Gas re-filling the Cruising way

[sailorman]

children Dont try this @ home !!!!
Re: Propane gas fittings.
« Reply #1 on: Jul 17th, 2003, 10:32pm »

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We have tanks with American fittings, and they have been filled just about everywhere. S. America, Australia, all points in between, with one or two special circumstances:

We went to the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia - there they sent their propane bottles to Tahiti to be filled, they returned a month later. Well, we couldn't wait that long - so we took one of their propane bottles, bought the fitting that went to the top of it, attached a fitting to the other end of the hose to go into our bottles, upended the full tank and filled our bottles, and another boat's (large bottle) We did not do this on the boat - did it on shore, away from everybody. No problems whatsoever.

Same problem in Malaysia, did the same thing. Otherwise, we just took our bottle to the "filling station" and it got filled everywhere, regardless of whether the country was English or Metric system.

Some people, with the large 20 pound bottles, just traded theirs in for a full one - but we didn't have room for such a large propane tank.

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[AndrewB]

This reminds me of when we had a propane bottle refilled in Arricife, Lanzarote. We took it to the island's refinery which is just a short walk from the anchorage. They couldn't find a suitable adaptor so after some humming and harring they found the closest fit, and the workman just held it firmly in position to refill. Whan the tank was opened gas erupted everywhere and he completely disappeared in the clouds. After a while he emerged with the bottle, for which we paid a tiny fraction of UK refill prices. It had been wildly overfilled, and they must have wasted the same amount again. I've no idea how much was in, but far in excess of the designed amount of 3.9kg. The one bottle lasted us for an entire Atlantic crossing, almost twice as long as usual.

 

[chas]

do be careful.....

....... as far as I can rememeber, gas bottles should not be filled to more than 80%?? (might be 90%) of their capacity. If they are filled to the brim, the liquid expands if it get hotter - bang....

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[Stemar]

I know someone (not me - honest, Mr Excise Man) who ran a camper with a gas conversion many years ago, when garages with auto propane were rarer than people who like B Gates (what makes you think my computer's playing up again?).

He had a hand pump and used to buy 25kg propane bottles, turn them upside down (to get liquid gas) and shove it across to the camper's tank.

I suppose this would almost be legal for boats!

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[squidge]

Crikey ! At least you are alive to tell the tail.
"clouds of gas" did make me giggle . must be my strainge sence of humour.

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