paul-essex
Well-Known Member
I said that in relation to the camping gaz bottle taking the pressure of propane it would be no problem in my view
gas bottle filling problem
- Thread starter Bosun Higgs
- Start date
I said that in relation to the camping gaz bottle taking the pressure of propane it would be no problem in my view
VicS
Well-Known Member
What matters is whether or not a camping gas bottle can be safely used at 5or 6 times the pressure of its intended use and withstand the pressure at the highest temperature it may normally encounter.
They are presumably pressure tested when made and periodically when returned for filling. At what pressure have they been tested?
Rigger Mortice
N/A
I've just checked a small Camping Gaz bottle which is marked PO 15bar.
I don't know what PO means.
I don't know what PO means.
bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
Now I am sure I am going to be savaged by various old blokes for whom spending less money is a pleasure completely unrelated to the sum saved, but why would anybody do that for boating purposes (as opposed to LPG cars or whatever). We get 12 months of in season fry ups and out of season cuppas and FB pies out of one camping gas 907 which is 20 quid on exchange in the local camping shop, that's not a round of drinks at the bar. Life and definitely sailing opportunities are just too short.
Rigger Mortice
N/A
We get through a lot more gas then that. In a season of light use we'll use two or three bottles. If we are able to use the boat more than usual we get through 5 or 6 bottles. Just cooking and hot water. Mind you I enjoy cooking on board.
Boathook
Well-Known Member
I get through a 4.5Kg? calor bottle a week on holiday on average. The cost does build up over the year.
bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
I wasn't thinking of hot water to be fair. But that's still only sixty quid for your average season. Do you just mean hot water for washing up? I'm not really bothered about hot water for anything on board so I admit I have less needs on that basis.
Cheers
Resolution
Well-Known Member
Blimey! What are you cooking? In four months living aboard with four people this summer we only used three 907 cannisters.
Hadenough
Well-Known Member
Are you sniffing it?
we livaboard, cooking every day and I like my tea. We get 20 days on average from a 3.4kg propane, £15 a refill, 75p/day.
Kwik Decision
Well-Known Member
The RRP of Camping Gaz 907 refills is £30 now - I paid £27 at Go Outdoors a few days ago, with my 10% discount card. As we use about 4 a year, thats £120, which is starting to get significant.
Having said that, I'm a Process Engineer working in the Oil & Gas industry, and have a very good understanding of the properties of LPG, and there's no way I would decant it from one cylinder to another on my drive in order to save what £60 or so!
Having said that, I'm a Process Engineer working in the Oil & Gas industry, and have a very good understanding of the properties of LPG, and there's no way I would decant it from one cylinder to another on my drive in order to save what £60 or so!
bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
Are you sniffing it?
Agreed we probably spend a month aboard during the season, seldom cook in the evenings (we sail locally and eat out) so there is plenty left in a 907 for cuppas for me while I am fiddling with the boat in winter. Sounds about the same rate of usage.
Of course there are liveaboards and people who cruise very extensively, but looking at the boats around me in Cardiff Bay, that's not the average user. Of course the OP may be one of the former so my generalization might not apply.
Cheers
Cheers
bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
Still £19.95 at the local (small town) camping shop five minutes walk from home down our high street. Can well imagine its more at go outdoors.
Cheers
Rigger Mortice
N/A
Hot water for washing up and ourselves. TBH I've never stopped to consider whether we use a lot of gas or not but we eat on board most of the time and have only a few meals ashore. We do drink a lot of tea as well.
When I bought gas it's usually inevitably been somewhere boaty and a bottle has cost nearer £30 than £20.
In answer to Andrewbroadbent; I did work out the saving from filling my own bottles and, whilst I can't remember exactly what the saving was it was a lot more than 50%. An 80% saving rings a bell, but it's easy enough to work out for anyone who wants to.
Last edited:
Bosun Higgs
N/A
Exactly.
And to settle other questions I did the cylinders all at the same time and with the same conditions. All filled OK bar this one.
Bosun Higgs
N/A
Then again those of us who've seen a boat explode and burn to the waterine after a snag with a gas bottle are happy to take precautions like one piece gas pipes, gas detectors with alarms and stumping up a few quid to have replacement bottles filled !
I guess that having seen a few cars burn out you take your car back to the makers to fill with fuel then.
Bosun Higgs
N/A
At last a likely and sensible suggestion. I will trade that bottle in for a replace
Bosun Higgs
N/A
There's a real contradiction in your post. Why on earth would you throw away money on gas only then to eat muck like FB pies? I'd rather put cheap gas in my bottles than cheap food ( is it really food) in my guts.
Guilty as posted. But I am a Yorkshireman.
ballyabroad
Well-Known Member
I run a large activity centre in the Midlands, and most of our motorised kit runs on LPG, all with portable gas tanks refillable from a 2000l autogas(propane) tank. I've looked in to refilling standard butane bottles and lpg bottles before and decided against. If you get it wrong and overfill/damage the take off valve, you stand a good chance of having liquid rather than vapour going to your cooker. If that happens you might get away with a small flare up, but more likely you'll have one of those new cabriolet style boats. It also freezes the piping potentially cracking it and potentially freezing the valve and safety valve (if it has one) open. The cheap standard regulators can also struggle with the pressure.
It's all safe when done properly, we have over pressure release valves etc on the cylinders and calibrated measuring for filling, tanks checked on regular basis etc.
I've actually taken the gas cooker off the boat and gone over to an Origo stove, due to the ambiguous regulations relating to boat lpg installations, and the potential for gas leaks/risk in confined space.
Not at our place, but I have seen LPG cylinders go up, and through concrete walls, so I'd suggest either buying a proper refillable cylinder- you can get quite nice 11l ones which are horizontal rather than vertical or paying the money and exchanging.
The quality and mix of LPG varies from UK supplier to supplier. One of the more well known suppliers a few years ago bought a load of cheap wholesale gas from Russia. It was shocking, full of rubbish that blocked everything up. Lost a lot of big customers, and legal action was taken against them. So that may not be helping if you have the full cylinder upside down and have disturbed the sediment. Depending on the type of cylinder the take off pipe location can vary within cylinders. Any yes there does need to be a temperature variation between bottles if you're not pumping the 'moonshine' through.
Good luck!
It's all safe when done properly, we have over pressure release valves etc on the cylinders and calibrated measuring for filling, tanks checked on regular basis etc.
I've actually taken the gas cooker off the boat and gone over to an Origo stove, due to the ambiguous regulations relating to boat lpg installations, and the potential for gas leaks/risk in confined space.
Not at our place, but I have seen LPG cylinders go up, and through concrete walls, so I'd suggest either buying a proper refillable cylinder- you can get quite nice 11l ones which are horizontal rather than vertical or paying the money and exchanging.
The quality and mix of LPG varies from UK supplier to supplier. One of the more well known suppliers a few years ago bought a load of cheap wholesale gas from Russia. It was shocking, full of rubbish that blocked everything up. Lost a lot of big customers, and legal action was taken against them. So that may not be helping if you have the full cylinder upside down and have disturbed the sediment. Depending on the type of cylinder the take off pipe location can vary within cylinders. Any yes there does need to be a temperature variation between bottles if you're not pumping the 'moonshine' through.
Good luck!
Danbury
Well-Known Member
For long distance cruisers... how do you propose to refuel with butane/propane around the world ? I'm fairly sure that Calor fittings and bottles are only exchangeble in the UK with entirely different systems and rules in other countries... Do you propose to buy new cylinders in every country visited and trash the old ones ?? You'll probably have 15kg (ish) bottles so that's alot of money !
lw395
Well-Known Member
A boat I sail on used to get through gas at that sort of rate.
Mysteriously consumption was dramatically reduced after a winter refit, when cooker, regulator and all gas plumbing was replaced.
The old system had been inspected, professionally.
I found that a bit sobering at the time, the owner put it down to the cooker being more efficient, but I suspect leaks.
Also, I think this level of cost is definitely a good argument for a calorifier, although payback will still be a few years.