Calor 4.5 Butane and 3.5 Propane to be discontinued

[Goldie]

To those on forum who are based in Europe how does the cost of a Camping Gas 907 bottle compare with the 4.5 bottle from European suppliers? Is it still much more expensive to use camping gas?

David MH

My most recent 907 exchanges in Europe (summer 2022) were priced at €25 (Motril, Spain), €13 (Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal) and €18 (Lagos, Portugal).

 

[xcw]

907 was £48 at East Cowes on Saturday

 

[Aja]

This thread seems to be about whether Calor has a duty to continue with the 4,5 kilo gas bottle that is fitted to SOME leisure boats. Calor is a commercial operation and it will only make items that are commercially viable. Leisure boats are a very small part of there market, and many boats use the bigger Calor bottles or the smaller camping gas 907 bottles. Gas bottles on boats are usually in a closed vented compartment or else in the open on deck, and it is only some of the closed compartment bottles that are a problem with using the larger bottles. Calor is only available in the UK and many yachts going to Europe have adaptor pipes so they can use Camping Gaz which is widely available in Europe and the UK. Camping gas is more expensive but the extra cost on and annual basis is very small in relation to the annual running costs of a boat.

Looking at the Flogas website the 4,5 bottle is hidden well down the list and the bottles look old, they have a 5 kg bottle with is at the top of the list, and could replace the 4.5 bottle. but is fatter and taller than the 4.5kg. Flogas may only be a temporary solution. The easiest solution is the fit the larger Calor bottle if you can or convert to Camping Gas 907 and have no problems getting refills in Europe.
To those on forum who are based in Europe how does the cost of a Camping Gas 907 bottle compare with the 4.5 bottle from European suppliers? Is it still much more expensive to use camping gas?

David MH

I'm assuming you don't have a small Calor bottle on board therefore not your problem, or you either don't mind paying the UK Camping Gaz price or pay continental 907 prices.

Otherwise I'm confused. 907 prices, in the UK which are filled by Calor, are extortionate. Of course small Calor bottles is not Calor's main source of business, the beef is that they have led customers (admittedly of older UK manufactured boats) on for the last few years and left many with a real problem. Not counting, as others have mentioned, that there should be a refundable deposit. Who in their right mind would continue to be a customer if Calor?

 

[Porthandbuoy]

My local hardware store took delivery yesterday from Calor. There were only three 4.5kg cylinders in the batch. I swapped an empty for a full one
The lady behind the counter said she’s only getting a fraction of what she needs to meet demand. She reckons it’s due to the seasonal nature of the 4.5kg cylinders, with caravaners and boaters being the main users.

 

[oldgit]

My local hardware store took delivery yesterday from Calor. There were only three 4.5kg cylinders in the batch. I swapped an empty for a full one
The lady behind the counter said she’s only getting a fraction of what she needs to meet demand. She reckons it’s due to the seasonal nature of the 4.5kg cylinders, with caravaners and boaters being the main users.

if its seasonal, its been going on for the past three years !

 

[lustyd]

My local hardware store took delivery yesterday from Calor. There were only three 4.5kg cylinders in the batch. I swapped an empty for a full one
The lady behind the counter said she’s only getting a fraction of what she needs to meet demand. She reckons it’s due to the seasonal nature of the 4.5kg cylinders, with caravaners and boaters being the main users.

It's due to the discontinuation of these cylinders. You'd have been better off swapping to a different supplier as you'll now have to deal with it mid season!

 

[VicS]

I have not followed this thread because I use Camping gas but here is a link to the info re cylinder discontinuation on Calor's website

Your questions about our Cylinder range simplification, answered.

.

 

[Whaup367]

...Who in their right mind would continue to be a customer if Calor?

Well, there is this issue: (FloGas left, Calor right).
I'm guessing this is a minor problem on the South Coast, where Calor supply appears to have been significantly worse...

 

[PaulRainbow]

Well, there is this issue: (FloGas left, Calor right).
I'm guessing this is a minor problem on the South Coast, where Calor supply appears to have been significantly worse...

View attachment 149922

View attachment 149923

Doesn't matter if there are 10 million Calor suppliers within spitting distance, if they can no longer supply the smaller bottles, does it ?

 

[lustyd]

Agree. FloGas deliver cylinders with gas in, and they have cylinders of the appropriate size. The number of sites isn't relevant since almost none of those Calor ones have had full cylinders for three years, so don't really count. The more of us who adopt FloGas, the more sites they will add and the more pressure we can put on marinas. If people had listened on the gas rage thread last year, we'd be halfway there by now!

 

[Martin_J]

The report is on the PBO news page with some extra reaction..

Calor Gas discontinues its 4.5kg butane cylinders - Practical Boat Owner

 

[Whaup367]

Doesn't matter if there are 10 million Calor suppliers within spitting distance, if they can no longer supply the smaller bottles, does it ?

Well, yes it does, since Flogas can't supply anything if they don't have stockists: The question was "who in their right mind continue to be a customer if Calor?" and the answer is anyone on the West Coast that wants to be able to buy CampinGaz , 6Kg or 7Kg cylinders...

For those (in this area) who have been using 4.5 or 3.9 and don't have the space to go bigger, the options at the moment seem to be boiling down to CampinGaz from 100+ outlets or Flogas from Oban. Not great options but you can see why CampinGaz might be a sane choice, especially for those who either don't use a huge amount of Gas or use enough that they have to be able to get refills on the go....

... The number of sites isn't relevant since almost none of those Calor ones have had full cylinders for three years, so don't really count.

Are you sure about that? The ones I have checked in this area have had them, as reported earlier. There's been a shortage, particularly in the Clyde, I think, but not the same level of disruption as the South has seen.

The more of us who adopt FloGas, the more sites they will add and the more pressure we can put on marinas. If people had listened on the gas rage thread last year, we'd be halfway there by now!

Do you know if FloGas rely on Calor to fill the CampinGaz cylinders they supply? I keep seeing references to Calor being the UK refiller for these. Flogas only list the 907 size, too, which means no 904s or 901s from them, if their website is correct. The Campingaz 901 is a very expensive way to buy gas if you look at per-Kg pricing but the bottle is very convenient for backup supply and gas-lamp use.

 

[Martin_J]

I still have the niggling concern about FloGas 4.5kg supply...

I previously mentioned that although B&M (whose stores seem to have cropped up everywhere recently) don't stock that smaller size...



And I know the next example is only one camping supplies shop, but in their announcement of moving from Calor to FloGas, they also will not have the smaller 4.5kg size.

 

[Whaup367]

I still have the niggling concern about FloGas 4.5kg supply...

..and are we in danger of going from a near-monopoly to an actual one?

Interesting that Calor refer to change-over time as a factor for refilling: maybe if they were using clip-on regulator connections instead of their one-off screw-on one they would be finding this less challenging. Wonder if that's what failed in their refilling plant? Why not change to the connector they use on their other Butanes? ...and why scrap the 3.9s?

Seems like yet another poor management decision- updating our refilling and changing to a standardised regulator will be hard, let's just abandon this not-very-profitable-at-the-moment sector and piss off a bunch of longstanding customers instead of seeking a workable solution...

Very frustrating, very poor customer service.... and a pretty crap situation that the alternatives are so poor.

 

[lustyd]

FloGas 4.5kg supply

Why? Just because some specific retailers don't carry the full range doesn't mean the supply isn't there. Every way you look at it it's better than the Calor option. The indoctrination is incredible.

 

[Humblebee]

Doesn't matter if there are 10 million Calor suppliers within spitting distance, if they can no longer supply the smaller bottles, does it ?

I think the point Whaup is making is that those of us on the west of Scotland have only limited access to Flogas. For me the nearest is maybe 60 miles by road or two days by boat.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I think the point Whaup is making is that those of us on the west of Scotland have only limited access to Flogas. For me the nearest is maybe 60 miles by road or two days by boat.

I appreciate that, but access to small Calor bottles is non-existent, as they don't do them any more.

Perhaps, not that Calor have finally announced that they will no longer supply the smaller bottles, those Calor outlets that used to sell them will be looking for an alternate source. Perhaps there could soon be more FloGas (or other) outlets.

 

[lustyd]

I think the point Whaup is making is that those of us on the west of Scotland have only limited access to Flogas. For me the nearest is maybe 60 miles by road or two days by boat.

Yes, you're limited to ordering anything you like for home delivery. Nightmare. There are two Depots around Glasgow which will stock everything or refill if you show up in person.

Or stick to Calor who have lots of retail outlets which don't carry these cylinders, never will, and haven't for three years before the announcement. Perhaps just pay double and use those cute little campingaz cylinders so you get to know the Calor retailer really well on your many visits ?‍

 

[Martin_J]

Why? Just because some specific retailers don't carry the full range doesn't mean the supply isn't there. Every way you look at it it's better than the Calor option. The indoctrination is incredible.

Lustyd... they is no indoctrination...

As I said earlier in this thread, I went out last weekend with all the intentions of heading back to the boat with a 4.5kg Flogas cylinder.

It didn't happen due to the first place not answering their door and the next two places didn't even have that size on their price list.

It, together with finding that camping supplier website also not doing the 4.5kg size..
It's that that's making me nervous about a switch to Flogas.

Nothing about allegience with Calor.

Gaslow then rises up the wish list until one realises petrol station forecourts are replacing gas with electric points.

 

[Laysula]

If Calor are finding the 4.5 cylinders uneconomical, why didn't they just jack the price up? Even if they doubled it, it would still be cheaper than camping gaz 907s.