Calor 4.5 Butane and 3.5 Propane to be discontinued

[Parabordi]

I was in the neighbourhood so called into the Flogas depot at Chobham - opposite Fairoaks Airport entrance. Nice helpful guy (NB go to the little window in his shed not blunder into the yard like I did). Said I was about 10th person enquiring. Pulled out 2 of the small bottles they do. Unfortunately neither work for me. 3.9 slim enough but has a high collar making is about 380 + mm rather than the 340 of Calor and other similar size was small enough but too fat! So it looks like camping gas if I can find it.

did they not have any of the shorter ones as well? Thats going to be a pain if there is no choice

 

[chrishscorp]

I was in the neighbourhood so called into the Flogas depot at Chobham - opposite Fairoaks Airport entrance. Nice helpful guy (NB go to the little window in his shed not blunder into the yard like I did). Said I was about 10th person enquiring. Pulled out 2 of the small bottles they do. Unfortunately neither work for me. 3.9 slim enough but has a high collar making is about 380 + mm rather than the 340 of Calor and other similar size was small enough but too fat! So it looks like camping gas if I can find it.

Chobham, where do you sail from ? i am assuming south coast, Hattons Gas in Portsmouth do the 907s and they are currently £38, I was quoted £55.17 only last week from another outlet

 

[Martin_J]

Remember, that £38 at Hattons gas is refill only..

Their price for cylinder and refill is a bit more..

 

[Martin_J]

In response to Jimi's very very original post #1.

I thought the locker on the same boat as Jimi's (I have a similar boat) was just tall enough for the 4.5kg.. With the seat down there would not appear to be much space left above them..



I was about to hop into the locker and close the lid then realised I could pile some books on top of each (whilst still managing to close the locker/seat lid).



Yes, the seat/lid was still happy to close (no comment on the books... they were just the nearest on the bookshelf!)



So Jimi actually has 45 cm height available and a diameter of 26cm with a flat bottom.



As it happens, a Campingaz R907 sitting above a Campingaz R904 have a total height of 38cm.



I did measure an R907 sitting on top of another R907 but they would have been too high.

With that in mind I can confirm if you (Jimi) wanted to change to Campingaz then you could fit one large and one smaller bottle underneath it, into just one half of the locker (and still have room to fit a Campingaz adapter on top). They do need some packing out around the sides as well.



The good thing about the Whayward Campingaz adapter is that you don't need to hold the adapter or regulator still whilst messing around spinning the gas bottle underneath (I remember forty years ago that seemed mad). It has the silver butterfly to screw the adapter onto the bottle, and a separate inner knob for turning gas on and off.

And seat base fine to close.



I still have options for the other bottle space... maybe refillable. At least there is some diversity now.

(Before anyone comments... yes, I do need to add the strap to hold the bottles in place. It's just not shown in the photos).

 

[Martin_J]

Ignoring the cost, I've now got 2.72+1.81 = 4.53 kg of butane in one half of the locker.

More than fitted into one side before which was 4.5kg... a winner!!

Well, I had to tell myself there was some advantage after all that.

 

[chrishscorp]

Remember, that £38 at Hattons gas is refill only..

Their price for cylinder and refill is a bit more..

View attachment 151789

This is true but I have been quoted over £75 for a brand new full bottle which is verging on the ridiculous. Hattons in this area are definitely the cheapest

I had clients earlier this week who had a caravan on their drive under a cover, who were blissfully unaware of the bottle issue, unimpressed would be putting it politely.

 

[Martin_J]

This is true but I have been quoted over £75 for a brand new full bottle which is verging on the ridiculous. Hattons in this area are definitely the cheapest

Indeed. I just didn't want someone to go dashing off to Hattons thinking £38 would get them a full R907.

It can be easy to get caught out... I was surprised to see Halfords listed as selling them and they're really handy.

Their £45 on the website sounds unbeatable until you realise that is for an empty cylinder only. To get it filled you need to take it elsewhere!

 

[riverliver]

Mid River Thames so Portsmouth a bit of a haul.
Parabordi. they had the short ones but too fat for my locker. If you think you have a chance I would fo to a depot and do a measure as before I did I thought I could swap

 

[kalanka]

I followed the advice in Post 56 to transfer butane from a 25Kg Calor to three empty 4.5 cylinders. Did it outside, straightforward but slow due to low ambient temperature. Otherwise perfectly simple. Good advice. thanks!

 

[Graham_Wright]

I followed the advice in Post 56 to transfer butane from a 25Kg Calor to three empty 4.5 cylinders. Did it outside, straightforward but slow due to low ambient temperature. Otherwise perfectly simple. Good advice. thanks!

When the pressure equalises, presumably the flow stops. Is it necessary to drain the large bottle by pump when reaching the end?

 

[Pete7]

As it happens, a Campingaz R907 sitting above a Campingaz R904 have a total height of 38cm.

I did measure an R907 sitting on top of another R907 but they would have been too high.

Martin, great idea, hadn't thought of stacking the Camping Gaz cylinders like that

 

[Daverw]

When the pressure equalises, presumably the flow stops. Is it necessary to drain the large bottle by pump when reaching the end?

With liquid still in the doner bottle it will still drain down but slowly, liquid is slightly denser than the vapour. You will not be able to completely empty the doner bottle.

 

[Boathook]

When the pressure equalises, presumably the flow stops. Is it necessary to drain the large bottle by pump when reaching the end?

Can still overfill the receiving bottle as you are transferring a liquid.

 

[Daverw]

As said before, it’s vital to weigh the receiving bottle during the transfer to ensure you don’t over fill, not rocket science though

 

[Momac]

............not rocket science though

But it could be if you got it wrong

 

[oldgit]

But it could be if you got it wrong

Of course Calor will have given this considerable thought and consulted widely on the possible safety aspect before starting this total chaos ?

 

[Momac]

Of course Calor will have given this considerable thought and consulted widely on the possible safety aspect before starting this total chaos ?

I would have thought Calor would need to have the correct equipment for safely filling different cylinders. Do you have any reason to suspect otherwise?

It seems the wide range of cylinder sizes is the issues . I imagine each size needs its own production line.

To be fair I have only on one occasion, that I can recall, found no Campingaz 907 available locally.

 

[dunedin]

Of course Calor will have given this considerable thought and consulted widely on the possible safety aspect before starting this total chaos ?

Well after you have blown yourself into little pieces, Calor may be along to sue your executors for damage to your rented Calor Gas cylinder which they own ;-)

 

[oldgit]

Well after you have blown yourself into little pieces

Perhaps ought put something in my will about which lucky beneficery gets to inherit the rest of my collection of now useless empty calor gas bottles in the garage.

 

[Graham_Wright]

One local garage used to fill propane bottles. However, not 3.5 Kgm.
I'll approach again and ask if they have changed.