Filling your own Gas Bottles

[laurieash]

Hi all been away to Derbyshire last week with the Caravan in tow, Dont trust sat nav by theres some big hills and very narrow lanes,
Talking to a chap on site and he said that one of the guys that was on site early in the week had a filler conector the allowed him to fill his gas bottles up at the local garage he said it was allowed as long as is got a british kite mark on it? so filling bottles at pump prices half the price.has any one seen one? or any info on one? i beleve you can get them on fleebay,but not found any. Laurie ash.

 

[makeitfit]

Here you go mate but it seems a bit steep to me
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LPG-Refil...amping_CookingSupplies_ET&hash=item2313dcfb23
You need a plumber to help you out really as you can go from a normal LPG filler to flexihose then check valve to your little bottles.
Seems a lot of bother though, why not just get a bigger tank in the first place

 

[makeitfit]

There's some more results here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LPG-Refil...amping_CookingSupplies_ET&hash=item2313dcfb23

 

[laurieash]

Here you go mate but it seems a bit steep to me
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LPG-Refil...amping_CookingSupplies_ET&hash=item2313dcfb23
You need a plumber to help you out really as you can go from a normal LPG filler to flexihose then check valve to your little bottles.
Seems a lot of bother though, why not just get a bigger tank in the first place

No i was told you can just buy the adaptor for about £24

 

[makeitfit]

Probably worth ringing one them up and see what's what then

 

[fridgman]

http://www.gasrefill.com/Costs_details_and_info.html

If you scroll down the page you'll see the refilling kit without a bottle for about £50. :thumbs

 

[briggie]

isnt it a different sort of gas at the pumps ?

 

[fridgman]

This is a new subject for me but the website states:

'LPG Stands for Liquid Petroleum Gas and is the corrected mix of Butane & Propane relevant to the time of year and supply, (Due temperature changes) and therefore is correct in most cases for both Propane and Butane equipment.'

Sounds a little dubious for me. Maybe someone can shed some more accurate light on the subject?:nenau

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

few guys in my local caravan club do this.

they've fitted car lpg fillers to their cars
with a pipe up into boot to fill calor bottle.

they did this as found most garages didnt
like them filling the bottles by the lpg pump!

appears about 2 litres equals a 1 kg so yes
savings to be made, but have to wonder
if insurance kick off.

one of them is a v8 disco with lpg, so his
has 2 lpg fillers on bumper.

seems it works but reckon theres some payback
unless you caravan in colder part of year on
non hook up sites.

to be fair if calor is dear why not either buy bigger
bottles or buy one of the cheaper competitors?

 

[makeitfit]

I find that LPG from the big red bottles (47kg) works out at about 43p per litre :sly Works for my truck :naughty That's nearly half what the garages want for pumped LPG :nenau

 

[lammy426]

and me

I find that LPG from the big red bottles (47kg) works out at about 43p per litre :sly Works for my truck :naughty That's nearly half what the garages want for pumped LPG :nenau

when i used to work away from home and stay in the caravan all week,i used to fill the smaller bottle from a 47kg one i made the adaptor out of hydraulic hose and fittings,from work,i did use a 47kg one connected to the caravan but the sites did not like it (don't know why)

 

[rustic]

No i was told you can just buy the adaptor for about £24

Here is an adaptor that fits the bill, BUT what would the garage forecourt think about it...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LPG-Propa...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item336a9d48a4


When filling gas bottles apart from the explosion risk, there is also a risk of "burning" or frostbite from rapidly expanding gas, so wear good gloves and eye protection

I like the idea, as I use a few 4.5 kg calor bottles or 3.9kg bottles in the winter. Locker only big enough to hold 2 of these....

If I had one of these I would use propane all the time.

There needs to be an expansion gap, ie the bottle must NOT be overfilled, how would the filling system at the "Pump" do this, I assume it would limit the pressure, hence the fill.:nenau

 

[Dynamics]

There needs to be an expansion gap, ie the bottle must NOT be overfilled, how would the filling system at the "Pump" do this, I assume it would limit the pressure, hence the fill.:nenau

This is what I was thinking. I thought the bottles were filled by weight!

 

[rustic]

This is what I was thinking. I thought the bottles were filled by weight!

Calor bottles are filled by weight, the Tare weight ( Empty weight) is entered in and the bottle is filled to it's gross weight, thus it allows for partially filled bottles to be refilled.

Clearly cars are not filled by weight, so there must be a pressure control system in place to allow "non trained people" and idiots to use the equipment without harm to themselves , others or property.

I must admit I am very interested...
Next time I pass an autogas station, I might enquire.

The problem with re-filling your own gas bottle is that of maintenence, if the bottle is leaking after being filled, Calor check the bottles for leaks and reject faulty ones, and periodically the bottles are pressure tested and a new valve fitted, and a new coat of paint. This is stamped on a plate on the bottle.

If you fill your own old bottles, and transport them in the car to your caravan or boat, and there is a leak......

The consequences could be deadly.

 

[rustic]

Apologies for bringing this up again, but we are hoping to do some winter cruising, but we only have space for 2 x 3.9 kg propane bottles, so what is the latest status of filling your own bottles at garages using a suitable adaptor :nenau

I haven't found one locally to ask yet.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

my caravan pals have a car type lpg fitting either in bumper or on towbar
with flexi hose upto a threaded connector in car.

before visiting garage, attach bottle and have tap undone.

fill at garage, they found morrisions and the like didnt like them filling
bottle by car, akin to filling a petrol can i suppose.

though many owner operated garages and gas bottle suppliers were
less fussy as basically want to sell gas amazingly!.

rule of thumb is 2 litres per kg, fill empty bottles so know how much
has been put in.

i'm currently using a calor 6kg and 13 kg, found the 19kg too big as not
happy with it in the car or found anywhere in caravan to secure it.

just found having seen others that can squeeze the 13 in the front locker
and took out alot of other accumulated junk so nose weight isnt too bad.

another caravanner buys 19kgs and gravity feeds them into 6 kg bottles
in his garage, guess a 47kg would go a lot further. i gather though if
transferring from one to another, have to watch and avoid the oily
residue as bottle empties.

 

[solarman216]

I have been decanting for 20 plus years it is not a problem as long as you leave an air space in the bottle you are filling to , if in doubt up end it and discharge liquid for at least 60 seconds, if you do not then lack of expansion space could mean burst bottle, Rick