Gaslow fitting DIY.

[sydnsue]

I am about to pick up a 2021 Elddis in June and I would like Gaslow fitted. I think there is only room for one 11kg or two 6kg so will go for the single 11kg. Is there any difficulty with fitting this myself? I think I may have to fit the inlet to the locker door as the bottle locker is not much wider than the door. I have heard it is best not to mount the inlet inside the locker as some garage attendants don't like seeing the door being opened.
It seems that apart from drilling the big hole, the rest of the job is just connecting hoses. So why are supplers quoting for 2 hours work to fit this? Am I missing something.
I have posted a very similar question regarding solar fitting in the electrical forum.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Avoid the door if poss, use a longer hose and fit into the valance below the locker.

Again it's down to the quality of the work, and again tools, rent and wages you can work for nothing they can't.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Dunno if this helps.

But gasit also has how too videos.

 

[Owlhouse]

I think the two hours quoted is probably reasonable. Think about finding the best place for and making the big hole, then the smaller mounting holes for the filler, fitting filling point. Measuring hoses and mounting and then of course the all important gas safety checking.
You can probably do it yourself assuming you have the right tools but you will need to get a safety check by a qualified professional so you don’t invalidate your insurance?

 

[cheyenne]

hi sydnsue . pudsey bear is right if you are using it abroad they don't like you opening a door to fill up after all this is for filling cars not for gas bottle's . like he said get a longer pipe or join 2 together like i did & like my other m/h the valance was not wide enough so on both occasions i used a gasit filler instead of gaslow because the round one was to big & get yourself a leek detection spray to check joints . you will find refillable are the best thing since slice bread . i have 2 11kg gaslow behind the door & there in photo 1 i am feeding through the filler point photo 2 through the gas BBQ outlet just using up gas from our winter trip in Spain that is another feather to your bow & the gas is a third of the price cheyenne

 

[wildebus]

Avoid the door if poss, use a longer hose and fit into the valance below the locker.

Again it's down to the quality of the work, and again tools, rent and wages you can work for nothing they can't.

And before they do the work, there is time involved in determining/confirming an appropriate place and then after the work done, doing the proper checks to confirm all is secure and right.

When people do the work themselves, the clock always seems to start just when the first hole is drilled, ignoring the time spent before hand scoping out the installation, with locations, placements, etc. then the clock stops as soon as the hose is connected, ignoring the final safety checks (mainly as they don't have the right safety equipment to do the checks ).
And voilá, they did the work faster then the professionals and the quote was a ripoff

FWIW, I fitted my Gaslow setup myself, and it was pretty simple to do when approached in a logical way.

 

[mistericeman]

I reckon it probably took me a bit longer than that to fit the 2 x 6kg Gaslow I bought ...
Certainly from start to finish,getting tools I needed out
including removing existing calor bottles and pipework .
Fitting new ones and routing new pipes making sure they weren't strained ,
Putting gas paste on all the joints.
Strapping the bottles in and fitting fill point inside the locker .
Pressurising system and checking all joints with leak spray .

Surprising how it adds up and to be honest I wouldn't have been surprised if a pro fitter had told me a couple of hours .

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I don't know how long I took to do mine, I've done four vans but I still had to do a dry run to make sure I had all the right parts and how they went together as each van was a different set up, then check out the fill hose run before drilling, I think it was more like 3-4 hours though, measure umpteen times & cut once.

 

[sydnsue]

Thanks everyone. You've all done your own so that so that has convinced me to go for it. I understand the need to use leakage testing paste or spray but did you all have it professionally checked as owlhouse suggests? Assembling and tightening the connections is literally the same as changing a Calor bottle.

 

[oppy]

This is what we did

 

[mistericeman]

Thanks everyone. You've all done your own so that so that has convinced me to go for it. I understand the need to use leakage testing paste or spray but did you all have it professionally checked as owlhouse suggests? Assembling and tightening the connections is literally the same as changing a Calor bottle.

I didn't have it pro tested ....
BUT I did spend time testing with leak spray ...(and still periodically do ...tin of leak spray lives in the locker)
AND I'm a Refrigeration engineer so used to making pipe connections that I regularly test up to 52 bar .

 

[sydnsue]

Oppy - what was the reason for mounting it in the door?

 

[trevskoda]

Oppy - what was the reason for mounting it in the door?

He could not bend down or all the loose change would fall out of his pockets LOL.

 

[oppy]

Oppy - what was the reason for mounting it in the door?

Because that was where the cylinders were, or rather just behind it !! and when we got the system from a member our our group everything just fitted in the locker and the filler just happened to be in the middle. The first time we filled up was at a local gas supplier, but the next time we tried to fill we were refused at Morrison's due to opening the locker and later in France too so on our return I asked for advice here and the lovely mistericeman popped over and lent me a hole cutter, ebay supplied the cover and we have had no problems since plus the locker still has space for a few other bits of junk. It does seem to make life easier just to roll up and unscrew the cover and connect the gun

 

[oppy]

He could not bend down or all the loose change would fall out of his pockets LOL.

Trevor-------------the 2nd word is off !!!! Plus, I'm not allowed any money, my carer has a combination lock on the communal purse

 

[sydnsue]

Because that was where the cylinders were, or rather just behind it !! and when we got the system from a member our our group everything just fitted in the locker and the filler just happened to be in the middle. The first time we filled up was at a local gas supplier, but the next time we tried to fill we were refused at Morrison's due to opening the locker and later in France too so on our return I asked for advice here and the lovely mistericeman popped over and lent me a hole cutter, ebay supplied the cover and we have had no problems since plus the locker still has space for a few other bits of junk. It does seem to make life easier just to roll up and unscrew the cover and connect the gun

I meant why in the door and not in the wall or the skirt?

 

[oppy]

I meant why in the door and not in the wall or the skirt?

Because that was where the pipework ended. Sorry that was a tad abrupt, but that was it, and for us it has been wonderful, UK, France, Spain & Portugal no problems, I keep the adaptors in the cab so the door does not need to be opened, but when on site I can open it to get at the water hose and the usual gubbins that go with it. So my friend, that's why it is in the door
Peter

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I'd not use the door as it does need to be opened every time you go for fuel, (some say to turn off before filling with LPG too) and at each end of a trip, all the movement is on to a pipe that while it is flexible it's not designed to be flexed once fitted, nor the fittings, it may also put a strain on the Locker door catch and hinges. I personally think a wall (preferably) or skirt fitting looks more professional.

It's also a bit more complicated than changing a bottle, like fitting solar while simple is more than fitting a plug despite less wiring.

I have usually fitted two bottles, but really there is no need, for the last one (filmed above) I kept a 6kg Calor and then could use or swap that if stuck for a refill, I've never had them tested per se, but did use a leak spray and a retired ex Corgi friend would check with a manometer whenever I visited him.

I'm looking for a used 6kg refillable if anyone has one, you can get kits from eBay to convert Calor to reliable but I wouldn't go that way.

 

[cheyenne]

hi guys . a lot of problems with filling gas in France was years ago & i mean 2009 in the south of France some one tried to fill up a heath Robinson job & set the garage on fire cant remember the name but it was part of a group of garages so m/h's was band from filling up . in all the years we have been going to Europe we have only been challenged once where the girl in the office came out to check what we was connecting to but never any problems in the uk . cheyenne

 

[Pudsey Bear]

It is extremely important to turn off your AES fridge when filling with LPG, a lady on facts was badly burned last year when it caught fire, and she has only this month got her van back after the damage has been repaired, some will know who I mean of course.

Of course, an AES will be on 12v when you pull into a garage to fill, but if there is a queue it might allow enough time for it to switch to LPG and fire up, not sure if this is what happened but turning the fridge off will be the safest option.

Be warned