Camping Gaz availability around the world?

gfbalduc

gfbalduc

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me:Milan - boat:N.Adriatic
www.shaula3.ws
I know that the common wisdom for world-wide navigation is to carry propane bottles, and be ready to refill them with watever gas is available, but I have a problem with my boat's gas locker, which can accomodate 4 Gaz bottles but is too shallow to take any decent-sized propane tank.

I was planning to bite the bullet and convert to the small Calor propane tanks (practically the only ones that would fit in my locker) but when I went to the Calor Centre to buy the necessary stuff the guy in charge of marine appliances advised - rather strongly - against it claiming that I would not be any better off than by using Camping Gaz that - he claimed - is now widely available, adding that in the worst case I could refill the Gaz bottles.

In fact, if I could find Gaz bottles every - say - 4 months (for example in French-speaking countries, but there's not enough of them!), I would be fine.

Therefore, I have two questions for those who "have done it" recently:

- are Camping Gaz bottles available in a reasonable number of places around the world?

- is it possible to get Gaz bottles refilled?

Thanks,
 
I cannot respond to the "around the world" question but can say that my experience in cruisng around the Med is that Camping Gas is available in most of the major cruising ports. I use it exclusively. You sometimes have to search around. Just get several bottles and you are covered. It is most of the times more expensive than the local gas but you will get it finally. The price I have seen for a 3.5 kg bottle (lasts about 3-4 weeks) is in the range between 19 euros in France to 5 euros in Greece and Turkey. If you plan to stay a longer period in any country, it pays to convert to their gas bottles as the connecton devices are pretty cheap.
 
It is certainly available in Greece and Turkey. Greece has its own brand Camping Gaz bottles of the same size and fittings so no problem until you leave when you must search through the stocks to find some genuine Camping Gaz bottles otherwise you won't be able to exchange them in most other countries. In Turkey we generally found that shops would take your bottle and fill it for collection next day. This was normally done by a local in his back yard, filling from a large bottle of local butane.
 
My experience in the Caribbean was that in the French speaking Islands (and a few others) you could get exchange gaz bottles as in the UK/Europe. Elsewhere the local lpg people would refill the gaz bottles using an adaptor (which they all had). The refill would not necessarily be pure butane but could be the local "cooking gas" butane/propane mix.

Hope this helps.
 
We carried five Camping Gaz bottles during our long-term Med. and Caribbean cruising and never got anywhere near running out at any time. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I agree with Lady Jessie, we also averaged between 3 and 5 weeks per cylinder.

So sorry, can't therefore answer the second part of your question re re-filling, but can confirm that we've not yet met anyone using CG who has needed to. I understand that they CAN be re-filled subject to certain safety requirements and a search on here should reveal several previous threads covering this aspect.
 
Can't remember where now, but somewhere on the atlantic circuit we had gaz re filled.

Make sure you leave with bottles in good condition, re fillers will check the bottom for rust (it's often painted over) they won't touch a heavily corroded bottle. We had one refused no exchange or fill.
 
I only found two places around the world where I could not get camping gaz. The first was the USA.. no way - you have to buy into the US system and big problem is that none of the pipe sizes or screw fittings are compatible with European systems... In the end a bodge is possible.. I managed in the US with just one bottle which I actually kept on deck (US coastguard requirement I think) as there were so many places where you could replace it.

Australia was the other - They have a system similar to the US system but you have to buy into the exchange bottle system so you end up buying a couple of deck bottles cos there are not that many exchange points.

Other than that I found no where that I could not get my Camping Gaz filled with something!
 
If you let Barbados be your first port of call in the New World, there is an excellent Texaco facility here that can fill any gas bottle known to man - and the price of gas here is about half what it is in England.
And as others have noted above, your bottles should be easy to fill elsewhere in the Caribbean as well.
 
I carried 2calor butane and 2 calor propane on an Atlantic circuit and nevr had any problems getting them filled. I have gaz now, smaller boat and get them filled (cheap) here in Ireland.
 
For info: Croatia : you can refill Camping gas bottle but you cant buy fittings, tubes and reduction valves as the standard here is different ( unfortunately).
 
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