# Gas Refillable Bottles V Tanks



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Hello all,

I have searched the forum for this subject and can see few people have had the actual expereince of either of these two options.

Refilable Bottles
Or
Refilable Tank??

Has anyone had either of these fitted and if so what are your findings and recomendations?

Also does anyone know the situation regarding borading Eurotunnel with the tank option?.

I have see the Gaslow FAQ's regarding this but have no information from other companies or Eurotunnel regarding the tank option.

We have just returned from a 2 week Trip to Southern Spain for Christmas and new year. ***We only Spent 6 of these nights in the van*** Despite conserving gas by few showers, water and Space heating we managed to use a full 13kG cylinde of propane. As we intend to wild and wintercamp over the coming seasons, I feel a bigger capacity would be better and in the long run pay for itself.

Your help would be appreciated Greatly.

Ttrevor


----------



## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

HI Trevor 

Pros and cons IMO 

Refillable probably cheaper than fixed tank. 
Refillable can be taken with you if you change vans 

Underslung fixed tank frees up a locker space 
Fixed tank can hold more gas ( space permitting) 
Fixed tank can have remote level gauge.


No restrictions on Eurotunnel with either.


----------



## 96783 (Nov 23, 2005)

I'm sure you'll get loads of replies. We had Gaslow refillables in our last caravan and were very pleased with them. On our MH we will be having a 70L underslung tank plus a standard 11kg cylinder as backup. As 1L gas = 1.98kg you can work out what an 80% filled tank, if you go down that route, will hold. Refillable cylinders are also restricted to 80% capacity. 
While refills of refillable cylinders and tanks are very cheap, even here in UK, compared to standard cylinders it takes an awful long time to recoup the capital cost - probably never unless you will be full timing. The benefit is in the convenience of being able to top up wherever you go in most European countries (Spain can be very difficult!)


----------



## guzzijim (May 1, 2005)

PhredC

In Spain what problems are there? do they apply to both tanks and cylinders.

In cylinders only were they plumb-in to outside of vehicle?


----------



## smifee (May 17, 2005)

hi trevor

i have 2 refillable cylinders with an exterior filling point. on a previous MH i had a gas tank. The capacity of the 2 cylinders is almost the same as the tank.

unless things have changed recently with eurotunnel there are restrictions on how much gas you can transport whether in cylinders or tanks. see their website for details.

having been caught out by a malfunctioning automatic changeover system my present system has manual changeover so that i know when the first cylinder is empty. a cylinder ( about 20 litres ) lasts me 2 weeks. i don't use sites so the fridge is on gas except when driving. 

i prefer 2 cylinders to one tank in case of a faulty tank possibly no gas. hopefully both cylinders won't be faulty at the same time.

i had them installed by autogas 2000 at thirsk and will use them again.

mike


----------



## stuffed2 (May 9, 2005)

i have a gaslow refillable, with external fill point, plus a spare refillable for emergancy, works well


----------



## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

If you are a heavy LPG user, or really need the locker space released, go for a fixed tank. Otherwise, refillable cylinders with remote fill. I have diesel heating, so have sufficiently low LPG usage to need only a single cylinder. I use an ultrasonic gauge to tell me of the need to refill.

Dave


----------



## 89051 (May 12, 2005)

Dave
I have a bulk tank with a dial gauge on the side of the tank. Not very convenient. Can you give me any details on your ultrasonic gauge? Is it one with LEDs? How is it fitted? Where did you get it?
Any help would be much appreciated.
John


----------



## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

John,

Unfortunately for you the ultrasonic gauge is designed for 6/7 kg bottles:
http://www.trumauk.com/truma_docs/sonatic.pdf

Check with the manufacturer of your tank whether a remote gauge is a possibility.

Dave


----------



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Gas*

Hi

I am fairly new to this and opted for Gaslow 2 x 6 kg tanks as I was concerned with changing bottles - particularly in Italy.

There is a guage showing the contents.

Costs about £5.00 to fill both cylinders.

I usually have one gas cyliner open. Then if/when it runs out I know exactly what is left. 
I switch over to the other.

I used the van for a week in Italy as gas use as follows.

Day before - heater on and fridge on gas.

First night - as above

During the week - grill/hob every day. Oven three or four times.

Night seven - fridge and heater plus hob for breakfast

Last night fridge and heater plus hob.

Also used hob almost hourly for kettle etc.

Used one full 6 kg cylinder and a bit from the other.

Very easy to fill and I have the "fuel cap" adaptors for France and Italy etc

Rapide561


----------



## BrianR (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Gas*



Rapide561 said:


> Hi
> 
> I am fairly new to this and opted for Gaslow 2 x 6 kg tanks as I was concerned with changing bottles - particularly in Italy.
> 
> Rapide561


Hi "Rapide 561"

Do you have a remote refill point or do you have to take your cylinders out to refill them?

Brian


----------



## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

"There is a guage showing the contents"

Gaslow gauges do not show contents in terms of level or volume left, just when the gas is, um, low. They work on pressure. Having said that, not a problem for 2 cylinders.

Dave


----------



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Gas*

Hi Brian

It is just like the diesel filler - an external fuel cap. Stick the nozzle in and hey presto - £5.00 later - two full cylinders!

Rapide561


----------



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Gauge*

Thanks Dave

I think I may have mis understood the gauge thing.

It looks like green or red - so common sense says green is full (GO) and red is empty (STOP)

Rapide561


----------



## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

jandemotor said:


> Dave
> I have a bulk tank with a dial gauge on the side of the tank. Not very convenient. Can you give me any details on your ultrasonic gauge? Is it one with LEDs? How is it fitted? Where did you get it?
> Any help would be much appreciated.
> John


Like yours, my bulk tank has a dial gauge but it has a built in sensor ( i suspect it's a variable resistor, same as normal fuel tanks ) which sends a signal to the level indicator inside the van, it should be possible to buy a conversion kit to replace yours, check with the supplier.


----------



## 88974 (May 11, 2005)

You are not allowed on the eurotunnel with a fixed tank, but you are allowed with removeable cylinders.


----------



## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

ladybird said:


> You are not allowed on the eurotunnel with a fixed tank, but you are allowed with removeable cylinders.


Yes you are ..



> We do accept caravans, and campervans carrying fixed LPG tanks for domestic services (cooking, refrigeration, heating etc), though the appliance must be switched off before boarding and during the crossing. A tank of up to 47kg may be carried, but it must be less than 80% full. For your own safety and the safety of others, you will need to demonstrate this before you travel.


----------



## 96783 (Nov 23, 2005)

Hi Guzzijim

Sorry to be so long coming back to you - lost the thread/plot!

The problem in Spain is the paucity of autogas filling stations although that is said to be changing. You need to fill up before you hit Spain "just in case". Repsol, one of the main motor fuel suppliers, has (or had last year) only 24 autogas stations for the whole of Spain and they are not always easy to find. The one is Santander is up on the hill above the football stadium and a couple of very helpful speed cops actually led me to it.


----------



## stevem (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Gas*



BrianR said:


> Rapide561 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi
> ...


It's better to have an external filling point because some filling stations in Europe will not allow you to fill refillable cylinders as they cannot tell the difference between proper refillables and standard cylinders.
Stevem


----------

