Calor lite & Calor in general

Further to Navagateur's helpful advice;
Stainless steel pigtails  cost a lot more than rubber i.e. £25 v £8
Rubber hoses have a life expectancy of about 5 years from manufacture (not first use) while stainless can be used for over 20 years.
Rubber hoses release oil which causes deterioration of rubber parts of regulators, changeover controls etc. Necessitating replacement.
For very many years now, caravans have been fitted with bulkhead mounted regulators, which are a lot more expensive than bottle fitted ones. £45 v £8.
Automatic changeover valves allow two bottles to be left connected which adds convenience on a wet day when the in-use bottle runs out of gas.
Calor Lite bottles and their refills are more expensive than regular Calor bottles.
SO, A low budget setup with a conventional bottle, screw on regulator and a rubber hose will cost;
Full bottle £57
Regulator £8
Rubber pigtail £8
Total £75
OR A luxury setup with two Calor Lite bottles, two stainless steel pigtails with hand wheels, an automatic changeover and bulkhead regulator will cost;
Two new, full Calor Lite bottles £142
Two 500mm POL stainless steel pigtails with hand wheels £50
An automatic changeover valve £45
A bulkhead mounted regulator £45
Total £282
But nice to own and with lower in life costs caused by deterioration, than a basic system.
All prices given are mid range, possibly on line.

Thanks for the extra input

I looked at the changeover valves and quickly discounted the thought, the cheapest version was £50

I will slum it and change bottles myself ;-)

Nice to have but really ? is it necessary, I don't think so 

Appreciate the information though

I would wager the vast majority of caravans have the same rubber hoses they were originally supplied with

Hi Steve.

Our discussions with Elddis continue now added to the 'list' is the front roof light leaking giving a reading of 65% around it on the ceiling panels.

Its been temp resealed but Elddis keep rejecting the claim due to wrong forms being completed by the repairer.

Pathetic and useless customer service but expected from the infamous shed builder

Herb Acious:

if the 'van is serviced by an approved service workshop, they check the hoses and "suggest" replacement when the date marked on them is near or exceeded.

Aye, I suspect that is a big if, how many use or can afford an approved service workshop I wonder

I think most either don't bother at all or do what service work they can themselves 

Aye, I suspect that is a big if, how many use or can afford an approved service workshop I wonder

I think most either don't bother at all or do what service work they can themselves 

A mobile service engineer should also pick up any thing that requires replaceing because of age

Hi Trini sorry to hear how your plight is getting drawn out. We decided to bite the bullet and change for a new Swift Exclusive,some would say out of the frying pan into the fire but after a five week tour of Scotland and no problems life is good.(hope i haven't put a curse on it ). I hope you get yours sorted out soon.

Steve

Even approved workshops make mistakes with gas stuff so don't ASSume your van is safe just because you have used one.  I had a very near miss with a hose not tightened to the caravan end luckily I have an excellent sense of smell!  Then they had several new hoses with faulty brass fittings!  I now go Independant Mobile Servicing!  

The washer was from a brand new hose over tightened by approved workshop.

Just tried to get a "lite" refill at a club site and was told no longer available. Tried the local Ayr Calor outlet and they confirmed they are being withdrawn and no more Calorlite cylinders will be available. Got one at my local supplier 5 weeks ago before we left home, no mention then of discontinuation. Back to the heavies I suppose.