Calorlite in stock but not allowed to be sold!
Just can't believe this!
im keen to get a second bottle of calor lite as its so hard to get hold of I'm worried if my gas runs out during my next trip away I won't be able to swap the bottle. So thought it much more sensible to have two bottles in the locker and with a nose weight
allowance of 75kg think I need the lite bottle.
rang round a few places, found somewhere with it in stock. Drove over there and they say they can only do swaps they're not allowed to do new hire agreements. They rang the local calor centre to check. I rang the local calor place while still there to
plead with them and they said no chance. They're reserving any bottles for existing customers. I pointed out I am am existing customer who was affected by the recall. Lost money by having to buy a butane bottle when I couldn't get a calor lite or even a
normal propane bottle last year. I took that bottle back and only got half my money back!
so choice now is to go on holiday and hope I don't run out while away. Or if I do run out that I can find a calor lite bottle to swap at a place near holiday location. Or take back a bottle with gas in now and swap for a full bottle but lose money on taking
a non empty bottle back.
Bloke on the phone reckons there will be 40,000 lite bottles in the country in two weeks time....apparantly they're on a ship heading this way and then need to be tested and distributed. Caravan shop laughed and said they'll believe it when they see it!
Comments
-
Do they have the same connector? I wouldn't be very confident changing hoses over.
0 -
I stopped useing anything by Calor years ago when they bad mouthed BP for dareing to put a lite bottle on the market
and stopped
our locol caravan dealers from selling the BP product by threatening too boycott them in the future and remove the calor franchise.The same year i attended the CC national rally and on seeing a calor stall i wasted no time in telling them what i thought of
them.Calor have a poor approach too business IMO.v9
0 -
Ive just sent Calor a very snotty email.
0 -
I just checked the Homebase website and it's actually called Gaslight Propane. So inasmuch as it's propane I imagine the connector would be the same. Maybe someone with more knowledge will advise soon. I know butane is a different connector.
0 -
Ok slightly off topic, but I have now swapped over to a 10kg BP Gaslight bottle from carrying two 6kg standard red propane bottles, a saving of 16kg in the front locker. Needed to buy a 27mm snap on pigtail adaptor and a new 450mm hose to my bulkhead regulator.
Plus freed up some space in the front locker to add that weight saving again
0 -
I'm very tempted by the Bp bottles. Looks like I would need to order a 27mm adapter and the bottle, work out how to fit it and good to go. Does the base of the BP bottle fit in the gas bottle moulding in the front locker?
0 -
Thanks Dave.
0 -
I'm not very confident swapping pigtails over, I'd worry Id forget what to do. I worry enough about just swapping a bottle over.
Last time it took me ages as I was trying to spanner the wrong part of the gas bottle! And when I attached my old butane bottle I couldnt get it to work after it was attached and had to go and ask people for help.
0 -
it looks like Gaslight bottles have a 27mm 'clip' fitting.
an adaptor for this bottle with have a 21.8 mm LH threaded std 'butane' female fitting, as in Dave's photo.
most users with a reasonably modern van will have a bulkhead mounted regulator with a hose attached that terminates at the other end in a UK propane POL 'bullet shaped' fitting.
this is not compatible with the 'butane' fitting so, to connect the regulator to this fitting you will need to do one of two things.....
1. discard your current UK 'propane' hose and get a new 'butane' hose, again, as in Dave's photo. this will allow the direct conmection to the Gaslight 'clip' fitting. the advantage of this method is that any other continental
adaptor (french, spanish) can be connected directly to allow use there if on an extended stay and the uk bottle expires......2. obtain a 'propane to butane' adaptor (gaslow and others sell them) which will turn your current hose into 'butane' fitting and can then connect directly to the 'clip' fitting. similarly, with this adaptor in place, any other
continental adaptors can be fitted if desired as the 21.8 LH thread is the european std that all adaptors fit into.so, change the hose completely, or convert the propane one with an adaptor....either way, the clip adaptor still has to be used to convert 21.8 LH to the Gaslight fitment.
sounds confusing but is actually straightforward when you realise why the fitments are required....
good luck.
0 -
Philippa with all that rigmarole have you thought of Safefil - plenty for sale at Brayford Caravans last week - but don't fill them there! Up the road in Welton is much cheaper and they do it for you. I have a gaslow pigtail on mine - with a valve that
is hand turned - no spanner involved making life much easier. You can see the gas level so just pop it out before it is near running out and refil it. It doesn't take long to recoup the investment. Far less hassle than looking for Calorlites they won't
sell!0 -
pippa, no rigmarole, just looks long winded when you write it down, which is necessary for a novice who will only have qustions if the advice is 'just buy an adaptor'...
...there are scores of adaptors and hose types around and if you dont know what hose fittings you have, nor what you are trying to connect to, there will just be more questions....
agreed, safefill is certainly an option, but even just mentioning changing the existing POL pigtail for a similar one but with a hand turn wheel will send shivers up the spine of a complete novice....and sound like a rigmarole to them.
considering the 'lite' bottles are aimed at the caravan market (along with other uses) im surprised that these arent fitted with a std POL fitting if they contain Propane.
....then
they could be swapped withput the rigmarole of changing the hose or buying adaptors....perhaps this is exactly why?0 -
Pippah, ive certainly thought about Safefill. But it's quite a bit of outlay however my main concern is what if it becomes the Betamax of the gas bottle world? It doesn't seem to be taking off and if the garage at Welton shuts down there don't appear to
be many places where you can fill up.ive put some wanted ads on some local Facebook groups for an empty bottle, so keeping my fingers crossed.
otherwise I will have to make a decision as to whether I go with Safefill or the BP gas. Calor havent replied yet!
0 -
I do have a butane hose. So if I get the BP gaslight and the 27mm fitting I can have a go at fitting it. Gaslight is propane though isn't it?? I do caravan in cold weather.
0 -
phillippa, the term 'butane hose' just means one with the 21.8 mm LH thread male nut at one end (normal regulator nut at the other)....
its called this as its the default fitting for continental butane (and confusingly now some continental propane) bottles.
so, yes, with the clip you should be set up for Gaslite.
however, if your current bottle is just about empty (the reason for your concern about supply) why not just swap now for a full calor lite one?
youll have sufficient gas then....and later ypu can source a second one at your leisure....
as the Calor lite has a POL fitting (?) why would you have a butane hose....unless it has the POL adaptor attached to it or its a spare that you had for a different bottle previously?
0 -
Yes it's a spare hose ive had from an old butane bottle which ironically I had to buy when I couldn't get any propane either normal or lite!
i think my calor lite is about a third full. I guess I could swap it for a full one but I'm annoyed I have to lose gas that ive paid for! The plan was to have two bottles and then when one is empty plenty of time to find a replacement.
im going away for 10 days later this month, on ehu but not sure I will last the ten days With what I have left.
0 -
depends what you use your gas for....cooking?
heat and hot water likely to be electric if on ehu.
so, only you know how long it will last.
swapping when there is still gas in the bottle is annoying but one of the downsides of the 'swap' model...
we have Gaslow refilables with continental adaptors....left the rip off calor prices behind years ago....
same system now in third different van....
0 -
I'd buy a Safefil if I were you I've got just about everything, Calorlite, Gaslite and Flogas bottles but I'm still going to buy a Safefil. It uses exactly the same connection as Calorlite and Flogas so there is no worry about changeing pigtails and there
is no worry about them being like Betamax, they use exactly the same filler as is used on cars that have gas conversions so you will be able to re-fill at loads of places. There is a thread for where to go to fill Safefil somewhere on this forum as some
garages are not that confident about allowing people to re-fill bottles but safefil are gradually geting the word around and more and more garages are coming on line all the time.0 -
I forgot to say the big plus of Safefil, apart from being able to re-fill at loads of garages, is that a re-fill costs about £7 rather than £20+ for the medium size, I think it is 7Kg, bottle, though you have the choice of 10 7 or 5 when you buy your bottle.
0 -
Philippa - you can fill them at Brayford but they are more expensive than Welton - also a CL not far away too - not to mention the map for places on your travels. I have the large one (but check it - might not fit your locker) and so far never had to fill except when at home. If you find a Calorlite on facebook etc it will of course save - except for the £20 to fill it up. I hope you weren't fazed by my mention of a different pigtail - bought that in Lincoln (its stainless steel which is an advantage alround) and dead simple to fit! Having said that I do find them a fiddle occasionally and I have been changing bottles for around 50 years! Mostly they go straight on but once they fiddle it seems to be one of those days! Us women can do most of the things the men do! Yay!
0 -
Well the crisis has been averted!
after weighing up all my options I decided to exchange my current bottle for a full one to ensure I didn't run out on holiday. Took it out the caravan and it seemed very heavy so brought it home and weighed it. It weighs 10.1kg, so in the six months I've
owned it including two long trips away I figure I've hardly used any gas and it will last me for ages!another caravan dealer near me will happily sell calor lite to new customers but has no stock currently. They've put my name down on a waiting list. I reckon I've got a least a year before I need to start worrying about whether or not I've found a bottle!
Thanks for all your advice.
0 -
Glad you are sorted! My consumption has risen in the last few years with more trips and more off grid. It focussed my mind about 2 years ago when I ran out in Scotland and had to get a new cylinder! But got most of my money back when it was empty.
0 -
Glad you are sorted! My consumption has risen in the last few years with more trips and more off grid. It focussed my mind about 2 years ago when I ran out in Scotland and had to get a new cylinder! But got most of my money back when
it was empty.....and not that unusual....
with bottled gas expensive and hook up included, folk will (seemingly/naturally?) keep gas usage to a minimum, but this can restrict the choice of venues...
with a cheap source of refillable gas, the reluctance to use it recedes, appliances work more efficiently and the choice of off-grid venues rises and all the cash saved from not taking up EHU options can go towards more time away...
0
