Concerto
Well-known member
Checked again today at Chatham. They had none and currently are not returning any empties as the Calor supplier could not guarantee any would be returned full. So this seems to be adding to the problem of lack of bottles.
Shortage of 4.5 kilo Butane.
- Thread starter oldgit
- Start date
Concerto
Well-known member
At my mobile home in Cheshire, I have no problem getting the 47Kg propane bottles filled by Harris gas and the refill only costs £60. That is a non-marine price.
oldgit
Well-known member
Cheers.
Have finally managed to track down a 4.5K full bottle on a friends boat.
Will get us out of the doo doo for now.
I have 101 things to worry about already (ie sufficent wine/ clean shirts etc) on our daring and dangerous adventure, in a probable F1- F2 with the tide , round to Teddington and all I hear from the crew is
"What have you done about the gas bottle".
Now got to find my nice laminated "Not for Navigation" map issued by the PLA and we are off.
Pretty sure we turn left at Sheerness. ?
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Concerto
Well-known member
watercraft
Member
Does anyone know where there are some 4.5kg refills available? None in Gosport, none in Derby and surrounding areas and Calor not responding to messages.
Bristolfashion
Well-known member
That's exactly what has happened to me. Camping Gaz is bonkers expensive, but at least you can get it. The guy in the last place we bought some said that all the bottles have to go back to France for filling - is that true?
We use an electric single hob & an electric kettle in marinas to keep down the cost.
Bristolfashion
Well-known member
From my Australian experience, where bottles are often refilled rather than exchanged, aren't you supposed to have a special "take off" bottle for refilling?
watercraft
Member
Just spoken to Calor Gas and they have not dispatched any 4.5Kg cylinders in the last 6 months. This is because there are no cylinders available to refill (no surprise there because mine are empty an I cant exchange them anywhere!!) It would appear new cylinders have been ordered but they come from overseas as the UK doesn't manufacture.
penfold
Well-known member
The UK is perfectly capable of making gas cylinders, just not as cheaply as wherever they haven't come from yet; non-existent cylinders are very cheap you see.
ballyabroad
Member
We had some 4.5's delivered last week. None since and the driver was as surprised as I was that they were on his truck. 7kgs are also now hard to get hold of, I suspect they may have been sprayed red and are now impersonating 6kg propane cylinders to meet the campervan demand.
Bru
Well-known member
I very much doubt it
Firstly, the caravan and camper market is predominantly butane
Secondly it's predominantly 4.5kg cylinders, only the largest caravans and motor homes can accommodate bigger cylinders
Thirdly, they can't just spray the cylinder a different colour, they're different cylinders.
In decades of using Calor gas, despite repeatedly hearing claims of Calor repurposing butane cylinders to propane and vice versa, i have never once seen such a thing and what's more I'm not convinced it's possible (for starters, the regulator fitting and the mounting of it into the cylinder is entirely different
ballyabroad
Member
Bru
Well-known member
Must be Blue primer they use then.
Point conceded!
It's some years since I used the smaller sizes of butane and it does rather look as though Calor have adapted the 3.9/4.5 cylinder to be interchangeable by changing the fitting on the 4.5kg butane to a screw thread rather than a clip on (which the larger butane bottles, which we use regularly at home, use and which my memory thinks used to be used on the 4 5kg bottles but my memory may be at fault!)
Certainly the regulator attachment on the larger bottles is totally different
(The 3.9kg propane has a female thread on the bottle, the 4.5kg butane, it seems, has a male thread. The larger butane bottles have a clip on unthreaded attachment, the larger propane bottles retain the female thread! Simple innit!!)
ballyabroad
Member
Generally it's all a pain in the rear
13kg propane, 15kg butane and Patio13kg cylinders are all the same, just an new valve and a spray depending on stock levels and the season. 3.9's and 4.5s are the same, 6kg and 7kg as well. 19kg and 18kg (they have to change the internals over on those though). I know that one of their butane filling plants went down the other week, so that's not helped matters. The only cylinder available to purchase on a refill agreement, rather than a like for like exchange at present is the Patio5kg (not much use for most boaters or campers).
Now Camping Gaz cylinders that's another story!!!
I'll update as soon as I get delivery of 4.5's to give everyone some hope!?
Bru
Well-known member
Useful first hand knowledge ta, complicated innit!
Anyway, I don't care about 4.5s, I need another 3 9kg propane and nobody will let me have one
(I did manage to track down a refill for the empty bottle but this saga has led me to rethink my strategy to having a spare bottle off the boat ... I'm also considering making provision to switch to Campingaz, as we've got a cylinder in the shed unused and unloved, in case of difficulties obtaining Calor)
sailorman
Well-known member
Cg bottles jn the east of engla nd are refilled jn the calor delot in bury st edmunds.Useful first hand knowledge ta, complicated innit!
Anyway, I don't care about 4.5s, I need another 3 9kg propane and nobody will let me have one
Bru
Well-known member
Yep and they haven't got enough bottles to refill because loads of people have got empty bottles they can't swap for full ones ....
Or so it seems
ballyabroad
Member
It's a miracle - delivered this morning by a shocked driver! 
Megs20Burt!
Active member
Probably one of the few advantages of an all electric boat…
harvey38
Well-known member
Pleased I bought a Safefill cylinder a few years back, saved a fortune ?
