Vic Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I don't know if this topic has been discussed here before. Anyway, I will soon be travelling through Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy Switzerland and France as a round trip. I use Propane in my 'Van' as a personal choice. Can you tell me if Propane is used throughout Europe and is it easily available? If not, what sort of regulator will I need in these various countries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapple Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Yes its readily available but the problem is that there are a wide range of bottles around and, in general, Calor gas bottles cannot be easily refilled abroad. You may need an adaptor to get the refilling hose attached to the filler on your van One way to go is to get the fan fitted out with refillable gas bottles and these can be refilled at all fuel stations selling LPG for cars fueled by LPG. If you have an older van (before around 2001) the gas regulator is fitted to the bottle and therefore varies from bottle to bottle. If you have a newer fitted with the new type of gas regulator then this regulator is fitted to the van and is usable on all bottles. You will probably need a different pigtail for each type of bottle. A pigtail is the high pressure hose connecting the bottle to the regulator on the van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Vic: There's a large number of earlier gas-related forum threads that you could wade through using the forum's search facility, but these two 'tasters' should get you going. http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=2819&posts=1 http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=10372&posts=27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 VicPropane is omnipresent, but each country has its suppliers, and the cylinders cannot be exchanged across borders. Worse, not all the pigtail connectors/bottle mounted regulators will fit different supplier's cylinders. Therefore, if you are likely to use a lot of gas you may need to buy/lease, and trade back on leaving, gas cylinders in each country visited, and buy the corresponding pigtail/regulator as you go along.If your van will accommodate the 13Kg size cylinders it may be better getting one of these before you leave and, if you are passing through countries you are likely to visit again in future, buy a cylinder and the necessary attachment there, with a view to swapping when next in that country. The ideal is a two cylinder installation with a changeover valve allowing both to be simultaneously connected but only one to be in service. Switching can be automatic or manual - yer pays yer money.One 13 Kg keeps us going (but not in winter) for about 12-13 weeks, but using a hook up almost all the time. I guess you'll know your own approx rate of usage. Calor is relatively expensive, especially when the cylinder charge is taken into account, but having one of theirs means it can be exchanged when in UK, leaving only the "foreigner" to be swapped when away.Refillables are OK if your gas usage is quite high, as there is a substantial initial cost and the payback only comes from the difference in the cost per litre between Autogas LPG and exchange cylinder LPG. You need to use a lot of gas before you break even! However, as was pointed out in a previous post, a full 13Kg steel cylinder weighs around 28Kgs, so if humping one of these into your van is out of the question, the refillables probably offer the best remedy.On the question of refillables, to avoid confusion, I am referring to the variety that are permanently installed into your gas locker, which you fill with Autogas via a permanently "plumbed in" filler point installed into the van, and not the variety you take out to fill. Main advantage is that the cylinders can be "uninstalled" and transferred to a different van if/when you change. The latter type seem fairly widely to have become outlawed. Final solution, as I'm sure Clive will bob up to say, is a permanent gas tank installed below the floor of your van. Not the cheapest, and only really worthwhile if you use a lot of gas. Main drawback is that you need to know you like your van before you shell out on it, because removal back to the original configuration is more complex, and hence more costly, should you decide to swap vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 On cue! If thought is given initially then a permanent tank can be removed and the original gas plumbing re-connected with little effort. Mine certainly is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Clive - 2008-02-17 12:26 PM On cue! If thought is given initially then a permanent tank can be removed and the original gas plumbing re-connected with little effort. Mine certainly is. And just pray that the tank is the right size to fit where you want it on the next van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 The only way to go, for Europeon travel, is refillable. I had a Gaslow twin bottle system with all new hoses, exterior filler and automatic change over done for £300 last year, not exactly expensive considering the trouble it saves. Also contary to what has been written here you will not just save on gas, which is a lot cheaper by the way, but think of all the money you will save on buying new bottels etc around Europe. You will still need a couple of adaptors for the filler but these are cheap and quick to use. The problem of gas is solved why mess around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I would also go for the Gaslow refillable, the cheapest option is using a single Gaslow and one of your existing Calors for back up. When the Gaslow runs out you switch to the spare calor until you refill the Gaslow and then revert to the newly filled Gaslow. Fact is you will probably never run out of the back up as you will just keep filling the refillable at a much reduced rate (around half price) and as the initial cost is low (around £130) you will recoup that, time depending on your usage, with the cost of £15.50 for 6Kg Calor or £20.17 for 13Kg and LPG being around £5.20 and £9.45 respectively. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Tracker - 2008-02-17 12:31 PM Clive - 2008-02-17 12:26 PM On cue! If thought is given initially then a permanent tank can be removed and the original gas plumbing re-connected with little effort. Mine certainly is. And just pray that the tank is the right size to fit where you want it on the next van? True! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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