UK gas bottles, should you keep?

[Nostrodamus]

We are currently in the UK but will soon be leaving on a slow sail down to the Med. At this time we have no intentions of coming back. Initially we will be in France for a while before moving on through Spain and Portugal into the Med.
Currently we have two of the UK type gas bottles and I understand that we cannot use them abroad.
1) Is it best to sell, dispose of them before we leave as I don’t want to be dragging around gas bottles we may never use again or can you use them anywhere else. Can you sell them abroad or how do you dispose of them?
2) Will the UK gas regulator fit or do I need to get a new one and is it better to get one before leaving for fitting abroad or in France.
Thank you for any replies.

 

[Tom Price]

What make are they?
Why not exchange for the Camping Gaz you will need abroad? Any stockist should oblige and sell uou a new regulator.

 

[Nostrodamus]

What make are they?
Why not exchange for the Camping Gaz you will need abroad? Any stockist should oblige and sell uou a new regulator.

Tom, now I am confused. I have just looke at the empty bottle I need to replace and it says "Camping gaz". I bought it from the chandlers and it fits my regulator. Am I missing something?

 

[Wansworth]

If its light blue in colur and says Camping Gas you can use it in Spain...I do

 

[Tom Price]

[QUOTE=mogy: "If its light blue in colur and says Camping Gas you can use it in Spain...I do."

And all over Europe!

 

[macd]

Wot Tom Price said.
Nostrodamus, you're sorted. Cross it off your list and enjoy the trip.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Thank you
Crossed off
Teas are on me.

 

[Ariadne]

Expensive way of buying gas though.

18-20€ for 3Kg of Camping Gaz
19€ for 13Kg of Butane - bigger bottle and difficult to store, but far more economical & well worth the effort.
Butane is subsidized in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Expensive way of buying gas though.

18-20€ for 3Kg of Camping Gaz
19€ for 13Kg of Butane - bigger bottle and difficult to store, but far more economical & well worth the effort.
Butane is subsidized in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

This sounds a better option as I have a large gas storage locker but it again brings us back to the original question.

 

[macd]

18-20€ for 3Kg of Camping Gaz

I've searched high and low but haven't found any at that price. Just lucky, I guess. You're right, of course, that it's the dearer option albeit with considerable convenience.

 

[Wansworth]

This sounds a better option as I have a large gas storage locker but it again brings us back to the original question.

When I went to get a new gas bottle as used by the natives I had to show that I had a contract . and an address....

 

[Ariadne]

UK bottles aren't going to filled by anybody outside the UK. Camping Gaz can be exchanged with ease all over Europe (although not sure about parts of Greece?), but as I said you will pay through the nose in some places to exchange them.

Irish, Spanish & Portuguese bottles are all the same fitting, and can be exchanged at any petrol station or from the wagon that drives around.

Italian & Greek bottles are left hand thread like the UK Propane bottles used with torches, etc, but can be filled with ease in most places. Some of the car LPG filling stations will cobble a fitting to fill the Irish, Spanish & Portuguese bottles, you need to ask them and most will try to help you out.

I bought 2 (full) shinny new Spanish bottles from the wagon driver for 25€ (for the 2 of them) in Almerima in August. So if you look around and ask about you'll not need a contract, I've never been asked for an address, contract, etc in 4 years and have had no trouble getting gas anywhere. I've also pulled local bottles from skips to save cost!

I'm in Las Palmas and have my Greek and Spanish bottles filled no problem at the DISA plant, 13€ + 5% tax for 13Kg.

 

[Nostrodamus]

So having read the above I am confused.
Should I forget butane?
Why does the light blue bottle I changed at the chandlers say Camping Gaz on it?
Should I ditch the UK bottles before leaving as they will be of no use?
Do I need a new regulator for France?

 

[TQA]

UK bottles aren't going to filled by anybody outside the UK. .

That was not my experience. Other than France and the French islands and the USA I had both Blue and Red Calor bottles filled. Where ever the cruising boats stopped there is usually somebody who has a bunch of adaptors and an LPG supply.

But like everybody else says Blue Camping gas is pretty ubiquitous throughout the cruising world in the Med although at a price. Sometimes if you know you will be in a particular country for a long period it is worth your while switching to a local bottle which is MUCH cheaper to refill and can be exchanged rather than waiting for a fill so you only need one. .

 

[vyv_cox]

So having read the above I am confused.
Should I forget butane?
Why does the light blue bottle I changed at the chandlers say Camping Gaz on it?
Should I ditch the UK bottles before leaving as they will be of no use?
Do I need a new regulator for France?

Definitely stay with Camping Gaz (which is butane, maybe with some propane). You can exchange bottles, or rarely have them refilled, throughout Europe. You will pay rather heavily in UK and France, about half that amount in Spain and Greece, and don't remember in Italy but probably about the same. I may be a year or two out of date but roughly €20 - 25 in France, €10 - 15 elsewhere. It is widely available at chandleries, camping shops, ironmongers and supermarkets. A typical bottle lasts us at least a month, so we are not exactly talking about breaking the bank.

Conversely, carrying larger butane or propane bottles may sound cheaper, but every country has different fittings and regulators. Suppliers are rarely convenient for ports and harbours, so you will need to take a taxi to change them. In Spain that I know of, maybe elsewhere, it can be difficult to buy a bottle, as you may need to provide an address. You will need to dump the old bottle as you cross each border.

 

[Wansworth]

Just boughttwo refills Galp butain 28 eur two bots.The garage would not sell me a new bottle...I would have to go to the depot for that. And there heavy although there are stainless steel ones issued by another company.

 

[Blue5]

If you have camping gaz bottle and regulator you will not have a problem, refills are available in all the countries on the way down.

We are on the same passage at the moment and as a backup we have taken a Trangia meths camping stove.

 

[BlackSheep1]

Gas

Camping gas in my opinion is the way to go. As previously stated available almost every where round the Med and most EU countries. We are paying any thing from 7.80 euroes to 8.50 in Greece, the only prob is the Greeks seem to prefer dark blue bottles as apposed to the normal light blue bottles I started with. We have when we exchange them been given the light blue ones which have had a nice coat of dark blue paint. This could be a problem if and when we return to the UK.

 

[rivonia]

Gas Bottles

From personal experience

If you are passing Estepona (between Gibraltar and Almerimar) the chap there will fill any type of gas bottle. Cost €20 for 6KG refill.

Have just handed over our UK 6KG propane bottles to folks returning to the UK. Now have 12kg Greek gas bottles. Cost €37 for tank + gas.

 

[charles_reed]

If they're Calor, you don't in fact own them and, it appears, unless you have the original bill of sale, you cannot get back your deposit.
If they're Camping Gaz, you could just keep them and exchange them around Europe.
Camping Gaz is, however, the most expensive LPG, you can get - though I've never found prices quite as high as Ariadne, I was once asked for €18 in Gaeta for the 2.6kg bottle.
Wherever you go the local supplier will be the most economical - I found Butagaz Cube 6kg was the same price as the Camping Gaz 2.6kg in France and Portugal, in Greece the Petrogas 3kg bottle (indistinguishable in dimensions from the Camping Gaz bottle) €6 compared to €8 for Camping Gaz REFILLS.
In Croatia and Italy they refill anything, Camping Gaz is the most common - be aware you'll pay through the nose for exchange bottles, always go to the refilling station.
I now have a Petrogaz bottle (it lasts 30 days) and one 3/4 full Cube and one empty Cube.
I just return to France to refill the Cubes every other year or so. It's a voyage with a purpose ;-)

PS I kept my Calor bottles, just in case!!!