# Swapping gas bottles in Portugal



## Uller

Hi 

We have met a couple from New Zealand who are touring Portugal in a van they bought in the UK (with me so far?  )

They are trying to find somewhere to exchange their gas bottle - they have a blue Calor gas one they bought in the UK and an orange one they bought in France when they found they couldn't exchange the Calor one.

Are either of these exchangeable in Portugal - if so, where? We have an LPG tank so have no idea!

Sarah


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## Scattycat

My best advice is to drive around to the local large super markets and check out their service stations and see what they have on offer.

At the end of the day it is only going to be a small deposit to take out a new contract and buy what the local suppliers sell.

If they are anything like Super U in France, their 13kg bottles are cheaper than most and the deposit/contract is just 1€ per bottle


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## greygit

Don't know where they are in Portugal but there's a guy in a filling station on the N125 from Tavira to the Spanish border who will fill any bottle. I found it a bit nerve racking so I stood at the other end of the forecourt while he did it and then later I cracked the bottles a few times just to release the pressures a little. You can't miss the filling station as there's a large inflatable pink elephant flying above it........honest, this isn't me tripping this is true.
Gary


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## orange22

We use Repsol in Portugal .Easy to get at garages. E20 deposit ?


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## bognormike

sorry to sound a bit superior, but it wasn't very good planning was it? I would have thought that soembody coming from NZ going into all the ins & outs of travelling round Europe would have considered the gas supply? :roll: 

Anyway, they may be able to sell the calor and french canisters at campsites - somebody might want a spare :roll:


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## seanoo

hi, petrol station at quelfes near olhao , guy fills any bottles.


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## steco1958

I'm with "Bognor Mike" on this, very bad planning, however as stated above, purchase a new bottle from "Supermarket" and don't forget, the correct regulator !!

Steve


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## Uller

Steve and Bognor Mike are both right on this one - no planning involved at all. 

They had working visas for the UK but after a few months found that didn't work out so decided, on the spur of the moment and on the tightest of budgets, to buy a very cheap van and tour around the European coast checking out the surf spots.

They don't know about the different gas bottles required in each country they've been too, they don't know any of the languages, they have no idea how to get their diesel heater to work (or even if it does work) - but they are having a great time and working it all out as they go. I hugely admire them for having the guts, in their 50s, to do this, rather than be stifled by the need to plan everything down to the nth degree - it's what makes it an adventure and I don't think it makes them inferior in any way to anyone who would have planned more.

Anyway, thanks for the info regarding getting a new bottle from a supermarket - I will pass it on to them.


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## Wizzo

As Seanoo says the people at Quelfes will refill any foreign (to them) gas bottle. Current cost is 12.50 Euros for a 6kg fill. Just to correct Seanoo it is not a Petrol Station it is actually a LPG depot where they have the necessary experience and equipment to fill bottles.

Easiest to find off the N398 which runs between the N125 just outside Olhau and the A22 motorway J15. There is only one exit on this road, the depot is a matter of a couple of hundred metres away and the blue LPG sign can be seen from the road.

JohnW


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## marionandrob

A lot of petrol stations in Portugal will have a nearby LPG depot.

Very many of these will refill any denomination of LPG bottle.

When travelling in Portugal four years ago we found that refilling bottles was common practice. Several of the LPG depots had a list of pan-euopean LPG bottles and sizes (including Calor)with the appropriate fill volume in litres. They also had the appropriate adaptors to connect up to the LPG pump.

If you are near the coast any large yacht harbour is also worth a try, there is often an associated LPG depot that is equipped to refill most types of LPG cylinder.


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