# GAS prices



## offgrid (Nov 16, 2015)

Which dealers are best for Calor and Campingaz - just payed 30 odd quid for 15kg calor refill cylinder for heater and £25 for 2.7kg campingaz refill for cooking stove, that aint gonna last 2 minutes...

Looking for alternatives maybe Gaslow using LPG but initial set up prices are proper expensive


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## n brown (Nov 16, 2015)

Join GoOutdoors for a fiver and get your gas there

don;t use camping gaz,keep as backup only,unless you're rich


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## Seannachie (Nov 16, 2015)

*Go Outdoors & Camping & Caravanning Club*

If you're in the C&CC you can get another 10% of the discounted Go Outdoors Members' price which makes them the cheapest Calor gas supplier in UK AFAIK. Visit the C&CC web page for Members, sign in and get your coupon. Only £27.33p for 15Kg Butane.


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## witzend (Nov 16, 2015)

Flo Gas is cheaper than Calor try these for price they did propane when asked and local delivery

Page Not Responding


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## RoaminRog (Nov 16, 2015)

Gas It IS expensive initially, BUT remains your property, and tends to hold it's price. Therefore it either increases the resale value of your van or can be put in your new van or sold seperately, at a realistic price.
Ultimately much much cheaper option.
Also, if you were a Full Member, you could save 5% of the purchase price, which could work out more than your membership subscription. No brainer really!


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## Tezza33 (Nov 16, 2015)

Nobody can tell you who is cheapest because we don't know where you are and it varies area to area, I have a bulk tank and get LPG from Asda for 54.4p a litre at the moment, I use a calor gas 13KG bottle on my BBQ at home View attachment 35257which costs me £28 for an exchange at a local Marina in Long Eaton (cheapest in the area) so that is £1.27 per litre, that will give you some idea of the savings, campingaz is cheaper in Spain but the journey to collect costs slightly more than the savingView attachment 35256,  here it should be used for emergencies only (you would be better burning £5 notes to keep warm) until you can get your calor bottle exchanged


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## offgrid (Nov 16, 2015)

RoaminRog said:


> Gas It IS expensive initially, BUT remains your property, and tends to hold it's price. Therefore it either increases the resale value of your van or can be put in your new van or sold seperately, at a realistic price.
> Ultimately much much cheaper option.
> Also, if you were a Full Member, you could save 5% of the purchase price, which could work out more than your membership subscription. No brainer really!



Good point! - could add value to the van when selling it


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## offgrid (Nov 16, 2015)

tezza33 said:


> Nobody can tell you who is cheapest because we don't know where you are and it varies area to area, I have a bulk tank and get LPG from Asda for 54.4p a litre at the moment, I use a calor gas 13KG bottle on my BBQ at home View attachment 35257which costs me £28 for an exchange at a local Marina in Long Eaton (cheapest in the area) so that is £1.27 per litre, that will give you some idea of the savings, campingaz is cheaper in Spain but the journey to collect costs slightly more than the savingView attachment 35256,  here it should be used for emergencies only (you would be better burning £5 notes to keep warm) until you can get your calor bottle exchanged[/QUOT
> 
> yeh campingaz is a rip off, £25 for 2.7kg!!


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## vindiboy (Nov 16, 2015)

The initial cost of installing refillable bottles may seem expensive ,but depending on your gas usage they will soon repay the cost of installation . my local garage is currently selling gas at 58 pence a litre ,that is approx. £ 1.16 per kilo. I expect it is cheaper elsewhere as Southampton is an expensive area generally.


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## RoaminRog (Nov 16, 2015)

swiftcamper said:


> Afraid not.
> Having had a few motorhomes and chatting to dealers that we have a good banter with,most extras do not add a single penny to what they will give you , they love an owner who trades in a fully loaded van as they are easier to sell.



Dealers! Maybe not, but there is nothing to stop you undoing the whole system, at the regulator, and selling it privately or swapping it onto your new van.
I would never give a dealer anything that he wasn't prepared to pay for!


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## witzend (Nov 16, 2015)

offgrid said:


> Good point! - could add value to the van when selling it



And once you've used about 83 bottles you'll be at the break even point


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## yeoblade (Nov 16, 2015)

swiftcamper said:


> Afraid not.
> Having had a few motorhomes and chatting to dealers that we have a good banter with,most extras do not add a single penny to what they will give you , they love an owner who trades in a fully loaded van as they are easier to sell.



Totally agree , they may even suggest it worth less as it's not standard, but they're a cheeky lot.

Much better off taking it with you.


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## phillybarbour (Nov 16, 2015)

LPG here in West Lancs around 56p per litre.


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## offgrid (Nov 16, 2015)

swiftcamper said:


> Afraid not.
> Having had a few motorhomes and chatting to dealers that we have a good banter with,most extras do not add a single penny to what they will give you , they love an owner who trades in a fully loaded van as they are easier to sell.



Would never trade anything in!! - no point selling on unless your making a profit


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## spigot (Nov 17, 2015)

LPG can be bought round Brum for less than 50p per litre.


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## spigot (Nov 17, 2015)

swiftcamper said:


> Cheapest in Birmingham is 39p
> We use one that is 43p not found the cheaper one yet.



That's good value, at that price I could fill my 907s for £2.32 each!


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## 1 Cup (Nov 17, 2015)

*gas bottles for 2 berths*

My camper used / came with  the 907 blue stubby  x2in locker
1 907 = £27.50 2.5 kilos

Uprated to 4.5 kilos stubby with proper handle. Little taller,  I had to cut out bottom of gas locker on van now fits and 
All good. For quick coffees or wilding

4.5 kilo bottal and vale total cost £26.50  from plummer shop in rye west sussex .

Still have a 7.5 kilo for when on sites.


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## John H (Nov 17, 2015)

We installed a Gaslow system and it paid for itself inside 18 months. We live in the van almost all the time, so it all depends on how often you use yours. But remember, once installed, you have it for life because you can transfer it from van to van.


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## Chris356 (Nov 17, 2015)

Does anyone use one of these LPG GAS ADAPTOR Refill your Calor Lite Motorhome /Caravan Gas Bottles | eBay


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## Tbear (Nov 17, 2015)

offgrid said:


> Which dealers are best for Calor and Campingaz - just payed 30 odd quid for 15kg calor refill cylinder for heater and £25 for 2.7kg campingaz refill for cooking stove, that aint gonna last 2 minutes...
> 
> Looking for alternatives maybe Gaslow using LPG but initial set up prices are proper expensive



I in no way recommend this http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=170511 but as you are a grown up you can make your own mind up.

Richard


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## Cornishaich (Nov 17, 2015)

I have recently fitted a single 6 kilo refillable from Gasit at a cost of £205 + £12 for a hole saw. Filling it up cost me £6.80 as opposed to £23 for a 6 kilo Calor lite. As a 6kilo lite last three weeks on average when away, it won't take too long to get a return on my investment. I also have the convenience of not bothering with foreign bottles when in Europe. I carry a a 6 kilo Calor lite as a backup.


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## offgrid (Nov 17, 2015)

Chris356 said:


> Does anyone use one of these LPG GAS ADAPTOR Refill your Calor Lite Motorhome /Caravan Gas Bottles | eBay



interesting, do you know if it works? be cool if it did


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## Chris356 (Nov 17, 2015)

I have heard of people filling their own bottles at the pumps so they must be using these I am going to call at the local car wash they have a LPG tank will see if they will fill my calor lite I have 2 spare empty ones


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## offgrid (Nov 17, 2015)

Chris356 said:


> I have heard of people filling their own bottles at the pumps so they must be using these I am going to call at the local car wash they have a LPG tank will see if they will fill my calor lite I have 2 spare empty ones



ok good luck! let us know how you get on cheers


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## listerdiesel (Nov 17, 2015)

Trying to fill a bottle with one of those adaptors is likely to get you into trouble pretty fast.

There is no 80% cut-off just for starters, which is a requirement for refillable cylinders. 

Peter


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## offgrid (Nov 17, 2015)

Tbear said:


> I in no way recommend this http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=170511 but as you are a grown up you can make your own mind up.
> 
> Richard



:idea: hahaha think i'll pass on this one cheers


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## spigot (Nov 18, 2015)

Chris356 said:


> Does anyone use one of these LPG GAS ADAPTOR Refill your Calor Lite Motorhome /Caravan Gas Bottles | eBay



I have tried some of these various adaptors and would not recommend any. It's a lot of faffing around, plus the pump nozzle is very heavy and is likely to undo the adaptor when releasing, leading to an escape of gas.

Also, one has to open a door or boot of a car to facilitate the filling, making it pretty obvious what one is up to.


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## spigot (Nov 18, 2015)

listerdiesel said:


> There is no 80% cut-off just for starters, which is a requirement for refillable cylinders. Peter



If one can't work out 80% of a cylinder's content, one shouldn't be attempting it in the first place!.


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## vwalan (Nov 18, 2015)

not all tanks etc do have 80% cut off s. some have liquid bleed off valves . i have a few calor tanks with them . 
my house main tank as bleed off as well. 
filling adaptors have been around for 40 yrs that i know of . most only got to know of it on ebay. but folk have been filling bottles for years . 
the pump pressure should let the pump switch off at 90% if its working properly. 
even calor put more than that into house tanks when they deliver. and have been for years .


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## Beemer (Nov 18, 2015)

On the subject of motorhome 'extras' adding value to your van, it would probably only work with private sales.
Brownhills, advised me to take off what I needed from my exchange van, as the new van was stripped of 'extras', although my brother exchanged his van down south and the solar panel and sat dish were still attached.


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## bill scouse (Nov 18, 2015)

The amount on the bottle is 80% ie 6kg which is 12 litres.


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## Seannachie (Nov 18, 2015)

bill scouse said:


> The amount on the bottle is 80% ie 6kg which is 12 litres.



No, not quite. The specific gravity of Calor propane according to Section 9.1 of their HSE Data Sheet is 0.512 at 15 degrees Celsius so their 6Kg cylinder holds 11.72 litres of propane at that temperature. A 12 litre fill will be overfilling.

For reference, their butane SG is 0.575, at the same temperature see HERE.


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## campertwo (Nov 18, 2015)

Cornishaich said:


> I have recently fitted a single 6 kilo refillable from Gasit at a cost of £205 + £12 for a hole saw. Filling it up cost me £6.80 as opposed to £23 for a 6 kilo Calor lite. As a 6kilo lite last three weeks on average when away, it won't take too long to get a return on my investment. I also have the convenience of not bothering with foreign bottles when in Europe. I carry a a 6 kilo Calor lite as a backup.




Exactly what we did! Fitted 2 Gaslow 6kg in the locker with external fill pipe. Some stations here & abroad won't let you fill directly to the bottles. Now it costs only around £5 to fill up each bottle!
If abroad just carry the european adaptors. Job done! :dance:


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## Tbear (Nov 18, 2015)

vwalan said:


> not all tanks etc do have 80% cut off s. some have liquid bleed off valves . i have a few calor tanks with them .
> my house main tank as bleed off as well.
> filling adaptors have been around for 40 yrs that i know of . most only got to know of it on ebay. but folk have been filling bottles for years .
> the pump pressure should let the pump switch off at 90% if its working properly.
> even calor put more than that into house tanks when they deliver. and have been for years .



Now Alan, your house tank does not move and slosh around much though does it and the feed pipe to the house forms a bigger expansion vessel than the average length of pipe in a van.

Richard


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## RoaminRog (Nov 18, 2015)

Whilst I know that some people get away with using the Calor adapters, as I understand it, the garage allowing you to use them are very likely to lose their concession.
Do look into GAS IT, it is well worth it. After you have forgotten how much you paid for it, you can travel all over Europe without a care in the world and paying a pittance for gas. eg. Luxenburg .49 euros/litre, about 34p.
By the time you get to this stage, you will realise what an absolute rip-off the Calor exchange system is.
Every time that you exchange a Calor bottle, you are paying somewhere in the region of £20 on top of the cost of gas, for the privilage.
As I mentioned in a previous post, full members of this forum can claim 5% off the purchase price, but they do check that you are in fact a full member.
Regards Rog.


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## bartman (Nov 18, 2015)

Another vote for Gas-it. I went for twin 6kg with external fill this year. I quite look forward to filling up now, knowing how much I used to pay for Calor!
The other advantage, apart from cost and easier European touring, is the fact that you can top up whenever you want, you don't have to empty a cylinder to exchange it, hoping you don't use up all of your second one before you can do so.
Gas-it equipment is cheaper than Gaslow equivalent too.


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Nov 18, 2015)

Just trying to get my head around this GAS IT, and is it worth my while,

the price up here is around 75/80p Per Ltr for LPG at a filling station

I have meantime 2 calor btls,  1 6kg and 1 13kg, the 6 is £20.25 and the 13 is £26.25, but I`m not sure what price that would make the Calor per Ltr.

Also, it sounds like it is illegal to fill bottles for cooking/heating as opposed to filling your vehicle fuel tank, hence the best way is to have an external fill so it looks like your filling the vehicle.

I might eventually venture over the channel, but mostly will be around scotland, would it be worth my while swapping over or would it take forever to regain the cost of the new system, we use gas for heating, cooking and the BBQ, and go away around 5 weeks a year and a weekend per month.

Or how much is the Calor per litre I`m buying just now and I`ll work it out out. Cheers.


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## whitevanwoman (Nov 18, 2015)

In Cumbria £30 odd is about right for 15kg calor, I pay £36 for the 15kg butane bottle for calor heater in my house at local garage. It's maybe a few quid cheaper at Go Outdoors with membership card but its a 40 mile round trip to the nearest (no mains gas in the village).

I wouldn't want to be messing around using LPG to refill in the van and don't travel abroad so I just bite the bullet and pay a rather expensive £16 for 3.9kg calor propane for the van but it lasts me 3 weeks of continual living in the van in winter (camping stove double burner used for cooking and heating). Last year I only used 1 bottle between May and October so the annual cost is not too bad over all, maybe 6 bottles per year, so approx £100 gas per year. I probably spend about 75% of the year in my van. Am currently spending about half the week in the van and current 3.9kg bottle has lasted a month so far. In remote areas, much easier to find somewhere to swop a calor bottle than it is to find a garage selling LPG.


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## Captain Biggles (Nov 19, 2015)

*Go GAS-IT, you will not regret your choice....*



Johnnygm7lsi said:


> Just trying to get my head around this GAS IT, and is it worth my while,
> 
> the price up here is around 75/80p Per Ltr for LPG at a filling station
> 
> ...



GAS-IT, well, excellent Company, and I am not easy to please, most helpful, ordered the cylinder with associated ironmongery and it arrived suitably packed by Courier within 24 hrs. Having got over the 'am I sure that I can cut a hole in the side of my Motorhome without a major disaster' syndrome it was all down hill.

You simply fit it & forget it, you then have the luxury of filling-up at the cheapest garages, when you want to and basically you'll never run out, I also keep plumbed in a standard gas bottle for emergencies, but basically it couldn't be simpler. My drilled hole required for mounting the filler on the motorhome exterior near the Gas Locker, is actually round and resembles a circular hole, so there, house points there for me :dance:

As an aside, if you're thinking of going anywhere near the 'Outer Hebrides', as of this past summer there were only 2 LPG fill-up Garages, both in Stornaway and only a stones throw from one another, 1 Garage LPG was defective and therefore couldn't supply, I think the other knew as the price that they were charging was verging on the criminal. Fill-up before you leave the mainland.

      Captain Biggles      lane:


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## Tbear (Nov 19, 2015)

Johnnygm7lsi said:


> Just trying to get my head around this GAS IT, and is it worth my while,
> 
> the price up here is around 75/80p Per Ltr for LPG at a filling station
> 
> ...



It all depends on how much gas do you use. Charge yourself £2.00 per Kg for cylinder and 70p per kg for refillable. You seem to be paying a lot where you are and you will be able to fill up on your travels. Work it out for both systems over a period of a couple of years. Personally, it would take me far too long to make it worth while but if you are winter camping with a family taking lots of showers???

Richard


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## bilbao camper (Nov 19, 2015)

Here in Spain i pay 11.16euro for a 12kg bottle of propane thats 23.52 litres=0.49euro per litre which is 35p


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## Steve121 (Nov 19, 2015)

n brown said:


> Join GoOutdoors for a fiver and get your gas there
> 
> don;t use camping gaz,keep as backup only,unless you're rich



Depends how much gas you use. A 907 bottle, for which I pay £19 for the gas _and_ bottle, lasts us over a year. That works out at less than 37p per week.


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## vwalan (Nov 19, 2015)

Steve121 said:


> Depends how much gas you use. A 907 bottle, for which I pay £19 for the gas _and_ bottle, lasts us over a year. That works out at less than 37p per week.



and only a quid or less if in morocco. 
i still say big bottles are best i changed a flo gas 19kg just before coming away for 27and a few bits . 
Propane Gas Cylinders Archives - Gasdeals
i got my local flo gas depot to under cut them . but gas deals direct deliver as well.


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## Robmac (Nov 19, 2015)

Steve121 said:


> Depends how much gas you use. A 907 bottle, for which I pay £19 for the gas _and_ bottle, lasts us over a year. That works out at less than 37p per week.



I'm with Brownie, 6kg costs £18 from Go Outdoors and you just exchange the bottle each time.

However, at 37p per week, not worth worrying about, but a heavier user would notice the difference.


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## RoaminRog (Nov 20, 2015)

Unfortunately, not all of us spend a lot of time in Spain, and we don't have the benefit of continental prices. I am quite sure that in Spain, they give away a bottle of gas when you buy a packet of Cornflakes, BUT over here they don't, and as with everything else over here they use every opportunity they can to rip us off. 
Yesterday, I topped my Gas It system up, and paid 61.9p per litre, which is slightly expensive but bearable.
If I had a 6kg refillable Gas It bottle, I would have paid £7.42 from empty. A Calor exchange would by comparison, have been £20.25
I have two 11kg refillables, and from absolutely empty they would cost inro £26 to fill. (at 61.9p/litre)

Calor do not do 11kg bottles, so there is no direct comparison, which is why I have used the 6kg bottles to compare.

Hope this helps.


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## vwalan (Nov 20, 2015)

RoaminRog said:


> Unfortunately, not all of us spend a lot of time in Spain, and we don't have the benefit of continental prices. I am quite sure that in Spain, they give away a bottle of gas when you buy a packet of Cornflakes, BUT over here they don't, and as with everything else over here they use every opportunity they can to rip us off.
> Yesterday, I topped my Gas It system up, and paid 61.9p per litre, which is slightly expensive but bearable.
> If I had a 6kg refillable Gas It bottle, I would have paid £7.42 from empty. A Calor exchange would by comparison, have been £20.25
> I have two 11kg refillables, and from absolutely empty they would cost inro £26 to fill. (at 61.9p/litre)
> ...



but when in uk use gas deals direct , good prices .
and get a bigger gas locker fitted so larger bottles fit . 
in a lifetime you might never get your outlay back if buying refillable bottles compared to their prices . 
Affordable cylinder gas solutions for any application - Gasdeals
have a look see the good uk prices you can get.


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## Tbear (Nov 20, 2015)

RoaminRog said:


> Unfortunately, not all of us spend a lot of time in Spain, and we don't have the benefit of continental prices. I am quite sure that in Spain, they give away a bottle of gas when you buy a packet of Cornflakes, BUT over here they don't, and as with everything else over here they use every opportunity they can to rip us off.
> Yesterday, I topped my Gas It system up, and paid 61.9p per litre, which is slightly expensive but bearable.
> If I had a 6kg refillable Gas It bottle, I would have paid £7.42 from empty. A Calor exchange would by comparison, have been £20.25
> I have two 11kg refillables, and from absolutely empty they would cost inro £26 to fill. (at 61.9p/litre)
> ...



But it is well over £300.00 (£334.00 basic twin 11Kg) to get a kit from Gas It as opposed to £10.00 at your local recycle centre for a couple of Calor cylinders which may well have gas in them. I am a low volume user so would never recoup the difference.

Richard


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## Deadsfo (Nov 20, 2015)

Tbear said:


> But it is well over £300.00 (£334.00 basic twin 11Kg) to get a kit from Gas It as opposed to £10.00 at your local recycle centre for a couple of Calor cylinders which may well have gas in them. I am a low volume user so would never recoup the difference.
> 
> Richard



not everything is about getting your money back, I just did'nt have the space for a gas bottles storage inside, so went for an underslung tank about £350ish


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## Tezza33 (Nov 20, 2015)

swiftcamper said:


> Yes that is why I have never understood those that say you need refillable cylinders such as gas it for going abroad, gas in bottles so much easier to find and cheap.


Which is correct unless like me you don't stick to one Country, I might be in six or seven different Countries on my travels so I cannot carry bottles for every one of them, it isn't just about the cost it is the convenience, my underslung tank was fitted 10yrs ago and it has paid for itself three times over


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## Tbear (Nov 21, 2015)

Deadsfo said:


> not everything is about getting your money back, I just did'nt have the space for a gas bottles storage inside, so went for an underslung tank about £350ish



Very true. Customer satisfaction is very important when you are talking about your leisure time but my comment was aimed at a discussion about cost so value for money seemed relevant.

Richard


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## SteveB48 (Nov 21, 2015)

One of the reasons we wanted refillable is no more lugging gas cylinders around and trying to lift them four feet off the floor into a locker designed by some sadistic devil who would love you to get a hernia!
We found a used Gaslow cylinder in a local caravan dealer, cost £65.00, bought the bits and installed it, it had gas in already. After a trip to Yorkshire we put gas in, it took less than £5.50, and despite using it for heating, cooking and hot water for around eight weeks total we haven't put any more gas in and the gauge still shows full (we haven't been out much this year due to moving house). 
If you're over fifty or so refillable must be the way to go, unless you're into weightlifting. 
Only problem is, how much longer will log be available in a diesel-dominated market?


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## Tezza33 (Nov 21, 2015)

SteveB48 said:


> Only problem is, how much longer will log be available in a diesel-dominated market?


I presume you meant LPG not log but even if fuel stations stop selling it (which I doubt, some might stop but the rest will then get new customers so it would be profitable) I would imagine you could still fill up somewhere


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## Deadsfo (Nov 21, 2015)

Tbear said:


> Very true. Customer satisfaction is very important when you are talking about your leisure time but my comment was aimed at a discussion about cost so value for money seemed relevant.
> 
> Richard



Agreed


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## Deadsfo (Nov 21, 2015)

tezza33 said:


> I presume you meant LPG not log but even if fuel stations stop selling it (which I doubt, some might stop but the rest will then get new customers so it would be profitable) I would imagine you could still fill up somewhere



I fill up at an independent supplier who's main customers are those who have free standing room heaters ,so they deliver to them, I'm sure there are lots of companies in other parts of the country like this.I drive in they fill it up for me and the price is competitive .


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Nov 21, 2015)

So does anybody know how many litres I am getting in my 13KG calor propane bottle, still trying to work out if its worth me getting refillable bottles, on another forum it stated there was 26 litres in a 13kg, so at £26.25 its costing me about £1.00 per litre,


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## n brown (Nov 21, 2015)

Johnnygm7lsi said:


> So does anybody know how many litres I am getting in my 13KG calor propane bottle, still trying to work out if its worth me getting refillable bottles, on another forum it stated there was 26 litres in a 13kg, so at £26.25 its costing me about £1.00 per litre,


 LPG Conversion Values: kg, Litres, MJ, kWh & m³ | ELGAS - LPG Gas for Home & Business


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## Obanboy666 (Nov 21, 2015)

Johnnygm7lsi said:


> So does anybody know how many litres I am getting in my 13KG calor propane bottle, still trying to work out if its worth me getting refillable bottles, on another forum it stated there was 26 litres in a 13kg, so at £26.25 its costing me about £1.00 per litre,



Yes, 26 litres is near enough correct.
I use my local Calor depot for refilling my 2 X 6kg refillables, virtually 1/2 price versus 6kg exchange cylinders.
Apart from the cheaper lpg its much easier than changing cylinders especially if like my motorhome you had to remove the front cylinder to get to the rear one.


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Nov 22, 2015)

n brown said:


> LPG Conversion Values: kg, Litres, MJ, kWh & m³ | ELGAS - LPG Gas for Home & Business



Cheers Mr Brown


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## Seannachie (Nov 22, 2015)

Johnnygm7lsi said:


> So does anybody know how many litres I am getting in my 13KG calor propane bottle, still trying to work out if its worth me getting refillable bottles, on another forum it stated there was 26 litres in a 13kg, so at £26.25 its costing me about £1.00 per litre,



The figures you refer to are not quite accurate - see my post above (Page 4, No. 35): 

The specific gravity of Calor propane according to Section 9.1 of their HSE Data Sheet is 0.512 at 15 degrees Celsius, so a 13kG cylinder filled to the recommended 80% maximum safe fill actually contains 25.39 litres of gas at that temperature, not 26 litres.

If you follow the advice I gave in post #3 (page 1) and buy from Go Outdoors using a C&CC discount in addition to Go Outdoors' own membership card discount a 13 Kg cylinder of propane will currently cost you £21.26, (i.e. a total 19% discount off the full retail price of £26.25 - see here), the actual cost per litre is £21.26/25.39 litres = £0.84p per litre. However, according to THIS SITE the average weekly price per litre of lpg in filling stations has only fallen below 60p per litre in the last few months, giving a maximum saving, at best, of around 25p per litre over buying your gas from Go Outdoors (I'm not connected to or with that company, BTW). So, given the cost of fitting a refillable system will be anything from £300 - £600 depending whether you go for a single or twin cylinder system, the break-even point will occur only after you've used around 1200 litres (at the lower install figure), but only you know how long it would take you to use 1200 litres of propane (and whether you would still own your van at the end of that time).

Another thing which most folk who fit refillable cylinders omit to mention is that Gaslow recommend that to comply with safety regulations their refillable cylinders are replaced after 10 years - which is why they give a discount for replacements - and I have no reason to believe that this safety requirement does not apply to other makes of refillable cylinders or tanks. This replacement cost should also be factored into your calculations.

For me, living on a budget, the cost of refillables is simply not justifiable, so I'm prepared to keep humping my propane from Go Outdoors, unless I go to France where I use Intermarche's own brand of gas cylinder  as it's the cheapest I've found and available almost everywhere (9Kg propane - the biggest I can get in my gas-locker) cost me £16.29 for exchange in June this year). Note that you don't need a French address to buy it, there's no paperwork involved, unlike with Calor, and the 'consigne' - deposit - on the first bottle is only €1 which you never have to pay again.

HTH.


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Nov 22, 2015)

Seannachie said:


> The figures you refer to are not quite accurate - see my post above (Page 4, No. 35):
> 
> The specific gravity of Calor propane according to Section 9.1 of their HSE Data Sheet is 0.512 at 15 degrees Celsius, so a 13kG cylinder filled to the recommended 80% maximum safe fill actually contains 25.39 litres of gas at that temperature, not 26 litres.
> 
> ...



Thanks for going to all that trouble mate, interesting reading, at my rate of around 2 maybe 3 cylinders a year it would take me years to even break even, only advantage would be the humping, (Don`t do so much of that now LOL) and I`m sure someone at where we get our gas would assist. But if you have plenty funds and not a grip, the convenience would certainly be attractive, thanks again, Johnny.


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## Admin (Nov 22, 2015)

Just a bit to add to this debate.

In Birmingham LPG can be purchased for as little as 43p per litre.
For me to visit go outdoors would cost money in fuel which I would not spend if I topped up with gas whilst refuelling my van.
To get the C,C&C or CC discount requires a membership to these clubs. 
My van only carries one bottle, I do not have space to carry another one. Being able to top up before the bottle is empty saves me returning bottles that still have gas in.

Really the convenience  of being able to top up and know I have a full bottle far out weighs the cost of the kit, and in any cause the cost will be recovered after a couple of years.


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## maxi77 (Nov 22, 2015)

Seannachie said:


> The figures you refer to are not quite accurate - see my post above (Page 4, No. 35):
> 
> The specific gravity of Calor propane according to Section 9.1 of their HSE Data Sheet is 0.512 at 15 degrees Celsius, so a 13kG cylinder filled to the recommended 80% maximum safe fill actually contains 25.39 litres of gas at that temperature, not 26 litres.
> 
> ...



Dont know how close your nearest Go Outdoors shop is but the round trip for me eats up all the savings you make from your discounts, which you omit include their costs in your sums. Like most with installed gas I top up when getting fuel so no extra costs involved. I am happy my installation has paid for itself, with a good few years before the need to update bottles. The downside of course is the upfront cost but there is the benefit of being able to top up a partly full tank when convenient. I certainly do not regret spending the money


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## Seannachie (Nov 22, 2015)

maxi77 said:


> Dont know how close your nearest Go Outdoors shop is but the round trip for me eats up all the savings you make from your discounts, which you omit include their costs in your sums. Like most with installed gas I top up when getting fuel so no extra costs involved. I am happy my installation has paid for itself, with a good few years before the need to update bottles. The downside of course is the upfront cost but there is the benefit of being able to top up a partly full tank when convenient. I certainly do not regret spending the money



I factored in those costs, but they are negligible as the nearest shop is only a couple of hundred yards away, and so I'd still need to use over 200 cylinders' worth to break even on the price of a fixed installation, which excludes the costs of replacing the fixed cylinders every 10 years. At the rate I use gas it would take me over 15 years just to recoup the initial capital outlay.

Your decision may be fine for you, but it is not for everyone - and neither is mine, so it boils down to individual choices. All I did was give some figures to someone who asked for them.


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