Gaslow
I am considering changing my gas from Calor to Gaslow with a refillable bottle any advice would be appreciated .
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Fitting a twin Gaslow system was a good move for me (about £600). Great for off-grid and continental touring use. Gas isn’t as easy to find in the UK as it was, but really not a problem with a bit of research and planning.
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Some years back we considered refillable cylinders, Safefill, but decided against for two main reasons.
Our low levels of gas use meant it would take years to see the investment returned and the lack of fill points.
In Cornwall there is a fairly new fill point closer to us-but still a 50 mile round trip-but friends who have Gaslow, and had three nearby fill points, in Basingstoke-now find all closed.
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Not sure where you are in Cornwall but you can generally get it at Cornwall Services at Roche or failing that Redruth. On either the A38 or A30 you can fill-up as you leave Devon/Cornwall. Refills aren’t that frequent so shortage of refill points isn’t a problem unless you use vast quantities of LPG. When you’re out & about just locate a convenient garage en-route and do a slight detour if necessary. The price differential between bottled and garage forecourt is considerable.
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Shell at Carkeel Services would be A&J’s nearest en route east bound or have they removed their LPG pump?
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Gaslow is designed to be a built in system. I just wondered how easy it would be to get a car with caravan attached into some filling stations? I think Kj has this system in his caravan so could probably help on that score. If you are determined to have refillable cylinders perhaps the Safefill might be better as they are not usually "built in" and can be taken to a filling station in the back of a car?
David
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Maybe, but if you can access to top up a car and caravan combo with fuel I wouldn’t expect LPG to be problematic. Not all LPG refuelling points are conventional petrol forecourts. The last place I used was in Devizes (Catleys Gas Centre), a business offering a refuelling station alongside Calor Gas and air products in addition to cabinet heaters & BBQ etc.
However, I maintain that the most compelling reason to buy a Gaslow system is continental touring equipped with the appropriate adaptors.
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I have no idea where A&J lives, but the services on top of Haldon Hill (opposite the CMC Exeter Racecourse site) would be my choice heading East on the A38.
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They’re around 20 miles east of you by road.
Trago near Newton Abbot and very close to the A38 is another.
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Yes, we do have a fixed Gaslow system, but you can also get direct fill removable Gaslow bottles.
We got our system back in 2012 so we could fill on long trips abroad, but it has been useful here too as we quite often use gas to get faster heat up with the Alde, or to supplement the 2kw electric side.
We had no problems accessing pumps abroad, and mainly OK here, only one failure so far, in Penrith where the LPG was not on the forecourt but away up the back and several parked vehicles were blocking access.
We top up when about half empty, so getting the top up is never urgent, and just do it en route between sites, which usually means little or no detour.
We do not have a forecourt with LPG near our home, but that has never been a problem as we find plenty on our travels.
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As a caravanner, noseweight is usually an issue. As already suggested, Safefill are both removable and light. A similar weight is Gasbank but these are a "plumbed in" system. A few keep a spare Calor as backup in case obtaining gas is ever problematic.
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Hi Bill, We are 25 miles from Cornwall services!
Whilst refills of a Gaslow will be more readily available, as it’s built in, the fill points for refillable cylinders, like Safefill, are apparently located where the Unicorns live!
When considering Safefill I contacted the, then, three listed suppliers in Cornwall. One had closed and the others were app 30 and 55 miles away.
I called at Trerulfoot and they confirmed they did not allow the filling of such as Safefill and their LPG pump has now been removed.
There is no doubt that for many refillable works, and very well, but for us it didn’t, back in 2016, and the reduction in fill points mean it’s even less attractive now.
But, never say never and, with fuel prices seemingly heading for record highs-just paid 50% more for heating oil than in June last year-you never know what may make sense next week, never mind next year.
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Our motorhome has a Gaslow system and I love it! No trying to find Calor bottles. My sister has Calor and recently needed to get a refill. We spent ages trying to loosen the connector to get the bottle out and only succeeded in hurting ourselves. I don't have that problem. I just pop down to our local LPG filling station and fill up similar to how you fill up with fuel. It seems to last ages but we never let it get down to empty. That's another advantage... because you fill rather than exchanging, you can fill whenever you want. It normally costs us around £8 per fill. We're about to fill up today though, and I'm expecting the price to have gone up. We fill up approx twice a year, maybe less and that does at least one weekender per month, plus three or four main holidays.
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Wouldn’t be without mine either - all this faffing around with Calor bottles is a PITA.
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We're about to fill up today though, and I'm expecting the price to have gone up. We fill up approx twice a year, maybe less and that does at least one weekender per month, plus three or four main holidays.
Indeed, on the news last night they reported the price of gas was 14 times the price of this time last year. Whilst gas price is only one element of the pump price, it is bound to have a significant effect.
We went for a Gaslow system when we bought our MH 3 years ago. Not particularly for cost saving, but to avoid back damage changing the Calor variety. In the event it has proved a wise move, given the Calor problems and our use on a few non EHU Aires in France.
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"I just pop down to our local LPG filling station"
And if you can do that its easy to see why you like your system so much.
If however your nearest fill point is 25 miles away, LPG is 89.9p/litre and the cost of diesel is at the current level then maybe not so much.
One advantage of a Safefill would be that I could keep it in the car and, when I pass that one filling point ,top it up.
With a fitted system you cant do that, and you have no choice but to drive to the fill point with your MH which means the cost benefits are reduced.
There are of course other reasons why a refillable cylinder/system are an advantage but for me, even at the most optimistic, it would take around 6 years to recoup the cost of a 10kg cylinder.
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Update: We filled up in Goole this morning. We have two cylinders. One was empty and the other was about 3/4 full. It cost £7 to fill up. It was 69.9p per litre. The guy at the pump said it hasn't gone up there in the last 5 months. He obviously couldn't promise it wouldn't go up in the next few weeks though.
We are fortunate to have a filling station in town but the flip side is that our motorhome storage is a 30 mile round trip. If we could store at home, it would be perfect!
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We did have a local LPG pump, but it was at a shell station and it was removed over a year ago. I suppose if we remained within our local area it would be an issue. However, we tend to fill when out and about on tour and if we pass the Morrisons, some 20 miles north, do it on the way home. That way there is no extra mileage involved.
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If you need to travel 30 miles, rather than fill up en route to somewhere, then the fuel to get there and back will be about the same cost as your LPG-£7.
It seems that there is a Cornwall fill point, for Safefill,-not listed on their website-that is currently charging 70p/litre-only problem is that is 50 miles away!!
As other, LPG users, have said its appeal is related to how much gas you will use, or extensive foreign use, and it seems that many feel that that the reduction in fill points is only going one way reducing further its appeal to anyone who is considering moving to refillable cylinders.
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