Exterior gas connection not working

V1nny

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We are currently in Spain and it is VERY hot so the last thing we want to do is cook inside. The exterior barbecue point stopped working tonight which means I can’t use the Cadac bbq for cooking.

I tried changing over to a full bottle of gas but that made no difference. I connected the regulator and hose to the van without connecting to the bbq but no gas is coming through. I’m guessing I might need a new regulator but I don’t know how I can check it The one I’m using has only been used about a dozen times from new.

I would just connect directly to the gas bottle but the regulator and hose I need for that are back home in Scotland! I won’t make that mistake again.

Could it be anything other than the regulator that connects to the gas point on the side of the van? Any ideas or suggestions welcome.

Thanks
Vinny
 
Does the gas get to the oven ? if it does then you may have a knackered external gas valve.

If there is no gas to the oven and the gas bottle is full then it’s the regulator.
So when you said it could be the regulator it’s was the best place to start..
 
I don’t know how your van is set up but you mention connecting a gas bottle and regulator to the side of the van. You should only have one regulator in line. If you have a bulkhead regulator don’t connect another unless totally disconnecting the original.

Apologies if that’s not what you are doing, as I said I don’t know the setup you have.
 
Unlikely to be the case if working a short while back but worth double-checking just to make sure ... Could the manifold valve to that BBQ point have been accidentally knocked shut?
 
nabsim said:
I don’t know how your van is set up but you mention connecting a gas bottle and regulator to the side of the van. You should only have one regulator in line. If you have a bulkhead regulator don’t connect another unless totally disconnecting the original.
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That is what I would have thought as well?
nabsim said:
Apologies if that’s not what you are doing, as I said I don’t know the setup you have.
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This is what I’m having trouble with. It’s the external bbq connection.

I have a standard gas set up in the van. I have a gas locker that holds 2 x13kg Calor bottles with a pigtail to connect one at a time. This gas supplies my hob and boiler, and the external gas bbq point. Everything was working fine until last night when the external bbqIMG_4465.jpegIMG_4464.jpegIMG_4463.jpeg point stopped working. Everything else is ok.
 
wildebus said:
Unlikely to be the case if working a short while back but worth double-checking just to make sure ... Could the manifold valve to that BBQ point have been accidentally knocked shut?
Click to expand...
please excuse my ignorance and I’m not very technical, but where would the manifold valve be?
 
Sonar said:
Does the gas get to the oven ? if it does then you may have a knackered external gas valve.

If there is no gas to the oven and the gas bottle is full then it’s the regulator.
So when you said it could be the regulator it’s was the best place to start..
Click to expand...
The gas is getting to the oven, boiler and fridge. When I referred to a regulator I was talking about the red external bbq connection that slots into the external bbq point on the side of the van.

Sorry if I’ve got the terminology wrong or if I’ve inadvertently misled anyone with it.
 
nabsim said:
I don’t know how your van is set up but you mention connecting a gas bottle and regulator to the side of the van. You should only have one regulator in line. If you have a bulkhead regulator don’t connect another unless totally disconnecting the original.

Apologies if that’s not what you are doing, as I said I don’t know the setup you have.
Click to expand...
Sorry, but when I said about connecting a gas bottle and regulator and I talking about using a separate standalone connection with a spare bottle connected directly to the bbq with a standard Calor connection/ regulator.
 
V1nny said:
please excuse my ignorance and I’m not very technical, but where would the manifold valve be?
Click to expand...
really does depend on the van and the layout. For example, inside the little door that I open to access the rear of the heater I have gas valves for the Fridge, the BBQ and the Heater.
It is not something you could typically accidentally turn off, but imagine the frustration if that turned out to be that simply fixed problem :)

(It is also something that you should be aware of its location anyway so worth checking out).
 
Not sure if that type of BBQ point has a non return valve built in, I think it does but I don’t have that type on my van so can’t check.

The easiest options for you if you aren’t very handy may be to buy a Spanish bottle and bottle regulator, remove the Bullfinch connector and replace with Spanish bottle regulator. The Spanish bottle and cadac are the stand alone, not connected to the van. I believe Spanish gas bottles are cheap so that’s a bonus 👍
 
Somewhere in your van are individual gas taps.
They are normally together on a manifold.
On my Autotrail, they are in a draw compartment under the fridge.
A few years ago, I accidentally knocked the tap off when I put the draw back on the runners.
You will have a tap for your cooker, your fridge, your water heater and your outside bbq point.
 
I'd be inclined to suspect either the outlet point or quick connector on the 'fly lead'
So first off remove the flexible pipe from the insert/twist bullfinch connector and then (make sure no naked flames or ciggies about!!) insert the plug and twist round - if you get gas then you know supply is good and need to check the quick release connector at the other end.
 
nabsim said:
Not sure if that type of BBQ point has a non return valve built in, I think it does but I don’t have that type on my van so can’t check.

The easiest options for you if you aren’t very handy may be to buy a Spanish bottle and bottle regulator, remove the Bullfinch connector and replace with Spanish bottle regulator. The Spanish bottle and cadac are the stand alone, not connected to the van. I believe Spanish gas bottles are cheap so that’s a bonus 👍
Click to expand...
That’s a great idea. If I can’t resolve the problem it might come to that.
 
nabsim said:
Not sure if that type of BBQ point has a non return valve built in, I think it does but I don’t have that type on my van so can’t check.

The easiest options for you if you aren’t very handy may be to buy a Spanish bottle and bottle regulator, remove the Bullfinch connector and replace with Spanish bottle regulator. The Spanish bottle and cadac are the stand alone, not connected to the van. I believe Spanish gas bottles are cheap so that’s a bonus 👍
Click to expand...
That’s what I did. €10 for the regulator and €19 for the gas.

We are up and running with the bbq on almost every day and most importantly no cooking inside the van.
 
V1nny said:
That’s what I did. €10 for the regulator and €19 for the gas.

We are up and running with the bbq on almost every day and most importantly no cooking inside the van.
Click to expand...
Sensible choice I think. Parts can be a lot more expensive abroad although labour may be cheaper. This option gets you working and provides a backup if you get other problems. You can get it in somewhere, or, if you want to do the work, do more diagnostics when you are home 👍
 
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