worthwhile for about 2-3 months usage a year? What is worth knowing about them as well? Cheers all Dave Hi Dave. I live in Cardiff too. My last two pvc had gasit tanks fitted. I really struggled to fill them as so few places offer the service these days. Even Calor itself on Ely bridge removed it's lpg pump. I had to travel to Cardiff gate Asda to fill it. But it was cheap to fill. We use to use a lot of gas in our van but I'm still not sure if it was worth the £450 fitting charge. On my new van I've just had converted, I asked them to fit a normal gas bottle. I think the length of time you plan to keep the van is a major factor in this decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbygg Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Hi Dave, I've also got a pvc and atm run twin 6kg calorlite cylinders and considering getting a undermounted tank fitted, not so much for the cost of gas savings but more to release storage space that is a premium in a 6meter van. Although, after reading comments I'll have to investigate filling stations for me in the north east before committing to the system Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAlexander Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I've been looking at this recently. I'll be going for a Gasit system - 11Kg with external fill point and will keep one of my 6Kg Calorlite bottles as back-up, The kit from www.motorcaravanning.co.uk will be around £200 for my setup and should be verystraightforward to fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Chodkowski Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Is this the Steve Aexander of Newland Park fame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAlexander Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Not guilty! No knowledge of Newland Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 K2 Rum - 2020-01-09 3:01 PM after a great deal of humming and hawing we are about to purchase our first PVC (don't tell me a motorhome is better I haven't the strength..). Anyway I had the plan of getting a gaslow refillable LPG bottles to replace the standard gas system. Does anyone have one fitted and are the savings worthwhile for about 2-3 months usage a year? What is worth knowing about them as well? Cheers all Dave It is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question! :-) Therefore, some further questions. 1 How many gas cylinders, of what capacity, can your van's gas locker take? 2 Would you use your van exclusively in UK, or might you travel abroad? 3 Would you use campsites with electrical hook-up, or stay on aires/wild camp with no electrical hook-up? 4 Does the heater in the van have an electric space/water heating option? 5 At what times of the year would you travel? If you answer 2 x 13kg to 1, UK only to 2, campsites with hook-up to 3, yes to 4, and spring-summer-autumn to 5, you will use little gas, and will always have a 13kg reserve with easy access to replacing cylinders as they empty. I would then say no need to fit refillable cylinders, as the saving in gas costs will be very hard pressed to reimburse the cost of the refillables. On the other hand, if you were to answer 1 x 6kg to 1, UK and abroad to 2, use mainly aires/wild camp to 3, no to 4, and all year round with some winter sports use to 5, you will use a lot of gas and, as you have a very small gas capacity plus no reserve, I would say refillable cylinders would be virtually essential at whatever cost. Answers between those extremes would result in varying analysis as to the better option but, if the gas locker would take 2 x 6kg, or a x 13kg and 1 x 6kg, I would say stick with refillables unless a) you would travel abroad a lot or, b) you would use the van off sites in cold weather. Best and simplest answer, really, is first get the van, and then use it as is for the first year while you work out how, where, and when, you will use it, keeping a note of your actual gas consumption. Then, if the gas proves problematic, go for the refillables. My exception to this would be that if using the van extensively abroad, and if not using higher volumes of gas, but finding that the refillables are insufficient and your reserve is touch and go for capacity, consider getting a French cylinder as the back up (or if you prefer, the main cylinder). (My logic on this is that most trips abroad start and end in France, many involve quite extensive time spent in France, and gas cylinders are widely available in France - and are somewhat cheaper than in UK.) If you would instead spend much of the winter in Spain, merely passing and re-passing through France en-route, then get a Spanish cylinder in preference to French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2 Rum Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Excellent advice, thank you Brian, sound as a pound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I bought a GasIt 11kg cylinder, very pleased with it, especially the sensor to tell me how much gas is left (once I'd got it set up). Set it up myself without much trouble, company very helpful. Have had little trouble getting it refilled - don't forget you may not to fill it often, so if it's a bit of a journey, is still worthwhile at half the price of non-refillable. Apps are available to source stations to supply. Main benefit is always knowing how much gas I've got/how long we are ok without running out; can of course refill even if still half full. Met a warden from caravan site, who said he always just used the non-refillable cylinders campers had changed before empty so they wouldn't run out. Suggest shop around for make and price - Safefill is probably the cheapest option, but there were supply delays when I was looking so chose GasIt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 It’s perhaps worth mentioning that GAS IT user-refillable bottles come in two flavours. The basic bottle https://www.gasit.co.uk/11kggenoption.html is 2-hole type with a similar design to Gaslow’s original canisters that were superseded several years ago. Nothing wrong with this GAS IT bottle, but don’t expect the gas-level indicator to register across a 100%-0% contents-level range because it can’t.. The more expensive GAS IT bottle https://www.gasit.co.uk/leisure-gas-refillable-products/3-gas-it-plus-4-hole-bottles/4-hole-27-tr-13kg-gas-it-plus-refillable-gas-cylinder.html is 4-hole type (possibly made by STAKO) and its gas-contents measuring system should be accurate and ‘full-range’. Gaslow’s R67 bottles have a central ‘multi-valve’ arrangement that provides features equivalent to GAS IT’s 4-hole canisters (including an accurate full-range gauge) and an R67 11kg bottle is available for a similar price to a GAS IT 11kg basic bottle. https://www.autogasshop.co.uk/gaslow-11kg-refillable-r67-cylinder-with-level-gauge-1133-p.asp A ‘kit’ that includes a single 11kg R67 bottle is advertised on the following link for £295 https://www.autogasshop.co.uk/gaslow-r67-11kg-refillable-single-cylinder-kit-1136-p.asp but this includes Gaslow fittings (eg. a stainless-steel filler hose) that could be replaced with less expensive parts if required. As the inlet and outlet connectors of metal user-refillable bottles are similar, a Gaslow bottle could be teamed wiith GAS IT hoses (or vice versa) if it were so wished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I have had two 6 kg gaslow cylinders on two vans for approx 13 years (transferred to the latest van 4 years ago) Gas works out at roughly half the calor price. There are many filling stations on the motorway network, albeit more expensive. But the main thing for me is, I don't have to remove them from the van, having to use two walking sticks to get around changing cylinders is a major pain. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancepar Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 If I resided in the Cardiff area and was looking for an outlet as well as Petrol Stations, I would ask local Taxi/Private Hire drivers or their office, where they get their LPG from, B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyLou Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 We have a single 13Kg GAS-IT bottle. £250 fitted with external filler and European adapters. The advantage I see is that with 1 bottle while you don't know exactly how much gas is left you do not need to wait for it to be empty to top up. We tend to top up after about 10 or 12 days of usage. The price is more like a 1/3 than a half I would say. The last lite calor bottle I filled was £28. I think they are almost essential if you are touring Europe as you can't get calor bottles refilled abroad. A lot of people go with the 2 bottle system but I think the cost of that is hard to recover. My guess is that people forget about the top up as you go option. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldi Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Good afternoon, When I enquired about getting a couple fitted it would have taken me 10 years to recover the cost but I admit that would depend on the type of travelling you did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive_Adams Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Dave think most of the points have been covered and BK reply basically sums it up, however I would also like to add my thoughts. Firstly to recuperate the cost of going LPG may take a lot longer to than you think, it does depend on two things the initial coat of your installation and moreover the amount of gas that you use. This brings me round to my second thought, how much gas do you use, and where, how and when do you use it, heating, cooking, fridge, the where UK or Europe touring, how, long periods away or short spells when, summer or winter? So really you need to evaluate all of these things, and apply them to your circumstances. I use my van in colder climes in the winter for a couple or three two week periods at a time and realatively us a lot of gas 20 kg in two weeks, I have two 11 kg, with crash sensor, auto change etc. has the system paid for itself? after 4/5 years not yet in monetary terms, in convenience definitely, fill it up and no further worries, I do agree that availability in the UK isn't as good as it was 18 months ago, but its not really a problem, I can still fill up, 4 miles away from where I live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 If you buy a new system and get it professionally fitted, the payback time is extended enormously. I bought a pre owned unit and fitted it myself. It was checked as part of the next habitation check. The costs have to be worked out not just with a simple comparison, but taking into account the times you swap a cylinder before it has been emptied, to make sure you have enough for the trip. Plus of course you can sell it on, sometimes for a profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgnbuk Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I wouldn't want to go back to exchange cylinders after having had a Gaslow setup. I fitted a single 11kg bottle & external fill port to a Roller Team T-line 670 shortly after I bought it. The only daunting bit was drilling the hole on the skirt for the fill port - definately a case of measure twice & drill once ! Otherwise it was no more difficult to connect up than an exchange cylinder. At the time (2013) the cylinder & fill kit were around £200 delivered from Hamilton Gas Products. Just looked at their site & the current price is nearer £250. When that van (and that van's replacement !) was P/Xed I negotiated the swapping of the system to the new van as part of the deal. so no additional costs up to now. I have found the single 11kg bottle to be fine & don't carry a "backup" exchange cylinder as some seem to do. I have not had any issues filling up in the UK or abroad (Germany & Luxemburg with the van, though also Belgium & Czech Republic with an LPG converted car). West Yorks seems very well covered for LPG availabilty - others report issues elsewhere in the country, though as you can "top up" at any time, there is no need to wait until you are desparate to start looking. The installation cost is worth it for me on the convenience alone & I would still have gone ahead if the cost of gas had been similar (and it isn't - pump LPG is a lot cheaper). I chose to fit my first system very shortly after taking delivery of the van on the basis that the earlier it was fitted the sooner I would get the benefits. Just make sure that you have an external fill port fitted to the van structure ( not inside the gas locker or in the gas locker door). Those who report having had filling issues mainly appear to have had those mouning points - which are probably easier for dealers to fit. A fill port in the skirt or side of the van looks indistinguishable from an LPG converted petrol vehicle & doesn't attract any attention. Nigel B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM50 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Had my Gasit for a couple of years and despite lots of doom-mongers regarding getting it filled, not had any issues at all. I refill at my local Flogas depot, it's where the taxi people go, they're all round the country and you can find your nearest here; https://www.flogas.co.uk/stockists. Seems your nearest is https://www.flogas.co.uk/stockists/search/location/cardiff/distance/10-miles/autogas/no/gaslight/no. I've also filled up in Belgium,(cheapest), and France, (not too bad) but to be honest the gas is so cheap the cost isn't worth thinking about. We've got an 11Kg cylinder and I fill up every spring for about £6. Wouldn't go back to Calor by choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Don't know where people have got that lpg stations are dwindling, I've never had a problem and this app says 688 stations in the UK https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/united-kingdom/#map and at least 11 around the Cardiff area Jonathan ps, I have also had the system for 10 years and as above convenience is the key, mine paid for itself in 2 years but i use a lot of gas at least 170 litres a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickB Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 I agree with silverback. Never had a problem getting gas in the UK or in France/Belgium; one exception though. On Sundays and holidays it is usually impossible to get LPG in France as the pump is separate from the petrol/diesel pay points. If I had relied on exchange cylinders it would cost a fortune on the Continent, and the only common cylinder is the Camping Gas which is expensive and not always available. DickB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 I've only ever used Continental gas bottles which are a lot cheaper than UK bottles 11kg bottle in France €21 and in Spain € 12 easily obtained as most supermarkets stock them at their fuel stations Intermarche now have self service gas bottle points at their unmanned stations. So would take longer to see your money back from a refillable set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rael Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Another solution? We have a PVC and getting to the gas bottle is a bugger. Fortunately, since having the van (13 months) Ive not yet had to change the bottle as we have Webasto diesel heating. This cuts down dramatically on the amount of gas used. In the 13 months since we have had the van we have been away quite a lot. The odd weekend, a week in Germany, four weeks in Europe (Italy Croatia etc) and so on. We have had the heating on a lot. A few nights in Devon around New Year and Aachen Christmas market in December. The Lakes last February etc. We still have (at last check) just under half of a 11kg gas bottle left. The gas is only used for cooking and hot water so very little is used. With space being precious in a PVC I would not want 2 gas bottles. The other good thing about the diesel heating is that you can keep it running whilst driving. Its incredibly economical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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