Refillable gas bottle

[nabsim]

In the UK, the testing of LPG cylinders is primarily governed by The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations, which implements the international ADR (Agreement concerning the International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road).


Key Legal Requirements

• Mandatory Periodic Inspection: All refillable LPG cylinders used for transport of gas by road in the UK must be periodically inspected and tested to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose.
• Maximum Interval: The standard maximum interval between these inspections is 10 years.
• Extended Interval: The interval can be extended to 15 years if the cylinder owner applies to and receives authorisation from the national competent authority, which in the UK is the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). This requires meeting specific conditions and an enhanced internal inspection procedure. Cylinders with this authorization are marked "P15Y".
• Competent Persons/Bodies: Periodic inspection and testing must be carried out by an approved Inspection Body.
• • Cylinder Marking: Following a successful inspection, the date of the inspection and the identification number of the inspection body must be permanently marked on the cylinder.
  • Pre-fill Checks: Cylinders must also undergo documented checks before, during, and after every fill in accordance with relevant standards (e.g., BS EN 1439).
  • Landlord/Commercial Use: For LPG appliances provided by landlords in tenanted properties or for commercial use, there is a legal requirement under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 for an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Responsible Parties

• Cylinder Owners: The owner of the cylinders (often the LPG supplier) is responsible for ensuring the cylinders are manufactured to appropriate standards and undergo the required periodic inspections.
• Users: Users of LPG systems have a duty to ensure that the whole system is in a safe condition at all times and that regular maintenance is conducted.
• Inspection Bodies: Approved inspection bodies are responsible for conducting the official periodic testing and marking the cylinders.

That does not apply to a private van bottle or tank

 

[nabsim]

My nearest lpg is £1.29 a little

Not bought any for over 12 months but noticed the BP just before M62 was 99p point something on the way out of Hull last week

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Just filled up keighley, not at Morrisons.

 

[Geek]

,another problem is the straps corrodes and the tank falls off

This is a much more significant issue.

There is one brand of campervan famed for the gas tanks falling off within a few weeks of new.

Well worth getting the straps looked at once a year, when the vehicle is serviced.

Fixing them before they break is much, much easier.

 

[Geek]

Just filled up keighley, not at Morrisons.

View attachment 77110

Was that at the Texaco near the McDonalds?

 

[Geek]

My nearest lpg is £1.29 a little

The secret is to have a big enough tank or bottles so you can top up when passing a reasonable price, rather than have to fill up near where you live.

On our next trip, we shall pass Birmingham after about two weeks away, so the vague plan is to top up there.

Checking on the filllpg app (if you can get it) and/or the myLPG.eu app is well worth while.

 

[Geek]

In the UK, the testing of LPG cylinders is primarily governed by The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations, which implements the international ADR (Agreement concerning the International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road).


Key Legal Requirements

• Mandatory Periodic Inspection: All refillable LPG cylinders used for transport of gas by road in the UK must be periodically inspected and tested to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose.
• Maximum Interval: The standard maximum interval between these inspections is 10 years.
• Extended Interval: The interval can be extended to 15 years if the cylinder owner applies to and receives authorisation from the national competent authority, which in the UK is the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). This requires meeting specific conditions and an enhanced internal inspection procedure. Cylinders with this authorization are marked "P15Y".
• Competent Persons/Bodies: Periodic inspection and testing must be carried out by an approved Inspection Body.
• • Cylinder Marking: Following a successful inspection, the date of the inspection and the identification number of the inspection body must be permanently marked on the cylinder.
  • Pre-fill Checks: Cylinders must also undergo documented checks before, during, and after every fill in accordance with relevant standards (e.g., BS EN 1439).
  • Landlord/Commercial Use: For LPG appliances provided by landlords in tenanted properties or for commercial use, there is a legal requirement under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 for an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Responsible Parties

• Cylinder Owners: The owner of the cylinders (often the LPG supplier) is responsible for ensuring the cylinders are manufactured to appropriate standards and undergo the required periodic inspections.
• Users: Users of LPG systems have a duty to ensure that the whole system is in a safe condition at all times and that regular maintenance is conducted.
• Inspection Bodies: Approved inspection bodies are responsible for conducting the official periodic testing and marking the cylinders.

This is a common problem. People quote legislation that doesn't actually apply in the case under discussion.

The bottle or tank on your motorhome is for the storage of gas, not for the transport of gas.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

This is a much more significant issue.

There is one brand of campervan famed for the gas tanks falling off within a few weeks of new.

Well worth getting the straps looked at once a year, when the vehicle is serviced.

Fixing them before they break is much, much easier.

A couple of stainless steel strips would cure that.

 

[Molly 3]

Paying a high price is better not getting any

This is a much more significant issue.

There is one brand of campervan famed for the gas tanks falling off within a few weeks of new.

Well worth getting the straps looked at once a year, when the vehicle is serviced.

Fixing them before they break i

autogass 2000 fit.them.with strong rolled steel.straps

 

[ted47]

We have 2 refillable gas bottles, as soon as 1 bottle gets empty we look to fill up, simple.

 

[trevexess]

I have never "got" this one refillable and one non refillable!

If you have refillable cylinders, you can top them up wherever and wherever you are. Calor cylinders cannot be refilled, so when it is part used, do you exchange before going, or chance it?

It's simple, when the one refillable bottle runs out, you hook up the other non refillable and leave it on until it is empty, giving you lots of time to refill the original, then reverse procedure. Always worked well for myself all over UK and Europe.

 

[Geek]

It's simple, when the one refillable bottle runs out, you hook up the other non refillable and leave it on until it is empty, giving you lots of time to refill the original, then reverse procedure. Always worked well for myself all over UK and Europe.

Why? You could top up the refillable before it is empty. That seems so much easier.

 

[Rumour]

It's simple, when the one refillable bottle runs out, you hook up the other non refillable and leave it on until it is empty, giving you lots of time to refill the original, then reverse procedure. Always worked well for myself all over UK and Europe.

But you can do that with two refillable cylinders! Use one until it runs out and switch over. Then look to refil the cylinders, without paying Calor prices!

 

[Geek]

Paying a high price is better not getting any

autogass 2000 fit.them.with strong rolled steel.straps

Yes, but they still can rust. They're made of Italian steel.

The perforated stainless steel strips are very cheap and don't rust. We've had them on garden benches for several years and not a speck of rust.

I keep a roll of it in the shed. Like a sort of steel gaffer tape.

 

[RoaminRog]

On our recent gadabout to Norway, our lpg gauge stopped working, and so the next time we filled up I simply turned one bottle off and used the other, safe in the knowledge that in the event of running out we could just open the other, and have plenty of time to find a filling point.
Never did bother fixing the gauge.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I have one 6kg refillable and one 6kg Calor Propane, I absolutely do not see any point at all in carrying two refillable bottles, if the Gaslow runs out swtich to the Calor, find an LPG pump and refill, swap back to the Gaslow, unless you are very unlucky, or don't have an app ( https://play.google.com/store/search?q=mylpg+app&c=apps ) to find LPG the Calor will last for years, and it certainly a lot cheaper than another Gaslow bottle and the extra gubbins to connect it, it is sensless to run on Calor for any longer than absolutely neccesary to find a LPG pump, even more so across the channel.

Over 6 weeks, we topped up twice with 4l and once with 7l, I did switch to the Calor one morning to assess the regulator due to have having a problem hob, I used it to make a cup of tea so minimal used, it sits there quietly in the locker, waiting to be needed, in France for over 6 weeks that was never.

I think BarryD has the same set up.

One thing, if you do use the app, please update or confirm it, it helped you, let it help others as this LPG lark is getting more difficult than it needs to be, I tried one last week and the pump handle was broken, I went a little out of my way to go there, had it been reported by the previous user, I wouldn't have wasted valuable holiday time and the diesel to get there.

mylpg app - Android Apps on Google Play

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play.google.com

 

[Geek]

On our recent gadabout to Norway, our lpg gauge stopped working, and so the next time we filled up I simply turned one bottle off and used the other, safe in the knowledge that in the event of running out we could just open the other, and have plenty of time to find a filling point.
Never did bother fixing the gauge.

The gauge on a bottle can never work. They measure the pressure in the bottle.

LPG is a liquid, stored under enough pressure to keep it liquid, but it is always at boiling point.

If the temperature of the surface of the liquid rises, the boiling pressure rises. The gauge can ONLY give an indication of pressure, not of quantity remaining.

Obviously, in the last few minutes of the bottle running out, the pressure will drop, but you'll not see that.

If you draw a lot of gas the latent heat of vaporisation will lower the temperature and therefore the pressure, but it will creep up again when you stop the heavy draw as the bottle returns to ambient temperature.

You can weigh the bottle to find the weight of the contents.

You can swoosh it about to get a feel for how high the liquid is.

You can look for cold/condensation/frost at the level of the surface when there is a high load.

You can buy an ultrasonic sensor thst sits under the bottle and measures the distance to the surface of the liquid (but they're about £65).

All these methods work. Gauges that indicate pressure tell you nothing.

 

[Geek]

I have one 6kg refillable and one 6kg Calor Propane, I absolutely do not see any point at all in carrying two refillable bottles, if the Gaslow runs out swtich to the Calor, find an LPG pump and refill

When I bought this van, it had a 100 litre LPG tank and an 11KG bottle in the gas locker.

I left it like that for a couple of years. Never used the bottle.

Then I thought this was pointless so I removed the bottle and put it in a garden shed. Over a decade later, it is still there (I think).

There is no way I'd want the hassle of swapping bottles or the expense of paying three times as much for the gas.

I have never, ever run out of LPG in well over a decade of using this van.

Why would I? I can top it up if it runs low, or (more usually) when I'm passing somewhere that sells LPG at a good price.

 

[Geek]

If you draw a lot of gas the latent heat of vaporisation will lower the temperature and therefore the pressure,

...or if you travel to somewhere a bit cold, such as Norway.