Lpg capacity.

tailgate

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In our van we have 2 x 6kg refillable gasit bottles this being the most we can fit in the gas cupboard.
This limits us as to the amount of time we can stay on rallys and meets in colder weather. We have Alde heating which can use a lot of gas.

Any easy ideas or solutions as to how we can safely increase our lpg capacity.it's a swift bolero so no garage.

Cheers in advance
 
as spigot says with an underslung tank you gain a nice storage cupboard and if you sell on your set up shouldn’t cost too much, gas it do the tanks don’t know whether they wil do a trade in worth asking they may at least be able to use regulator etc,
 
As well you cold use a Gaslow reserve tank connecting hose that connects via the fill point.
 
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spigot said:
Get an Autogas underslung tank, job done!
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There could well be little room available underneath. I was going to go down that route but the biggest they could get under ours was about 23ltr. So no gain unless you coupled into the existing bottles. Then it becomes a Payload trade off.
 
rugbyken said:
as spigot says with an underslung tank you gain a nice storage cupboard and if you sell on your set up shouldn’t cost too much, gas it do the tanks don’t know whether they wil do a trade in worth asking they may at least be able to use regulator etc,
Click to expand...

Or, keep the 6kg bottles in situ, and Have an underslung tank fitted. Autogas 2000 fitted a 20ltr unit on my van to work in conjunction with the 6kg bottle in the gas cupboard. If your Alde heating uses a lot of gas this may be the answer.

Or, if you have the space underneath the van to fit a massive tank, say 50 litres, do as Ken suggests & flog your system & free up some cupboard space.
 
Our Hymer has a 44ltr tank factory fitted in a locker. All the original fittings are still in the gas locker and usable and a bottle can be used at any time if needed although with the 44 ltr tank more has never been needed
 
So - asking the daft questions as I like to do....

What rate are you using gas at?

We have a 25l underslung tank, which means 20l of lpg. For reasons best known to (well I don't know) we tend to do most of our camping in the wintery months, so propex and oven (baked tatties, etc) get a fair hammering.

Don't do that much compared to most here, maybe 4-5 weeks a year in the van, but the tank lasts us a couple of years per refill.

So surprised that a couple of 6l tanks would see you struggle at a rally.

I'm aware I insulated the hell out of my van when converting it, so that's gonna be an element, but it still seems like a lot of gas to be getting through.
 
I agree, it does seem a lot of gas. I've also got 2 x 6kg refillables and don't even get through a single bottle at a winter meet. My MH is a Compass, coming up for 13 years old, so not the best insulation on the market but I don't stint on the cooking or heating, etc. If I had the same problem, I'd definitely add an underslung tank and compensate as best I could re payload by ditching some stuff I really don't need... bringing far less clothes would help me for sure :raofl: :rolleyes2:
 
Had the same problem when we had a Bollero. The 6Kg bottles did not last long during the winter months. Managed to get one large refillable in and a small one as a reserve but I had to sit it on a box so it fitted right up at the top where the big bottle started to round off. Think Swift still think of them as Caravans and that people only ever go on sites which is also why they have that stupid one electric ring on the cooker.
 
Alde heating is brilliant just uses lots of gas if you want a lot of heat.

Most of the time we manage ok it's just that if it's really cold we want to be ok without worrying if we will run out.

We've got 2 115 amp batteries and 320 watt of solar panels so we are ok for power .

Like just said swift have a very small gas cupboard should have been like autotrail that take 2 x 11kg bottles
 
Always think it's interesting that for the 'insulation/heating' ratings of motorhomes they are basically just testing the heaters. How quick you can get the van from a cold soak up to temp, and then how well it maintains the temperature with the heater on when in a cold chamber.

Surely to test the insulation, they'd then shut off the heater and see how quickly the internal temperature dropped back down. I guess it's probably easier to just whack a bigger heater in.

By the testing standards used you could probably stick a patio heater in a convertible and get a grade 3 rating.
 
hairydog said:
No, definitely not. The only way to test this insulation is to measure how much heat input is needed to maintain a constant temperature differential with the outside. In a good test, that would be in a medium breeze, not in still air.

However, it is also a valid test to measure how quickly the heating can bring the van up to temperature: that is a real-world scenario.

Turning the heat off and seeing how fast the van cools is a test both of insulation and of thermal mass. That combination is not a useful measure. That's the stupid way they assess TOG ratings for duvets: a test designed by someone who doesn't understand thermodynamics. I'm not sure it's my strong point either: my thermodynamics tutor was the dullest lecturer I have ever suffered!
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Have to disagree there (no offence meant). Also studied thermodynamics at university, and whilst there's a lot of elements to take account of, I think for something like a motorhome you can go with relatively simple theory.

You can maintain a constant differential with almost no insulation and a large enough heat source/driver. The insulation comes into effect in trying to achieve that economically, with less heat input, so less lpg.

Edit:- as with my ****** post, I'm very drunk but love everybody. So if anyone is upset have a kiss froM me.
 
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For the meet at Moffat in my 7M van with Truma blown air heating on most of the time I used 16.07litres of gas. Filled up on way there on Thursday pm and refilled at same pump on Sunday noon(ish).
Its not the gas usage thats the problem with blown air systems its the 12v pump.
My problem is getting my head round filling up in litres and discussing tank capacities in kilos.
 
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