Calor bottles discontinued

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I think Calor are nasty doing this, old camper vans can't fit a 6kh under the bed, calor response is use camping gaz, but a 2.72 kg camping gaz is as much as 7kg of calor butane

 

Dont hold your breath on this one, was at my local Calor stockists yesterday swopping out an empty 6kg lite for a normal 6kg LPG, he had a cage full of empty 4.5kg butane cylinders that he said Calor were refusing to take back, so if they are refusing to take them back i guess they have no way of knowing whether they are servicable or not, and the more they refuse to take back the quicker they will be phased out .

Some local firms now offering money for empty Calor cylinders, not enquired as to how much they are offering, guess they go for scrap. I now have 2 x full 6kg LPG and 4x 4.5 KG butane, picked these up cheap cheap on ebay before the rot set in. I think this will see me through my remaining caravaning days.

Hi everyone,

Further to the March issue of the Club magazine where the Club's Technical Team addressed the issue of cylinder availability in the Ask Your Club section, I  just wanted to share with you some information here too on this situation which the Club's Technical Manager has shared with me.

Firstly, starting with some background. A combination of issues such as the pandemic and Brexit have caused issues for the supply of LPG cylinders for some time, but to be fair, there were issues before those factors arose too. Cylinder suppliers have told us for many years that they never see a significant proportion of their cylinders ever again after initial distribution. 

Announcement of the intended withdrawal of the Calor 6lite cylinder was as long ago as 2017. We heard a rumour of wider cylinder withdrawals around the middle of last year and raised a concern at industry meetings. 

We received notification of Calor's withdrawal of the Cube, 3.9kg Propane, 4.5kg Butane, 6Lite Propane and 12kg Butane cylinders on 18 January 2023, just two weeks before the withdrawal was to be implemented. 

In terms of impact within our particular sector, however, it's perhaps not as serious as it may be in the other sectors, such as boats, for instance. The smallest Calor cylinders are by far not the most common sizes used. Most of our members would tend to use a 6/7kg cylinder or larger and were already aware of the loss of the 6lite from the market.

Those needing to find an alternative small cylinder have options from Flogas and perhaps from Campingaz for those who don't use very much gas (given the price of those cylinders). Our Technical Manager at the Club received the following from Flogas when querying their ability to support this market:

Flogas is committed to the small cylinder market in 2023 and beyond. At Flogas, we understand that smaller cylinder sizes are a lifeline for people who have a limited or unique space, including within caravans, boats, and motorhomes.

Flogas are committed to supplying the small cylinder market and we will continue to offer our 3.9kg propane, 5kg gaslight, 4.5kg butane (for summer or indoor use) and Campingaz® products. These, along with our larger cylinder sizes are available from our depots, through our extensive stockist network as well as our online website shop. We recommend that customers call ahead to ensure the specific size required is stocked prior to making a journey.

Our cylinders are compatible with either a clip on or screw on regulator and sizes vary so please check this when choosing a new cylinder. The information’s on our website and it’s simple to change to a different regulator if needed.

We are doing all we can to support the specialist markets who rely on these sizes and will continue to work hard to increase our stocks of smaller sizes given the recent changes in the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinder market. Flogas’ logistics teams, dealers, and retailers are working in partnership to meet the needs of our new customers. However, this will take time so please be patient as we move through this transition.

We remain committed to providing our customers with the best possible service and products, and we are confident that our small cylinder sizes will meet the needs of a wide range of customers.

Safety is our number one priority and Flogas cylinders receive regular inspection and maintenance to keep you safe. You can find out more about gas bottle safety on our website including guidance on how to store and handle Flogas cylinders.

If you have any questions or would like to place an order, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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"They have also responded publicly with Matt Lightburn, General Manager for Flogas Cylinders commenting:

The recent market changes in the supply of small gas cylinders have taken us by surprise. The team at Flogas are doing all we can to support these specialist markets with their additional need.

Flogas are committed to the continued supply of small cylinders via our stockists nationwide or on our web shop.

We recognise that motorhomes often have unique and limited storage space. Our bottles vary in size slightly, to ensure a good fit in your unique space, we recommend collecting from a local stockist in person. Bottles are compatible with either a clip on and screw on regulator and sizes vary so please check this when choosing a new cylinder. It’s simple to change to a different regulator if needed."

In addition, Flogas shared some of their market development plans, with new outlets for their cylinders on the way. It would be naive to assume Flogas will have no supply issues, clearly, but we have no reason to question their commitment to doing the best they can and in developing their market share in the leisure sector. 

We have also seen appreciable take-up in our sector of various makes of user-refillable gas cylinders (SafeFill, Gaslow and Gas-It being the most common suppliers). All of these offer small capacity cylinders and they suit those with relatively high gas usage and/or those who tour extensively in Europe, where cylinders exchangeable only in your home country are a liability.

 

Thank you for some long awaited feedback from the Club Rowenna.

Just as an aside I wonder whether you could give some feedback to the club in general. There have been numerous occasions where members have expressed dismay at the total lack of communication from the club, which if they reached out and kept members informed on all available channels would not only cut off wild speculation but would also garner a more favourable feeling towards an Executive and hierarchy that seems detached from its members.

 

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I switched to Safefill which have different size options to suit most caravan/motohomes. It cost about £150 to buy the 11KG cylinder but you do save almost 2/3rds on gas. However if you are a permanent electric hook up user it is questionable whether you can really recover the outlay especially as you are instructed to get them checked after 10 years (at what cost?). I also wonder how long garages will have gas outlets due to the switch to electric cars. I am slightly disappointed with the build quality of Safefill which has a plastic outer protective case which has cracked. Also after carrying out a refill the safety valve seems to stick and needs a bit of screwing and unscrewing onto the regulator to get it working.

Calor have decided not to  immediate withdrawal of the 3.9kg (propane) and 4.5kg (butane)
products. However they will still be withdrawn but no new bottles will be made. As long as bottles are within date and not damaged, they will be serviced, refilled and returned to a retailer. This means these smaller Calor gas cylinders will be harder to find over time and only available from Calor Distribution Centres.

At least it gives folk a chane of finding refills and longer to make a change to something else.

peedee

We needed to change our 4.5kg Butane recently and couldn't find anyone with a full bottle to exchange so ended up accepting the larger 7kg free exchange.

Edit - The bottle exchange was free but unfortunately not the gas.

Calor seem to be spreading mixed messages, my local dealer has not had any 4.5kg butane since before Covid, what he has got is a cage full of empties that he has exchanged for 6kg etc, and calor will not take back the 4.5kg empties. Companies are now springing up that will buy your empty cylinders, not idea what prices they are giving but i guess they go as scrap metal.