Saving gas

We have a Gaslow installation, but no solar panel.  We always take EHU if the cost is reasonable.

The main reason we invested in  Gaslow was  to be able to refill abroad as we spend maybe 3-4 months away. We did not consider the cost against the savings, it was just something we needed to get.

Then of course we realised that we could use gas for heating/HW/fridge etc on EHU metered sites in Germany etc, where EHU is often metered and is very expensive.

So, for us, saving gas is not that important as our gas is cheap.

absolutely right, Kjell....horses for courses....

those who 'always' use EHU pitches generally buy their gas in smallish expensive bottles, so hate having to shell out £25 a time....however, they dont have to do it very often as their usage is very low.

those who 'never' use EHU pitches generally buy their gas as cheaply as possible (now under 40p per litre), so hate having to shell out a fiver or so for an EHU....however, they dont do it very often as their usage is very low.

we come somewhere in the middle....happy to have ehu if the site is where we want to be, but equally at home on a site or aire with no ehu, where we can use cheap gas and solar power.

like Kjell, we buy it so cheaply, we have no qualms about using it when required. in fact, in some places, its cheaper than using  local leccy.....

perhaps this thread should really be 'saving on the cost of gas' rather than saving it per se.

for those who 'always' use ehu, the opportunity to use less gas is slim.....they use as little as possible anyway....so perhaps getting it a bit cheaper in the first place might make its use more palatable....

I don't think we 'save gas' because of the monetary value in doing so.  We do it because cooking outside with electricity is easier.  We wouldn't use gas however cheap it was, because it isn't a convenient way of cooking for us, and we don't ever (or certainly perhaps one day a year) use our heating or water heater.   That's 'Caravan 1'.

On the other hand, for Caravan 2, we have a caravan sited permanently on a site near home, where we have no EHU. There we use gas but we haven't yet gone down the Safefill route because we still don't actually get through a huge amount of gas.  Others, who use their caravans on that site more than we do, have a variety of 'gas saving' solar panels, inverters, barbecues, etc.

Merve, we can only make that judgement if we know the price of all the equipment, the solar the inverter etc plus the Safefill. The latter I believe having a finite life to be taken into account.

Also is a £14 a night site with EHU directly comparible with a £5 site without, ie just for a EHU a premium of  £9 ?

I feel the argument you are making is far from like for like and missing out the true cost.

I am a fan of  solar and would like to be a Safefill user, but I feel the savings are being overstated.

Write your comments here...I think a comparison can be made 

For example 

I use a non electric basic cl. On the gower peninsular for a cost of £7 a night . Just 1 field away there is a cs. Basic with ehu.they are charging  more than £20 a night .

If one is extending a break on the cl rather than the cs.the savings would be tremendous if you have self contained means of electricity.

We use a 13 kg propane calor bottle. It fits in the gas locker and it costs around £5 more for nearly twice the amount of gas . We decided to go with the larger bottle as the caravan we have now has the alde system fitted and the dealer told us it is quite a bit more expensive than using electricity.

 

Merve, we can only make that judgement if we know the price of all the equipment, the solar the inverter etc plus the Safefill. The latter I believe having a finite life to be taken into account.

Also is a £14 a night site with EHU directly comparible with a £5 site without, ie just for a EHU a premium of  £9 ?

I feel the argument you are making is far from like for like and missing out the true cost.

I am a fan of  solar and would like to be a Safefill user, but I feel the savings are being overstated.

Write your comments here...I can assure you ocsid that the savings are not over stated. And yes, I believe that the £14 a night (and more!) EHU site can be compared in many instances with a £4 - £5 a night site. Now, I wouldn't say that in every case obviously, CLs that build showers and toilets and other facilities will charge more and so the price rises again. All I can say, being an evangelist for non EHU is that the more you caravan, the more it's worth it. My system cost in the region of £900 -  that was 2+ almost 3 years ago and systems are cheaper now. -100 nights has seen my money come back to me in saved fees. From now on, it's happy days. I know many thousands won't be convinced and many thousands couldn't be bothered anyway but the fact remains, modern tech is here and it offers something that has never been before - free electricity, tiny consumption components like LEDs and 1/4 price gas. Last year I had 15 nights in beautiful Dorset. Fabulous holiday, everything we needed and were used to - £60!! My point, not argument, is simple. If you really want to save money on caravanning you can but you will have to. Speculate to accumulate as the Manufacturers have not seen the potential yet. Let's face it, our forefathers would have snapped our hands off for what we have now. They wouldn't be able to believe it. I remember going to Pandy last year (vouchers) before travelling on to Pembrokeshire. We stayed for 2 nights and it was very nice but not my choice and we didn't hook up. We didn't need to. Talking to the guy next to us, he was absolutely gobsmacked at what I told him , he wanted to know all about it and was very interested in the whole thing. How many caravannersw are like him? Never thought about it. They don't know you can do such a thing? It was a revelation to me and it's been a revelation to others. But the best thing is, Its so much cheaper!

Merve you just remember the sausages you ate at Pandy.  

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Merve you just remember the sausages you ate at Pandy.  

If that was in the pub close by then I am dribbling just thinking about them,  Sorry too much info I guess .

Write your comments here...No he bought them from the famous butcher in Abbergavenny beside the market. However there is a good pub next to the Pandy site which serves good food.

Oh! I remember those sausages! A pilgrimage worth making! I will go again. All the money saved on hook up should go on those sausages! Abergavenny has the best sausages in the country! 

This has been one of the most interesting posts I'v read here recently, and thank you to the contributors for thie views and posts. As a previous post stated some good ideas here for thought. I only have 30 days each year to go away and break that done into four good long breaks, three week long trips and one two week trip abroad, plus onc weekend a month short stays.All the time  gas  is used  for cooking, BBQ with a cadoc, or where possible George Foreman electric BBQ. I carry two 7kg bottles and like others always have one full one, and probably only replace one once every two years. I'v been on metered sites in Germany but build in costs based on E3 per night and never gone over. The point I'm trying to make is each to their own, but please dont have a pop at me for the way I do things according to my preferences and ability to pay. Why do people get so fussy?