Caktanks gas bottle locker

sniffyjenkins

sniffyjenkins

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Hello all

Just wondering whether anyone here has used or fitted one of these rather nifty-looking marine gas bottle lockers and whether any experience could be shared here, as we've been pondering getting one. They look good, with built in hose fittings etc.: http://www.caktanks.co.uk/wd1300.htm (it's a painful website and you have to scroll down a wee bit to see the actual product).

Cheers :)
 
Looks ok but could not get more info ... does it have a drain in the base? and of course it only holds one bottle. There was someone on ebay who was making grp gas bottle holders, but don't have the details.
 
To comply with 'Boat Safety' regs. I installed one earlier this year, mine was a rectangular one, (made by Hayward) purchased from a local chandler. It was for a single 7kg. blue Calor bottle which is cheap to refill and because it lasts for about 10-15 weeks west coat cruising needs replaced only once a year, empty or not.
( The GRP from which the box is moulded is claimed to be a fire resistant mix.) The box had a detachable lid, unsuitable for hinges, (it lifts straight off upwards). There were no holes for drainage or the gas line but these were relatively easy to make, I did not want to risk a leak by cutting a hole in the cockpit floor for the drain instead taking it out horizontally at the bottom through the grp cockpit bulkhead the box was secured to, I used a 25 mm. plastic skin fitting for the drain, with a spacer bedded on sealant between the box and the bulkead then fire resting neoprene hose to a similar fitting on the transom below cockpit floor level. A smaller fitting was used near the top for the copper gas pipe, there is room for the bubble tester and gas cock inside the box. Because the box lid rim sits down over the outside the box had to be spaced about 9mm. from the bulkhead it was secured to. It is important that the drain hose falls all the way to the outlet as otherwise water could block it. The lid fits best in one position so to identify that position I applied the vinyl gas label to it rather than the box.
Strictly speaking the drain hole should be in the very bottom rather than 12mm. up to allow for the flange of the skin fitting but you could put sand or water in to raise the floor but I decided that the volume of gas potentially trapped was insignificant and the risk of putting a hole in the floor under the box was not acceptable. The cockpit floor under the box slopes gradually to the cockpit drains, to resolve that I cut a very short support spacer to the angle from a bit of 6" plastic drain pipe.
 
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sniffyjenkins said:
Hello all

Just wondering whether anyone here has used or fitted one of these rather nifty-looking marine gas bottle lockers and whether any experience could be shared here, as we've been pondering getting one. They look good, with built in hose fittings etc.: http://www.caktanks.co.uk/wd1300.htm (it's a painful website and you have to scroll down a wee bit to see the actual product).

Cheers :)
Click to expand...

I also wanted to instal the small butane bottle size but after Looking at various options two years ago I purchased a gas locker like this https://www.mailspeedmarine.com/gas-bottle-locker.html

Yes its a Camping Gaz locker (907 bottle size) which over time has proved to amazingly last a long time and from experience I would say burns somewhat hotter, and yes there is a
drain hole piped to outside
View attachment 58992 View attachment 58993
 
Quandary said:
To comply with 'Boat Safety' regs. I installed one earlier this year, mine was a rectangular one, (made by Hayward) purchased from a local chandler. It was for a single 7kg. blue Calor bottle which is cheap to refill and because it lasts for about 10-15 weeks west coat cruising needs replaced only once a year, empty or not. <SNIP>
Click to expand...
That's very detailed, many thanks. We'd seen these ones but as they just seem to be boxes without hose attachments, holes etc. we decided against one of those. Will think more on it.
 
sniffyjenkins said:
That's very detailed, many thanks. We'd seen these ones but as they just seem to be boxes without hose attachments, holes etc. we decided against one of those. Will think more on it.
Click to expand...

The difficulty with retrofitting a gas locker is not the type of locker, but finding the space above the waterline, accessible and sealed off from the rest of the boat. So the solution is different for each boat. Fine if you can use a prefabricated box, but you may well find a custom built solution is easier and cheaper. The basic requirements for a box are shown on the Boat Safety Scheme website.
 
Caer Urfa said:
I also wanted to instal the small butane bottle size but after Looking at various options two years ago I purchased a gas locker like this https://www.mailspeedmarine.com/gas-bottle-locker.html

Yes its a Camping Gaz locker (907 bottle size) which over time has proved to amazingly last a long time and from experience I would say burns somewhat hotter, and yes there is a
drain hole piped to outside
View attachment 58992 View attachment 58993
Click to expand...

That's an extremely neat setup. We've pondered these side door ones and basically can't make up our minds between these and a locker you can drop a bottle into from above...
 
Have you checked with them to see that they are actually available? My boat had one of these fitted when I bought it and when I tried to buy another for a spare bottle was told that they no longer supplied them, couldn't update this part of the website etc and it had been like this for a couple of years. This was roughly four years ago mind you and I ended up making a new one in fire retardent fibreglass using the existing one as a mold. Apart from that it works well. Clearance for the hose / regulator is a bit tight and if you want to use the brass campingaz adaptor valve you'll need a 90 degree regulator or just stick with a standing campingaz reg. A 3.9kg butane will also fit if you want to go down that route. They do have a drain in the bottom and for me having a port and starboard version is the ideal solution as I couldn't fit a larger single version but as Tranoma says it's all down to the individual boat.
 
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Chaktoura said:
Have you checked with them to see that they are actually available? My boat had one of these fitted when I bought it and when I tried to buy another for a spare bottle was told that they no longer supplied them, couldn't update this part of the website etc and it had been like this for a couple of years. This was roughly four years ago mind you and I ended up making a new one in fire retardent fibreglass using the existing one as a mold. Apart from that it works well. Clearance for the hose / regulator is a bit tight and if you want to use the brass campingaz adaptor valve you'll need a 90 degree regulator or just stick with a standing campingaz reg. A 3.9kg butane will also fit if you want to go down that route. They do have a drain in the bottom and for me having a port and starboard version is the ideal solution as I couldn't fit a larger single version but as Tranoma says it's all down to the individual boat.
Click to expand...

Yes, good point as they seem to be impossible to get hold of... And as both you and Tranoma say, it depends on the boat. Pete will probably now build his own. He likes building stuff and he's good at it :)
 
BetsieJane said:
I am looking for a similar gas locker. The website is terrible, very user unfriendly. Did you manage to source one ? Cheers.
Click to expand...
The only place I've found is http://www.yachtshop.eu/en/index.php?search=Gas+locker&pag=search which is the retail shop for Osculati who appear to be the manufacturer.
Force 4 sell what appears to be the larger one http://www.force4.co.uk/force-4-gas-bottle-locker.html
These are sized for Campingaz bottles not Calor though - check the specs carefully as there appears to be more difference than just the size.
I may need to order the smaller one myself as the larger one I bought won't fit where I had planned by a gnats cock - if you want either size I may have the larger one for sale or be willing to combine orders for the smaller one to save on shipping.
 
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Hoping someone out there might be able to bring this to life..

Was told by an east coast gas installer that the CAK fibreglass lockers were not fireproof and therefore he wouldn't install them. Has anyone heard similar?
My working assumption is that he has a preferred brand with better £££ margins...

http://www.caktanks.co.uk/wd1300.htm
 
duncan_m said:
Hoping someone out there might be able to bring this to life..

Was told by an east coast gas installer that the CAK fibreglass lockers were not fireproof and therefore he wouldn't install them. Has anyone heard similar?
My working assumption is that he has a preferred brand with better £££ margins...

http://www.caktanks.co.uk/wd1300.htm
Click to expand...

Fibreglass lockers are fine. The Boat Safety Scheme regulations, which apply to boats on inland waterways and are very stringent, say that lockers can be made of GRP if it's around 5mm thick.
 
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