Refillable Gas Systems

David, you only need one Safefill cylinder due to being able to fill it at your convenience. However, can’t you carry the other somewhere else? I carry mine under the bed. I use my 10kg bottle as the main one and my small 3.5 kg SF as a backup. 

I think I'll have to have a think about whether we can house a  second bottle elsewhere.  I really like two gas bottles: one for the caravan and one for the cadac.  We've been known to use the cadac and the caravan oven the same time, and I don't like using the BBQ point on the side of the 'van.

I'll continue to think it through.  No real rush at the moment as we'll be OK for gas until the Spring.

David 

With most caravanners carrying all but a swat LPG cylinder under the bed will mean it is not carried upright, totally against recommended industry practice. Plus of course it is within an "occupied space" and one containing electrical equipment and naked flame potential ignition sources, again against best advice.

Last until spring.  I will be lucky if our gas lasts the weekend!

Which Bailey have you got David?  We will be on a Rally this W/e and I am certain that both safefil and Bailey vans will be in evidence, I will ask what people do if you want.  

Thanks Boff.  We have a Bailey Unicorn 3 Valencia (2016).  Any info. would be useful.  

We only use gas for cooking as we're on EHU all the time and are not ralliers.  We have another 3 nights away later on in the month and if we manage to get away in December it will probably be a miracle as the diary gets hectic. 

Thanks

David

I am surprised that you use enough gas to warrant a change David and more so given the cost of replacement bottles and the availability of calor on sites. 

I spend 4 months of the year on EHU and suspect that (given I already have calor bottles) the cost of buying one empty safefill gas would pay for 6 years of refills for my 3.9kg Calor bottles. By the time I have refilled them as needed break even time would be when the bottles were almost due for pressure retest in 10 years. True, with a 7.5kg bottle I would only need one refill a year as opposed to one and a half exchanges on site but the extra faff in transporting the bottle to a particpating garage would make it a no-no as a light user.

For those regularly off grid I can see a definite attraction though. 

We are away for about 140 +nights a year in all seasons and as you use EHU on all our stays,we also only normally use gas for cooking (unless a power cut),we find a 6kg lite lasts over a year,so we could never justify,or recover the large investment in a refillable system

Yes, I know what you mean about taking a long time to be 'in profit', but its more a question of weight, to be honest.  Had calor not have withdrawn calorlite, I would probably have stuck with them, but I don't really want to go back to the heavier steel cylinders.

David 

Calor lite have not been withdrawn unless faulty, they are just not manufacturing any more ,so a supply will be available for the the forseable future,it may mean less available,until the next generation of lightweight are available 

Weight is why I carry two 3.9kg bottles - that and ease of handling. Weight for the 2 full is 20kg. (That also adds around 10kg to noseweight I think from memory). 

Full 10kg safefill is 15kg. If you are talking a second bottle where is the weight saving David? 

JVB uses one 6kg bottle and a bit in 130 weeks. I use a little less than one and a half  3.9kg bottles in 120 weeks and so very similar. For a low user I only see the Safefill lower weight as being useful if you insist on carrying twice as much gas as you will use in a year of touring. 

I have similar views regarding Calorlite