A rant about gas hoses.

[ProDave]

Our demountable camper unit is 3 years old. The very last thing I expected to be doing on a 3 year old unit is checking the gas hoses, they won't be more than 3 years old will they?

But on last checking the cylinder contents (I take it out to weigh it) the hose was clearly perished and the outer layer was cracking.

So I bought a new one, that arrived with a 2026 date code (bought on line to ensure good stock turnover, not the dusty old looking one in the local caravan shop) and fitted it. All is well and now safe.

But the old hose has a date code of 14/11 which I read as November 2014, i.e. nearly 12 years old.

Who would fit a 10 year old hose, thus saving themselves £10.99 when they have just spent £50K on a new camper?

The rant is the aparently bonkers UK system where the camper is sold without the hose from the bulkhead regulator to the gas cylinder and the user has to fit that, and in this case the cheapskate fitted an old one.

Moral of story, don't assume things are as new as you think they ought to be.

 

[V1nny]

Our demountable camper unit is 3 years old. The very last thing I expected to be doing on a 3 year old unit is checking the gas hoses, they won't be more than 3 years old will they?

But on last checking the cylinder contents (I take it out to weigh it) the hose was clearly perished and the outer layer was cracking.

So I bought a new one, that arrived with a 2026 date code (bought on line to ensure good stock turnover, not the dusty old looking one in the local caravan shop) and fitted it. All is well and now safe.

But the old hose has a date code of 14/11 which I read as November 2014, i.e. nearly 12 years old.

Who would fit a 10 year old hose, thus saving themselves £10.99 when they have just spent £50K on a new camper?

The rant is the aparently bonkers UK system where the camper is sold without the hose from the bulkhead regulator to the gas cylinder and the user has to fit that, and in this case the cheapskate fitted an old one.

Moral of story, don't assume things are as new as you think they ought to be.

I viewed a Laika motorhome for sale back in May, and when I checked the tyre codes, the tyres were two years older than the year of registration.

 

[Nabsim]

I viewed a Laika motorhome for sale back in May, and when I checked the tyre codes, the tyres were two years older than the year of registration.

My coach built was registered in January 2007 but the chassis cab rolled off the production line in June 2005. I would think it's fairly normal you could have a discrepancy on tyre ages on a new van.

 

[r4dent]

I upgraded my gas hoses to stainless with a life of upto 20 years.

 

[marchie]

Practical advice would be to avoid having the pipe anywhere near the cassette, because, as the proverb [almost] has it, 'People who have gas hoses shouldn't stow near thrones' ...

Steve

 

[ProDave]

I upgraded my gas hoses to stainless with a life of upto 20 years.

Doesn't that just mean you won't see the rubber underneath cracking so won't worry about it until you smell gas?

My 12 year old one was not yet leaking but it was certainly cracking so on it's way to perishing.

 

[Wooie1958]

We was recently in a local caravan and motorhome dealer to get some items from the shop and they were having 2 brand new Swift Trekker 594 motorhomes on a lowloader, after parking we had to walk past it so i glanced at the DOT on them which relates to the U.S. saftey standards.

0725 on a motorhomes that would then sit on a dealer forecourt in full sunshine and have a price tag of nearly £90,000 is not acceptable in my mind.

They would obviously be nice and shiny when it's eventually bought so most people would be oblivious to this and if questioned the dealer would explain the vehicle is brand new so no worries.

 

[trevskoda]

My bus was bought by english council in 1997 but was not reg untill 2000, so origanal tyres could have been on 3 years before it hit the road as a libery bus.

 

[r4dent]

Doesn't that just mean you won't see the rubber underneath cracking so won't worry about it until you smell gas?

My 12 year old one was not yet leaking but it was certainly cracking so on it's way to perishing.

They claim 20 years for the pipe, not just the shield. Maybe the shield protects the rubber from sun light, maybe different rubber compound,

 

[marchie]

They claim 20 years for the pipe, not just the shield. Maybe the shield protects the rubber from sun light, maybe different rubber compound,

I'm sure that Charlie [Autoleisure/Gas-It] posted some 'Horror Pictures of the week' of lpg installations that he and his team had seen recently; IIRC, it was around the time that he posted that Morrisons had accepted the lobbying to allow M/Home lpg refills for installations with external refill valves. As part of the summary of the successful lobbying, Charlie said that steel-braided pipes were built to withstand the flexing [having posted a photo of one that used the gas cupboard door as a refill point, with a comment [sic] 'not even a steel-braided pipe would cope with that!'] and should last to the pipe's expiry date, but it's still wise to check periodically and get professional advice if there's a hint of leakage and/or corrosion - in other words, 'use your common sense' ...

Steve

 

[ProDave]

I just checked my LPG hoses at the house bottles, they are dated 2018 and exposed to the weather, but not a sign of any cracks appearing anywhere yet. I guess unlike caravan ones, they rarely get flexed, it's less than once a year we change cylinders at home.

 

[Geek]

I viewed a Laika motorhome for sale back in May, and when I checked the tyre codes, the tyres were two years older than the year of registration.

Makes sense. The tyres were made before the base vehicle was made: probably six months earlier.
The base vehicle was made, shipped to the motorhome assembler and kept in stock for maybe six months or more.
Some base vehicle suppliers used to deliver them early and not want paying until the motorhome was built, so there was no rush! I doubt that's still true, though.
The finished motorhome was shipped to the retailer and stood on sale for a few more months.
They a buyer came along, and the 'brand new' motorhome was first registered in their name.
You're doing quite well starting with two year old tyres on a new motorhome.

 

[Geek]

I just checked my LPG hoses at the house bottles, they are dated 2018 and exposed to the weather, but not a sign of any cracks appearing anywhere yet. I guess unlike caravan ones, they rarely get flexed, it's less than once a year we change cylinders at home.

My built-in generator runs on lpg, fed at tank pressure.

In 2019 the generator box needed replacing and when I took the generator out, I discovered it was fed through a once-flexible hose, which would have been 20 years old by then.

Stiff and solid, the hose had surface cracks but wasn't leaking at all.

It had never had to flex: just cope with movement from the vibration-absorbing rubber mounts - which had also gome solid