Converting a Continental LPG regulator to Calor,can it be done?

[Steve_N]

Gas bottles vary over Europe, that is reality. Your best option as you need a new fitting would be to fit a bulkhead regulator then have appropriate pigtails for the gas bottles you use.

+0.5..
A single pigtail terminating in a 21.8LH butane nut plus separate cylinder adapters each with a 21.8LH connection is the neater solution and means having only one pigtail to replace when it expires. The adapters are available for every known cylinder fitment.

 

[vyv_cox]

Gas bottles vary over Europe, that is reality. Your best option as you need a new fitting would be to fit a bulkhead regulator then have appropriate pigtails for the gas bottles you use.

And even in UK. Calor is perhaps most common but these days there are several other suppliers, all with different fittings. Then there is the IOM, different from all the UK ones.

 

[lpdsn]

The answer to your question is yes,I do not like waste.I do not like having to buy two regulators to do the same job.I do not like having to store the old regulator among my large stock of 'stuff that might come in useful' & I do not like having to cut off the purpose made pipe to fit a jubilee clip & repeating that move every now & then when I change from Butane to Propane & visa versa.
Nor will I like having to buy a new piece of pipe every now & then to accommodate the jubilee method which is not as satisfactory.

Above all I do not like stupidity.

Ok, so if you don't want to spend <£10 on a new regulator that you have to replace every ten years anyway, or cut pipe that you have to replace every five anyway, in order to change the gas bottles you're using, I'm afraid I can't help you.

How were you planning to avoid the cost of new bottles when changing systems?

 

[Nicholas123]

+1

Also remember that the recommended maximum life for the regulators is only 10 years so it should to be changed sooner or later anyway.

Why.Who says so & what is there to go wrong?

 

[Nicholas123]

I completely agree; it's what I've done and never regretted it for a moment. As for waste, I hate it too, but regulators do not last forever: the safe working life of regulators is only 6 years (was 10 I believe). The relevant standard (so the OP might care to look for this writing on the regulator) is EN 12864 Annexe M or, from 2013 onwards, EN 16129 Annexe M.

Six years!What is it that happens do they dissolve in seawater? (not that sea water ever comes near them,at least not in my case).

There is no EN number anywhere on my regulator.It is a Cavagna type 628 & trolling the internet last night trying to find more out about it I discovered that regulators seem to be the most complicated subject in the universe,so many different types seem available.
Sadly I am no nearer finding some kind of adaption piece that will allow it to connect directly with either a Calor Butane or Propane bottle.

 

[Nicholas123]

+0.5..
A single pigtail terminating in a 21.8LH butane nut plus separate cylinder adapters each with a 21.8LH connection is the neater solution and means having only one pigtail to replace when it expires. The adapters are available for every known cylinder fitment.

I tried to look up those adaptors last night & they looked like yet another little complicated device that you have to add.Can you provide a link to one just so that I can get my facts strait? :encouragement:

Regards Nicholas.

 

[Nicholas123]

Ok, so if you don't want to spend <£10 on a new regulator that you have to replace every ten years anyway, or cut pipe that you have to replace every five anyway, in order to change the gas bottles you're using, I'm afraid I can't help you.

How were you planning to avoid the cost of new bottles when changing systems?

I dispute the fact that you have to replace regulators every ten years or pipe every five,that is just scaremongering perpetrated by people that can't think for themselves.
Just as a matter of interest my rubber pipe has 2002 printed on it & I can't remember if that is the date of manufacture or the date some "expert" says you need to replace it but it seems perfectly alright & I have every intention of using it again :encouragement:

I have two Calor 4.5 kg Butane bottles (& one furrin one) & I intend to ask the supplier if I can change one for a Propane bottle,ideally the slightly larger size.Obviously Propane is better in winter & I think possibly cheaper? but anyway I shall conduct experiments to see which my appliances run better on.

Any more questions or out & out statements presented as fact please communicate with my Lawyer as he is more suited to 'experts' & academics only interested in hypothetical questions

PS: I don't actually have a Lawyer, will I be needing one?

 

[VicS]

I dispute the fact that you have to replace regulators every ten years or pipe every five,that is just scaremongering perpetrated by people that can't think for themselves.
Just as a matter of interest my rubber pipe has 2002 printed on it & I can't remember if that is the date of manufacture or the date some "expert" says you need to replace it but it seems perfectly alright & I have every intention of using it again :encouragement:

I have two Calor 4.5 kg Butane bottles (& one furrin one) & I intend to ask the supplier if I can change one for a Propane bottle,ideally the slightly larger size.Obviously Propane is better in winter & I think possibly cheaper? but anyway I shall conduct experiments to see which my appliances run better on.

Any more questions or out & out statements presented as fact please communicate with my Lawyer as he is more suited to 'experts' & academics only interested in hypothetical questions

PS: I don't actually have a Lawyer, will I be needing one?

The recommendations from people who know more about these things than I do is that the regulators should be replaced every 10 / 6 years. and hoses every 5 years. They do not come from scaremongers and people who cannot think for themselves.

I would particularly caution against hoses significantly older than 5 years. I attempted to use a previously unused length that was older a while back . Ir looked good with no signs of distress when flexed but when pushed on to a nozzle it split lengthwise! Reusing a 14 year old hose is insane

I thought you claimed to be a qualified gas "engineer" and to know what you are doing.............. your actions and views seem to be more like those of a cowboy plumber without a clue.

With gas , esp lpg in boats, you don't take chances!

Please post details of your boat so that if any of us see it we can keep well clear.

 

[lpdsn]

I dispute the fact that you have to replace regulators every ten years or pipe every five,that is just scaremongering perpetrated by people that can't think for themselves.
Just as a matter of interest my rubber pipe has 2002 printed on it & I can't remember if that is the date of manufacture or the date some "expert" says you need to replace it but it seems perfectly alright & I have every intention of using it again :encouragement:

I have two Calor 4.5 kg Butane bottles (& one furrin one) & I intend to ask the supplier if I can change one for a Propane bottle,ideally the slightly larger size.Obviously Propane is better in winter & I think possibly cheaper? but anyway I shall conduct experiments to see which my appliances run better on.

Any more questions or out & out statements presented as fact please communicate with my Lawyer as he is more suited to 'experts' & academics only interested in hypothetical questions

PS: I don't actually have a Lawyer, will I be needing one?

Have it whatever way you want.

The five years figure for gas hose is a very oft quoted figure by surveyors and insurance companies. The ten year figure came from the surveyor who did my insurance survey. I walked across the road bought a new regulator and fitted it (just looked it up, I keep boat accounts sadly, actually cost only £5). I could've found a solicitor, but that may have cost more than £5 and taken a wee bit longer to resolve.

In the grand scheme of things of running and maintaining a boat, it's a small amount of money and just a little effort to keep the insurance company happy and to give them one less excuse if something goes wrong. Plus preventative maintenance makes sense for something like gas.

 

[Nicholas123]

The recommendations from people who know more about these things than I do is that the regulators should be replaced every 10 / 6 years. and hoses every 5 years. They do not come from scaremongers and people who cannot think for themselves.

I would particularly caution against hoses significantly older than 5 years. I attempted to use a previously unused length that was older a while back . Ir looked good with no signs of distress when flexed but when pushed on to a nozzle it split lengthwise! Reusing a 14 year old hose is insane

I thought you claimed to be a qualified gas "engineer" and to know what you are doing.............. your actions and views seem to be more like those of a cowboy plumber without a clue.

With gas , esp lpg in boats, you don't take chances!

Please post details of your boat so that if any of us see it we can keep well clear.

I see so you could'nt actually answer my question but have decided to go off on a rant instead,ok :encouragement: Glad you spotted your gas hose when it split.Nothing wrong with your eyesight anyway

 

[Nicholas123]

Have it whatever way you want.

The five years figure for gas hose is a very oft quoted figure by surveyors and insurance companies. The ten year figure came from the surveyor who did my insurance survey. I walked across the road bought a new regulator and fitted it (just looked it up, I keep boat accounts sadly, actually cost only £5). I could've found a solicitor, but that may have cost more than £5 and taken a wee bit longer to resolve.

In the grand scheme of things of running and maintaining a boat, it's a small amount of money and just a little effort to keep the insurance company happy and to give them one less excuse if something goes wrong. Plus preventative maintenance makes sense for something like gas.

I can assure you I do preventative maintenance but I also try to keep a sense of proportion & not pay out for things that are unnecessary like,surveyors to do work I can do myself.Insurance Companies that insist on surveys & a million & one other things that given half a chance make boating a very experience hobby.It's what makes it possible for me :encouragement:

 

[lpdsn]

I can assure you I do preventative maintenance but I also try to keep a sense of proportion & not pay out for things that are unnecessary like,surveyors to do work I can do myself.Insurance Companies that insist on surveys & a million & one other things that given half a chance make boating a very experience hobby.It's what makes it possible for me :encouragement:

Ah, well. Only the occasional boat goes bang anyway, so chances are you'll get away with it with your 2002 hose and "EEC" era regulator. If you don't, I'll be curious to hear if the insurance company pays up. Hopefully from yourself, but if not if you wouldn't mind leaving a note for your executors with your ybw password...

I don't like wasting money myself, but saving a fiver to put at risk my boat and furthermore giving the insurance company acres of wriggle room to avoid paying out makes FA sense. I want comprehensive insurance that I have confidence will pay out. If you just want the cheapest third party insurance, fine, your choice.

I think I'll now join the ranks of those suggesting you put you boat name on the thread so we can at least berth a comfortable distance away. There's probably an optimal distance. Far enough away to avoid damage or injuries but close enough that we're in with a good chance of catching the odd spare fender.

 

[VicS]

I see so you could'nt actually answer my question but have decided to go off on a rant instead,ok :encouragement: Glad you spotted your gas hose when it split.Nothing wrong with your eyesight anyway

No I cannot answer you question. I do not know if it is possible to buy an adapter to fit your unidentified continental regulator to UK gas cylinders. Nor it seems does anyone else.

What I do know, however, is that a safe and sensible solution to your problem has been suggested using parts listed on the Will Hayward site, to which you were given a link

The solution is a bulkhead mounted regulator, an M20 to M20 high pressure pigtail hose and cylinder adapters to fit from M20 to what ever cylinders you chose the use. POL, Calor butane nut, Camping Gaz, clip on etc

 

[vyv_cox]

No I cannot answer you question. I do not know if it is possible to buy an adapter to fit your unidentified continental regulator to UK gas cylinders. Nor it seems does anyone else.

I have an adaptor that will convert a continental (German) LH bottle thread to a RH Calor one. I was given it, many years ago, by someone who inherited it on a boat he bought in Holland. I have never used it (and neither did he) and have no idea who made it.

 

[VicS]

I have an adaptor that will convert a continental (German) LH bottle thread to a RH Calor one. I was given it, many years ago, by someone who inherited it on a boat he bought in Holland. I have never used it (and neither did he) and have no idea who made it.

RH calor ? M20 as opposed to LH21.8mm used on the small Calor butane cyls ?

 

[DownWest]

I can, sort of, understand the reluctance to spend money when the different gas outfits make things difficult. But these amounts are trivial compared with the grief it it goes wrong.

Friends asked me to look at something in their gite. Noticed that the gas hose for the cooker was several years out of date. They were unaware that the date stamp was a change by date, though it was written on the pipe.... UK is a bit different, the date is when fitted ?.
Obviously the limits are a lot shorter than the real life of the hose, but try discussing that with your insurance co. or the police, if things go wrong.

Looking at the mangy pipes on a boat recently, the owner was unaware that they were lifed. The reg to hard pipe was cracking all over. That was in the gas locker, but he had not looked at the flex to the stove. It wasn't leaking, but it should have been..

 

[VicS]

UK is a bit different, the date is when fitted ?.

Date of manufacture !

 

[DownWest]

Date of manufacture !

Quite! So be careful when buying...

Here it says" Change before XXXX'"

 

[Nicholas123]

Ah, well. Only the occasional boat goes bang anyway, so chances are you'll get away with it with your 2002 hose and "EEC" era regulator. If you don't, I'll be curious to hear if the insurance company pays up. Hopefully from yourself, but if not if you wouldn't mind leaving a note for your executors with your ybw password...

I don't like wasting money myself, but saving a fiver to put at risk my boat and furthermore giving the insurance company acres of wriggle room to avoid paying out makes FA sense. I want comprehensive insurance that I have confidence will pay out. If you just want the cheapest third party insurance, fine, your choice.

I think I'll now join the ranks of those suggesting you put you boat name on the thread so we can at least berth a comfortable distance away. There's probably an optimal distance. Far enough away to avoid damage or injuries but close enough that we're in with a good chance of catching the odd spare fender.

I've got news for you I'm happy to keep my boat away from you quivering jellies that are scared of your own shadows.
Fear is contagious & the sound of your knees knocking combined must be very offputting.

 

[Nicholas123]

No I cannot answer you question. I do not know if it is possible to buy an adapter to fit your unidentified continental regulator to UK gas cylinders. Nor it seems does anyone else.

What I do know, however, is that a safe and sensible solution to your problem has been suggested using parts listed on the Will Hayward site, to which you were given a link

The solution is a bulkhead mounted regulator, an M20 to M20 high pressure pigtail hose and cylinder adapters to fit from M20 to what ever cylinders you chose the use. POL, Calor butane nut, Camping Gaz, clip on etc

That is not the question I was referring to.What I was trying to find out from you is what it is about regulators that breaks down causing them to need to be replaced in ten years according to the experts that you were so keen to quote & who these experts are?
Clearly there are a lot of vested interests in having us buy their products & sign up to their services continually.Do you also change your rigging wire every ten years your keel bolts every twenty & your mobile phone everytime some 'expert' comes out with a new gimmick? There seems to be plenty of people that do but I do not think they are necessarily the brightest in our society.
One needs to make up ones own mind about these things & create a balance

PS: I might also add sign up for the latest "qualification" the RYA are trying to flog to boost their revenue.The list of things other people say are crucial are endless

Now I am just going to get some pit props encase the roof falls down & there is an earth quake