# Gas in France



## Biglol (Jul 16, 2007)

I'm planning a trip to France in the spring and might run out of gas whilst we are away. My locker takes 2 x 6kg of the red stuff, Can I buy it in France anywhere? 
If not then its going to restrict the length of our trip which will be a shame.
All advise is gratefully received.


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Most of the French supermarkets sell bottled gas which you can use with the correct adaptor.Have you considered fitting a refillable system like gaslow?You will then be able to visit any country in Europe that sells LPG with no restrictions to your length of stay.


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## jedi (Nov 22, 2007)

Hi,

Depends how long you are going for, obviously, and the weather. In Summer 12kg gas would last for many weeks, especially if you use EHU. I easily went 3 months in summer on several occasions.

However, several years ago, I bought a French, Calypso 10kg lightweight bottle (pictured). These are widely available in supermarkets and petrol stations across France. You need to purchase a regulator for it - I was lucky in that the petrol station I bought mine from had a promotion on, offering a free regulator.

I now tend to travel much further afield, and for longer, and intend to fit Gaslow this winter. Therefore my Calypso bottle may be coming up for sale shortly.

Calor Gas is not available outside the UK. French Antargaz is also cheaper.

Hope this helps,

Jed


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## Biglol (Jul 16, 2007)

jedi said:


> Hi,
> 
> Depends how long you are going for, obviously, and the weather. In Summer 12kg gas would last for many weeks, especially if you use EHU. I easily went 3 months in summer on several occasions.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info Jedi, trouble is we will be away in April/May when its not yet summertime. We will be spending a lot of time on Aires and France Passion. My gas locker is so small I struggle to fit 2 x 6kg inside.
Is it legal to stow a 3rd bottle inside the van? as I might just have room for a 4kg bottle


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## peaky (Jul 15, 2009)

sorry not intending to hijack this thread but i will be in france next year and have a different gas bottle issue, i have a 12kg disa silver bottle, i dont want to exchange this when i eventually f
get home is it possible to buy a new bottle and reg in france easily , i dont want the pain to go through the gas process once im back on the island after touring


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## jedi (Nov 22, 2007)

I appreciate the problem with time of year. I travelled down through Germany last year in March on my way to Slovenia. Temperature some nights dropped as low as minus 6 degrees  

This meant using more gas than I wanted to at the beginning of a five month adventure.

As for carrying a spare bottle I'm sure somebody will come on soon with 'the law' especially re ferries and the tunnel. Safety is also an issue - the gas locker is separated from the inside and vented. But my gas fire, cooker and water heater are inside, and could also leak.

Having said that, I carried my French bottle in the van. It is important it is secure and stored upright. I also had a 905 Campingaz bottle for absolute emergencies!

Jed


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## damar1 (Sep 29, 2012)

When we travel usually for several months we have 2 6gk bottles on average they last for about 2 weeks each. We also carry 2 camping gas bottles change the fitting and then run on them available all over Europe, and they are not as expensive as in england.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

peaky said:


> sorry not intending to hijack this thread but i will be in france next year and have a different gas bottle issue, i have a 12kg disa silver bottle, i dont want to exchange this when i eventually f
> get home is it possible to buy a new bottle and reg in france easily , i dont want the pain to go through the gas process once im back on the island after touring


Yes Peaky.
You can buy a 13kg, 12kg, or 10kg. bottle in most French supermarkets and Bricolage's. Often the bottle deposit is as low as €1 or at the most €5 and then add just the cost of the gas varying from €24 to €28. I have a variety of regulators picked up at €1 or €2 but in any supermarket you can find them at €8 to €12.

I have spare bottles and regulators if you are this way you are welcome to.

Ray.


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## alphadee (May 10, 2009)

Calor Gas sell adaptors to fit onto French bottles and your existing pigtails.

Mine came from Calor Southampton, circa, £10.

If you leave leave England with 1 full bottle, then buy a French one to put in your "spare space" in the gas locker, you can use that. We then only use our UK bottle for a short time when the French one runs out. Replacements are available at almost all supermarkets and filling stations. See Ray's post above re. costs which are currentlymuch less than the UK.

Have a good trip.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

If I were you, I'd leave one of your UK bottles at home and just stop at the first supermarket/garage and buy a regulator and bottle of one of the popular French brands.


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## alphadee (May 10, 2009)

You won't need a different regulator... just the adapter from Calor Gas. That's all we've ever used.


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## dalspa (Jul 1, 2008)

Assuming that you only have one bottle connected up at any one time (ie no auto changeover unit), then if you had a 21.8 LH hose with a Gaslow easyfit adaptor this would fit a Calor propane bottle. In France, replace the easyfit adaptor with an appropriate clip-on adaptor and you can then use a French bottle using your existing regulator. Easy to change over. Use the French bottle all the time in France so when empty use the Calor for short time only and keep replacing the French bottle - this way you won't be without gas. Look in the Gaslow brochure and you will see what options you have.

We have a 13kg propane and a 10kg BP Gaslight (soon to be phased out) permanently connected up, in the UK, with an auto changeover - although I tend to keep one bottle closed until needed. Before we go to France I take out the BP bottle and replace with a Le Cube (6kg) bottle - fortuantely, they both have the same size easyfit adaptor so very easy. We use the Le Cube all the time, with the Calor as backup. As we only go to France in the summer, so no heating, then we don't need much gas but it's nice to be able to get refills if necessary. May go down the refillable route one day when we are able to go away for longer periods.

David.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Before you take the above advice about French gas bottles then- from bitter experience- I'd strongly advise you to measure up your gas locker DOOR against the size of available French bottles via the supplier websites. We could not find a cylinder that went through the door, though several would have fitted inside the locker. We think we have quite a reasonable size gas locker as well. We tried all the major supermarkets and many camping accessory shops.

We used to carry one full UK calor bottle and the largest Camping Gaz available. They are expensive to exchange in Europe but can be done all over the place. It's also butane gas so not so useful in low temperatures. We went the Gaslow route for this, among other, reasons.

G


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## dalspa (Jul 1, 2008)

Assuming that you only have one bottle connected up at any one time (ie no auto changeover unit), then if you had a 21.8 LH hose with a Gaslow easyfit adaptor this would fit a Calor propane bottle. In France, replace the easyfit adaptor with an appropriate clip-on adaptor and you can then use a French bottle using your existing regulator. Easy to change over. Use the French bottle all the time in France so when empty use the Calor for short time only and keep replacing the French bottle - this way you won't be without gas. Look in the Gaslow brochure and you will see what options you have.

We have a 13kg propane and a 10kg BP Gaslight (soon to be phased out) permanently connected up, in the UK, with an auto changeover - although I tend to keep one bottle closed until needed. Before we go to France I take out the BP bottle and replace with a Le Cube (6kg) bottle - fortuantely, they both have the same size easyfit adaptor so very easy. We use the Le Cube all the time, with the Calor as backup. As we only go to France in the summer, so no heating, then we don't need much gas but it's nice to be able to get refills if necessary. May go down the refillable route one day when we are able to go away for longer periods.

David.


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## Dougaitken (Aug 14, 2009)

*Le Cube*

Hi

Friends of ours have your probl;em.

They have managed the situation by taking 1 Calor Gas Cylinder and a French Cylinder (Le Cube)

They bought the cylinder from the Aachen Supermarket in Calais and got an adapter so that they can connect it.

The Cylinder is the 1 in the following

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftoptitle-83643-le-cube-will-it-fit-our-gas-cupboard.html

They only use the Calor gas as a backup and keep replacing Le Cube which is widely available, even in Spain they say. On return to the UK they continue to use the French gas until empty and then reinstall their 2nd Calor Bottle. The first port of call in France is Aachen to fill up with Diesel and replace the bottle.

If you can convince yourself that the bottle will fit your gasbox you can get pigtails here if you want before you go.

Just one point to note is that they do Le Cubes in both Propane and Butane and they look the same.

We have taken the plunge and fitted a Refillable 11kg cylinder with a light weight 6 KG Calor as back up. Not a cheap option but simple to operate, slightly cheaper gas, no wasted gas or running around to find a bottle gas supplier.

Doug


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Aachen is a bit out of the way - it's in Germany! :arrow: 

Methinks Auchen in Sangatte is the place. :idea: 

Yep, I know I am being daft, but I do like to help out! :twisted: 

Back on track. 

Don't waste money on stop-gap solutions until you have worked out the long-term benefits (not just financial) of Gaslow or other refillables.


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## alphadee (May 10, 2009)

Interesting point Grizzly, re the locker door size! We have found that the 13kg french bottles are slightly smaller than the Calor equivalent, so haven't had a problem. They fit our (German) van better than Calor actually!


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## Dougaitken (Aug 14, 2009)

*Auchen*

Thanks Pippin

Quite right to correct my vowel up.

Doug


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## Barpat (Nov 16, 2012)

Hi

You shouldn't have any problem in France , we travelled the Pyrenees earlier this year and found plenty of garages selling gas. Spain is not so good though. If you have an IPhone or pad there is a very good App giving all the locations of gas outlets. 
Have fun 
Barpat.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

alphadee said:


> Interesting point Grizzly, re the locker door size! We have found that the 13kg french bottles are slightly smaller than the Calor equivalent, so haven't had a problem. They fit our (German) van better than Calor actually!


We can't get manage a 13 kg bottle of any shape or description. It's very, very close however- very annoying- and we did, at one point, think of having the locker door enlarged but went for Gaslow instead. We now carry one Gaslow and one Calor 6kg.

G


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## iandsm (May 18, 2007)

*Gas*

Well you had some knowledgable and useful replies and I hope you have a great trip.

I should warn you against some of the threads on this forum which appear to suggest that there are lots of criminal types roaming around Europe, in vehicles equipped with cylinders and hoses, who will give you gas for free dung the night and without you knowing. It ain't true, you will have to purchase it yourself! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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