Leaky gas bottle warning
A few days ago before going away I connected a new Calor propane bottle to the van, tightening with a gas spanner as normal. Shortly after opening the bottle valve I noticed a strong smell of gas, which proved to be seeping out around the joint where the bottle valve joins the gas hose. Assuming the problem was with the hose rather than the bottle I changed the hose, but still had the leak, so the problem was with a faulty/damaged seating on the bottle valve. I took the bottle back to the garage where it was purchased, and explained that there was no leakage unless the bottle was connected to something, and could I have a replacement or refund. They just heard the words "gas leak" and asked me to leave the petrol station (with the bottle) immediately and I should contact Calor for help. I tried to contact Calor by phone and was met with the usual sequence of press this number for ................... non of the options available fitted my problem, and the last option was leave a message. No help at all. To cut a long story short I used some ptfe gas tape and reconnected the bottle, no leaks, job done. So folks, don't assume that when connecting a new bottle that it will always be a sound connection. It might be dark and raining but do a leak test before shutting the locker door.
Comments
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I have a share in a narrrowboat and in August bought a 13kg gas bottle which only lasted for 10 days - the gas bottles are located at the bow so I did not notice that it had been leaking until it ran out! There was no problem with the replacement bottle at all (a spare is carried on the opposite side of the boat). In summer they usually last for months as the calorifier heats the water so the gas is only used for cooking. It is the first time in 18 years, that I have had a problem with the gas bottles but when reading the boat log, I noted that another sharer had had a problem with a gas bottle not too long ago, as apparently the gas would not flow, even though the connected bottle was half full but when swopped, the new bottle was fine. After reading your comment, I find it rather alarming that you have had a problem as well with a Calor gas bottle and I will definitely be checking extra carefully in future when I change them on the boat and in my van.
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I had a similar event around 13 years ago. At that time we would caravan around 8 weeks and have a couple of two week holidays abroad. We carried a single 4.5kg bottle much of the time but for our 12 day December break would carry a spare having previously experienced several days power cut in sub zero temps and having to use gas to heat. A couple of days before Christmas I would change the bottle in use for a replacement, even though not empty, knowing that it would last me the rest of the year.
I did this on one occasion and the gas was gone in 2 days.
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Several years ago we had a similar problem with a smell of gas and bubbles around the join when tested with fairy liquid. You are always advised not to overtighten and I had never had an issue before. I switched bottles and everything was fine. I then reconnected the leaky one, but tightened it much more than I was comfortable with, using a large spanner rather than my normal gas one and the leak stopped. They clearly don’t check for any damage to the seating.
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Similar story happened to me.
As we were going away for quite a few weeks I decided to carry a spare 6kg propane as the current bottle was likely to run out. The spare was a full bottle recently been exchanged at our local gas supplier. During the holiday the bottle did run out so obviously it was a simple case of swapping over. However no matter how tight I made the connection the end of the pigtail was loose and gas immediately escaped.
On return home I returned the bottle to the local supplier and demonstrated the problem with my own pigtail. At first he looked at me like an idiot, but he tried and even using a brand new pigtail he couldn't make a successful connection. He said he had never seen that before.
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It’s a regular infuriating story of late I’m afraid. Any concerns/complaints are immediately met with an aversion to help followed by the blame game & then the customer being completely ignored. My last straw was with Amazon, I eventually cancelled my Amazon prime(a Herculean task in itself) followed by kindle subscription then not using Amazon at all. Do I think Mr Bezos will be troubled?-no I don’t. I do however feel more at peace with myself. I’m not a throwing good money after bad kind of person👍🏻
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The moral to the story? When you buy a bottle, test the bottle/pigtail connection with a bit of soapy water. If its a bottle for a spare, do the same and then disconnect it and put the plastic plug back in the bottle valve.
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I had a Calorlite lose all its gas over about 2/3 days once about ten years back. Calor gas prices are bad enough without it leaking away! Refillables all the way now.
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I don't use much gas, (4 x Calorlites in 8 years) but every time I have fitted a new one the only way to stop it leaking was to tighten it (a lot) with a 12" adjustable spanner. The seals have always looked OK and I have accepted this as normal.
Luckily Calor gas is fragrant enough to detect even small leaks.
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On the subject of leaking gas bottles -
https://www.calor.co.uk/recall
It is only the 4.5kg butane affected.
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Thanks for pointing out the obvious, David. That’s exactly why I added my last sentence about the recall.
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The recall (which I was posting about) is only for 4.5kg butane.
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