Lpg I've saved money

[The laird]

Been away two weeks ,hookup three days ,had a fair few showers ,fridge on gas most of the time,hot water on for dishes every morn,noon,night when off grid
today filled up and was very pleased £9*15
now i know that when I was on calor it would've been a lot more than that
well pleased I am

 

[Mr and Mrs Tupcox]

Got to agree I've always thought we use less lpg than Calor since we changed.
I don't no how but sure we do.

 

[Nick-Mandy]

A good question.

Do I really need two 6kg bottles if I'm not going to be away for more than 7 days and staying near to civilization?
I've opted for one 6kg bottle and until it runs out, using my 6kg Calor gas bottle too.

My 6kg Calor bottle has lasted me ages, but I do agree with folk that in the long run, you do save money having a refillable system.

 

[witzend]

After over 20 years, (In Motorhomes) of using Calor exchangeable bottles I think may have reached the break even point

Yes takes a long time to see a saving twice as long if using gas in France an longer if you work in the odd Spanish bottle

 

[2cv]

It all depends on how you use your van. I keep records of refilling and worked out that the installation cost was covered in just over 2 years. I do use the van lots in winter when quite a bit of gas is consumed. Summer is a different matter, filled up after 2 weeks away today for £6.

 

[Wully]

I’m more inclined to think my two refillable 13 kg bottles give me more freedom to enjoy my van rather than skin my knuckles changing bottles every time I use the thing and be permanently on edge having one calor bottle. And looking for calor or Flo Gas agents at least a refillable bottle can be filled from any garage that sells lpg. It’s more about convenience than money for me.

 

[Chez Stevens]

We have 2 x 13kg refillable bottles on our van. One is kept empty in the summer, off to Portugal (or Morocco) this coming February. Might need the second. We don’t wild camp. They give us great flexibility around Europe from our base in France.

 

[nabsim]

It depends how much you use your van as to how quick it will break even. A 6kg Calor would give me 30 days of gas so I am a low user. I have however already recouped the outlay and that is under 2 years.
Like Wully though the biggest advantage to me is no more lugging bottles about

 

[in h]

The savings from refillable bottles or a tank are not just down to the cost of the gas.

From an autogas pump, it costs between 90p and £1.80 per KG. That's a very wide variation in price for the same thing!

With a refillable, you can shop around and top up whenever you pass a cheap supply*.

You can't do that with exchange cylinders: you have to wait till you have an empty bottle to swap, or you have to give away the gas that was left.

Unless you wait for a bottle to completely run out before changing it, you always do lose the bit that was left.

Never mind the cost, it is so much easier to top up than to run out and swap.

*Of course, with a bigger tank, you have more scope for doing that. Our tank holds 28KG of LPG. Don't think I'd really want a smaller one for some trips.

 

[VWann]

Certainly the refillable gas tank works out cheaper. The only drawback for us that LPG pumps are few and far between where we live in Scotland. We just make sure that when we are out on our travels we top up if near a pump.

 

[Wully]

I was asked £48 for 11kg flo gas light weight exchange bottle yesterday in Newport I get the same one in Glasgow for £30 asked him if he was taking the piss before we fell out and I called him an English knob an hour later I remembered I was in Wales so he was a Welsh knob.

 

[in h]

I was asked £48 for 11kg flo gas light weight exchange bottle yesterday in Newport I get the same one in Glasgow for £30

I'm astonished. I realised that bottled gas was expensive, but that's crazy. In the Newport area you can top up at £1.04 per kilo. I realise there's a cost in refilling and stocking bottles, but it's the same gas: the stocking and filling it can't be so big an expense.
To charge £2.90 would be pricey, but £4.40 per kilo is a total ripoff.

 

[TeamRienza]

In N. Ireland if you go to a garage or supermarket for a Calor refill, the staff usually refer to a laminated page with pictures of the various bottle sizes with their prices marked on the sheet. The prices of refills are also shown on the website. I have always assumed that the price of gas was standardised across the country.
I have gasit refillables so not really familiar with the exchange routine.

Davy

 

[in h]

After over 20 years, (In Motorhomes) of using Calor exchangeable bottles I think may have reached the break even point if I had installed a refillable system at the beginning......Oh...... No!....I would have needed two sets of new bottles....perhaps in another 20 years I'll be able to regret not changing again?

Assuming around £200 for refillable, assume that LPG costs £1.10 per kg, that you lose 5% every time you swap, and that a bottle exchange costs £24, giving you 6kg (gaining you 5.7kg after losses) So each refill would save £24 - (5.7*1.1) which is £17.73.
So you break even after eleven refills.
Can you really make each 6kg bottle of gas last almost two years? Guess you don't use your motorhome much!

 

[alwaysared]

I was asked £48 for 11kg flo gas light weight exchange bottle yesterday in Newport I get the same one in Glasgow for £30 asked him if he was taking the piss before we fell out and I called him an English knob an hour later I remembered I was in Wales so he was a Welsh knob.

Calling him an English knob would have hurt him more than calling him a Welsh knob lol

Regards,
Del

 

[in h]

It seems that Shell is now pulling out of the market, don't know if it's been posted before?

Autogas Limited - Home

Autogas Limited, the UK's leading supplier of automotive LPG, can be found on hundreds of Shell forecourts throughout the UK. Find out more about Autogas here

autogaslimited.co.uk

Some new Shell stations have autogas pumps. I've never understood why anyone would buy LPG there: their prices are always way higher than everyone else.

 

[VWann]

It seems that Shell is now pulling out of the market, don't know if it's been posted before?

Autogas Limited - Home

Autogas Limited, the UK's leading supplier of automotive LPG, can be found on hundreds of Shell forecourts throughout the UK. Find out more about Autogas here

autogaslimited.co.uk

Have there been any feed back about this from makers, dealers etc? Quite a few newer models have gas tanks.

 

[in h]

Its simply a matter of supply and demand. If not many vehicles use LPG, it's not economic for lots of places to sell it.
I suspect that we may see a resurgence in LPG powered cars: they are clean and fairly green (far greener than hybrids) and they will escape the ban on petrol and diesel engines (if they're not dual fuel). Whether that will be new builds or conversions is less clear, but it's certainly a possibility.
Whether or not that happens, there will continue to be a demand for LPG for domestic use.
Forecourt prices may rise, of course, if cars aren't using it as motive fuel, because there won't be the turnover to compete for.

 

[mistericeman]

I reckon Ive made back what I spent on fitting 2 x 6kg second hand bottles between when I installed them last year and now....

I certainly don't miss getting mugged each time I Swapped a calor bottle ;-)

 

[in h]

Got to agree I've always thought we use less lpg than Calor since we changed.
I don't no how but sure we do.

You are now only buying the gas you use. When you change a bottle, there is almost always some left in the "empty" bottle you give back. And you lose gas when changing (but you also lose a little when filling).

Also, if you look at the bottles you replace, they always have the empty weight written on.

If you weigh them when you get them (use a bathroom scales) and calculate the weight of the gas, you may discover that the suppliers can be a little naughty / stingy.

LPG pumps are required not to short-change you, but of course they sell by volume, not weight. Fill up on a chilly morning for best value.

Weighing the bottles is the only accurate way to measure how much is left, so the scales are a handy tool for swappable bottles.