Exchanging Camping Gaz

[Mistroma]

I've just remembered a problem I had last year when exchanging a Camping Gaz 907 cylinder. I tried to exchange the empty cylinder in a Corsican supermarket but they refused to take it as it was an Italian cylinder, not a French one. I'd actually bought it in Spain and the Camping Gaz text was in Spanish certainly not Italian.

I haven't had a look at cylinders in Sardinia to see if Italian ones are actually different. Anyone had similar problems? I suppose that the Spanish one might have been a re-sprayed fake Camping Gaz cylinder. It looked identical but colour was a very slightly different shade of blue. Stamps for date, tare etc. all looked normal.

Am I likely to run into problems if I get Italian cylinders this year and move back to France or onwards to Greece or Croatia?

 

[sailaboutvic]

I've just remembered a problem I had last year when exchanging a Camping Gaz 907 cylinder. I tried to exchange the empty cylinder in a Corsican supermarket but they refused to take it as it was an Italian cylinder, not a French one. I'd actually bought it in Spain and the Camping Gaz text was in Spanish certainly not Italian.

I haven't had a look at cylinders in Sardinia to see if Italian ones are actually different. Anyone had similar problems? I suppose that the Spanish one might have been a re-sprayed fake Camping Gaz cylinder. It looked identical but colour was a very slightly different shade of blue. Stamps for date, tare etc. all looked normal.

Am I likely to run into problems if I get Italian cylinders this year and move back to France or onwards to Greece or Croatia?

No problem in Greece , if any thing it's likely you lose it and end up with a rusty Greek bottle . in Italy we always to get any bottle filled at a gas filling station

 

[vyv_cox]

Not sure if these are the ones you are talking about but there are some Italian cylinders that are rather bigger in height and diameter than Camping Gaz 907s. As Vic says, in Greece they couldn't care less, and even sell the larger ones for the same price as the smaller, but elsewhere some suppliers seem to take a delight in turning sales away.

I carry a can of spray paint that is roughly the same colour as a Camping Gaz bottle. When exchanges have been refused, mainly because of rust, I rub the bottle down with abrasive paper and give it a quick respray, which has always been successful.

 

[AndrewB]

No problem changing Greek and Croatian bought CG cylinders in Italy. Provided the cylinder is stamped CGI it should be accepted even if it is repainted (Greece). Rusty and dented cans cannot be accepted: so like Vyv_cox I brush over the cylinder with sandpaper to remove the worst of any rust that has formed. Sealing the new bottle in a plastic bag helps.

 

[Cardo]

The occasional shop may decline a bottle if it's not the exact ones they use, but it's very rare. The bigger shops generally don't care.

Once in Greece, if you're planning on leaving again I suggest you ensure the replacements are CG bottles. Once you're fobbed off one of the fake bottles you'll struggle to swap it back to an official CG one. This happened to us and we ended up having to ditch it and buy a replacement CG one when we returned to Italy.

 

[Carmel2]

We carry a few cans of camping gaz blue spray paint around.....

 

[Mistroma]

Thanks for the replies. I've never had a cylinder re-filled at a garage, only swapped for a full one. The Spanish was exactly the same as a 907, no rust at all, with text in Spanish (possibly English as well). A lot of Spanish cylinders looked as if they've been cleaned up and re-sprayed.

Extremely picky in Corsica and all cylinders I've seen were exactly same as ones you'd see in UK, white text in French and English. I might try to get a can of blue paint but would only need it if I accept a rusty cylinder as exchange.

I'll ask about getting my genuine cylinders filled at a petrol station. I'm assuming Vic means that they have the required adapter.

 

[crisjones]

Thanks for the replies. I've never had a cylinder re-filled at a garage, only swapped for a full one. The Spanish was exactly the same as a 907, no rust at all, with text in Spanish (possibly English as well). A lot of Spanish cylinders looked as if they've been cleaned up and re-sprayed.

Extremely picky in Corsica and all cylinders I've seen were exactly same as ones you'd see in UK, white text in French and English. I might try to get a can of blue paint but would only need it if I accept a rusty cylinder as exchange.

I'll ask about getting my genuine cylinders filled at a petrol station. I'm assuming Vic means that they have the required adapter.

I am pretty sure Vic would be referring to a Gas Station as opposed to a petrol station - he will be meaning a Gas Bottle Filling Station. Certainly the one about 5km from Ragusa Marina in Sicily would fill practically any bottle that you took to them for €2 per kilo.
I doubt you will find any petrol stations that would have the necessary adapters. If you had the adapters yourself then some petrol stations "may" let you fill your bottles from the Autogas pump but this is becoming increasingly rare due to H&S rules etc. Petrol stations in Portugal used to be quite relaxed about it a few years ago but I am not sure of the current situation.
Lots of motorhomes refill their domestic gas bottles at petrol stations but they invariably have an external connection point that looks the same as if they were filling a normal vehicle LPG tank so the petrol station is highly unlikely to query it.
Even in Turkey it was very difficult to find a petrol station willing to fill domestic gas cylinders even if you had the adapters - and this is a country where almost every petrol station sells Autogas and H&S rules do not seem to exist!!!

 

[vyv_cox]

I am pretty sure Vic would be referring to a Gas Station as opposed to a petrol station - he will be meaning a Gas Bottle Filling Station. Certainly the one about 5km from Ragusa Marina in Sicily would fill practically any bottle that you took to them for €2 per kilo.
I doubt you will find any petrol stations that would have the necessary adapters. If you had the adapters yourself then some petrol stations "may" let you fill your bottles from the Autogas pump but this is becoming increasingly rare due to H&S rules etc. Petrol stations in Portugal used to be quite relaxed about it a few years ago but I am not sure of the current situation.
Lots of motorhomes refill their domestic gas bottles at petrol stations but they invariably have an external connection point that looks the same as if they were filling a normal vehicle LPG tank so the petrol station is highly unlikely to query it.
Even in Turkey it was very difficult to find a petrol station willing to fill domestic gas cylinders even if you had the adapters - and this is a country where almost every petrol station sells Autogas and H&S rules do not seem to exist!!!

There are very few Autogas stations in Greece. A few years ago there were five in total, all around Athens. I believe there are a few more now but none handy for the coast. Consequently very many petrol stations refill gas bottles - I know of two in Lakki despite its small size. They usually exchange them but will sometimes refill yours while you wait or in a couple of hours.

 

[Mistroma]

Thanks for the clarification, I've obviously been spending too much time around Americans. I hadn't been to a gas filling station so made the wrong connection.

Good to know about Ragusa as I'm quite likely to be there this year.

 

[crisjones]

There are very few Autogas stations in Greece. A few years ago there were five in total, all around Athens. I believe there are a few more now but none handy for the coast. Consequently very many petrol stations refill gas bottles - I know of two in Lakki despite its small size. They usually exchange them but will sometimes refill yours while you wait or in a couple of hours.

Surely if the petrol station does not sell Autogas then they cannot refill your bottle - or am I missing something?? Without Autogas the only way they can refill your bottle is by decanting from a local bottle on site - I don't think there are many petrol stations who will do that. No doubt many petrol stations will send your bottle off to the gas bottle refilling plant for filling but that is not the same thing as refilling it themselves.
Exchanging a bottle at the petrol station is perfectly normal since many petrol stations are also gas bottle agencies.
Here in Agios Nikolaos, Crete the local gas bottle shop (not a petrol station) will refill your own Camping Gaz bottles by sending them off to the filling plant however the filling plant could not fill a standard UK Propane bottle - I assume they did not have the correct adapter. It would seem that Greece is a more difficult country when it comes to dealing with "foreign" bottles than Portugal and Italy.

 

[vyv_cox]

Surely if the petrol station does not sell Autogas then they cannot refill your bottle - or am I missing something?? Without Autogas the only way they can refill your bottle is by decanting from a local bottle on site - I don't think there are many petrol stations who will do that. No doubt many petrol stations will send your bottle off to the gas bottle refilling plant for filling but that is not the same thing as refilling it themselves.
Exchanging a bottle at the petrol station is perfectly normal since many petrol stations are also gas bottle agencies.
Here in Agios Nikolaos, Crete the local gas bottle shop (not a petrol station) will refill your own Camping Gaz bottles by sending them off to the filling plant however the filling plant could not fill a standard UK Propane bottle - I assume they did not have the correct adapter. It would seem that Greece is a more difficult country when it comes to dealing with "foreign" bottles than Portugal and Italy.

They decant them from bigger bottles. This is done on large numbers of islands in the Aegean that I know of. Filled bottle supplies are now more reliable than they were but a few years ago almost all the bottles I exchanged on various islands were decanted in the back yard, sometimes filling stations, sometimes supermarkets, sometimes a local man. This year I have had bottles refilled a couple of times by 'a man', bottle taken away by someone from the supermarket and returned a couple of hours later.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Thanks for the replies. I've never had a cylinder re-filled at a garage, only swapped for a full one. The Spanish was exactly the same as a 907, no rust at all, with text in Spanish (possibly English as well). A lot of Spanish cylinders looked as if they've been cleaned up and re-sprayed.

Extremely picky in Corsica and all cylinders I've seen were exactly same as ones you'd see in UK, white text in French and English. I might try to get a can of blue paint but would only need it if I accept a rusty cylinder as exchange.

I'll ask about getting my genuine cylinders filled at a petrol station. I'm assuming Vic means that they have the required adapter.

Has chris said I do mean gas filling station and not Petrol garage ,
although you will find one petrol garage on my site in murter where they will call out a guy to fill the bottle .
last year I happen to see him turn up in a estate car with three very large bottle , then pulling into a side road and filled mine up .
By the way has we talking about Croatia, be awhere if you take a bottle to a gas filling depot , if it's out of date they may refuse to fill it .