Gas options during shortages; refillable vs swaps
Hi all - I’m currently in the throws of my campervan conversion and trying to sort out my gas. I had a location sorted where I planned to just use a calor gas bottle, but I’ve been calling around and am being told - as most people probably know on here - that there’s a shortage. So this has got my back to the drawing board and I’ve discovered the refillable option from Gaslow and I was hoping for some input from folks whether this is a good option for me in light of the shortage. I’m not living in the van, and would only be doing a combination of day trips, some uk holidays and over to europe for a max of 2 weeks at a time, never in winter. Only have a hob, and not hot water/shower and fridge is electric only. We’d also be using hook up quite a bit.
The refillable Gaslow option isn’t cheap initially, and a ballache for me to install at this point, but seemingly it does allow me to fill up in europe and gets me out of the bind of the calor gas (and flogas) shortage. It also means I can get away with 1 bottle (with refillables my plan was to have 2 bottles so I could have one-on, one-off, which seems less of an issue if I can just refill to the top again rather than sacrifice a bottle even if there’s a bit left).
But do folks think a whole refillable system with a hole in the side of my van is overkill just for a hob, and if there’s an easier way to get my hands on a refillable bottle? (However I’ve been told by the folks I called that even if I bring in a bottle there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to swap it at the moment as even the swap bottles are in short supply) Thanks!
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There are several discussion threads about refillables on the forum. Check out this section for starters👍
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It will depend on the size of the bottle as to how easy it will be to get replacements. Some of the smaller bottles are not easy to get now, and are being gradually withdrawn. It might also depend on where you live as to where you can buy from easily, but there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of 6kg bottles at the moment.
Speaking from our own perspective, we have a fairly simple set up, our MH being quite old. We use two canisters, always replacing an empty one asap, having swopped to the full one. At the moment, we are having no problems whatsoever replacing them (6kg size). From this, we run a four hob burner, an oven, and heating and water if we choose to go hook up free. Our fridge is quite small, with just a small ice box. It’s all we need. We have done Summer tours of up to ten days, with half on gas only, the other half hooked up. We don’t seem to struggle using excessive gas, and are certainly not having any issues getting replacement cylinders. We are happy in terms of cylinder costs, as a few nights either paying nothing on a Britstop, or something like £5-8 per night on a no hook up reimburses us for anything the cylinders cost. We like the freedom to stop where we want as well. A hob alone probably won’t use that much to be honest, we never have more than two rings on the go for 99% of meals.
As far as refillable systems, not experienced them in a MH, but we did run two dual fuel very thirsty 4 litre cars on LPG and petrol for many years. Occasionally, it could get very difficult to find a fill up station, as all too often pumps would be out of use for a variety of reasons, repairs or simply late deliveries. We didn’t find these issues at home, where we live we could rely upon around a dozen or so LPG fill up stations, but we did have to plan carefully if venturing on holiday with cars to places like Scotland and Cornwall, and usually had to drive a bit to find some. We sold a dual fuel car to BIL, who still has it, but is telling us that even round here (South Yorks) it is getting harder to find fill up stations. So I think things are changing. It’s a great shame, as refillable systems are cheap to run, it’s why we dual fuelled our two cars.
I cannot comment on travelling with either system overseas, but there are folks who might and have a good deal of experience of both systems. 🙂
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We have a gas low refillable system. When we bought the van new we were given the option of this or exchange cylinders. Having had an underslung tank on previous van it was a no brainier. No cylinders to lug around. Refill when ever, not when empty. Fill point is on the side of the van. We use it for two burner hob and heating and hot water when not hooked up. We have one large and one small cylinder. Recently filled up with one cylinder on yellow and one on low green (sorry, fill indicators) Put £14 of lpg in whilst in Scotland. This will almost certainly last us the rest of the year.
I do think an external fill point is important. There are places where they will not let you fill up refillable cylinders ( the whys and wherefore don’t really matter). The garage where we filled in Scotland had a sign saying no refillable bottles.LPG works out cheaper (after installation) than exchange cylinders.
Because you only fill up rarely and before cylinder is empty you can easily sort somewhere to fill. There doesn’t have to be an LPG outlet near where you live.
Just a thought, depending on why you need mains electric, you could be paying higher pitch prices than off grid. Not so bad if electricity is metered. Your fridge presumably runs of the leisure battery.
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Refill point on side of van is important HJA👍
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Don’t forget, hja, that the usual 3 way absorption fridges only work off 12v with the engine running.
Dilby, you could have refillable cylinders without a plumbed in system and remove the cylinder from its locker to fill it.
There are far fewer outlets selling pumped LPG now, although some new ones are appearing, so it’s swings and roundabouts really. Refillable or exchange, both have their issues.
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Refil or exchange we are totally at the mercy of retailers continuing to supply gas either way. I feel fortunate that I have access to a number of exchange cylinders so I have something of a reserve supply in stock.
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I agree its swings and roundabits. As it appears you will be a very low user of gas, have you considered going electric only? Another thought is what about Camping Gas. It is the most expensive to buy but is widely available even on the Continent. If you do decide to fit bottles I would definitely go for a two bottle system with one of them a refillable and the other a Flo gas or Camping Gas bottle, the latter purely as a back up. I definitely would not fit two refillables.
peedee
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"Electric only" suggests it might even be a domestic fridge. Who knows🤷🏻♂️
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I've looked at an induction Hob to avoid the gas, but it really does drain the batteries and doesn't seem to work out (I'll have 2 x 100ah batteries plus 200w solar, b2b charging and shore power, all run through a victron multiplus). A helpful link is here:
https://climbingvan.co.uk/van-conversion/should-you-install-a-campervan-induction-hob/
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So a compressor fridge as hja suggested, rather than an absorption fridge. In that case your batteries and solar power will fit the bill.👍🏻
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I have a safefill refillable for about 8 years now,
I can always get gas at Morrisons at £1.15 per kilo, where Calor is about £4.00 per kilo
difference £2.85 per kilo, and with refillable you just take with you what you want, you don't need a full bottle
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