Ref calorlite bottles

Carrotts

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Hi all. Saw the thread Calorlite. Followed it. Got confused. You cannot get calorlite anymore. You can get calorlite still. You can refill calorlite bottles yourself. You cannot refill calorlite bottles yourself. So as stated I'm CONFUSED.
 
Calor Lite bottles are NOT designed for user refilling. They do not have the cut off valve found in refillable bottles and overfilling is dangerous. They are only rented from Calor and the agreement does not allow user filling.
 
Hi ok. So why do some threads say. Fill them yourself. How does the reader know which are the right answers.
 
There are a few people who say you can fill Calor bottles by carefully measuring the gas from empty but there are probably many more who like me think it is dangerous and unnecessary. If you want refillable bottles you can buy them with the cut off valve that stops you overfilling them. I do not have the skill, experience or knowledge to safely fill gas bottles that are not specifically designed for the purpose. Remember that propane is highly volatile and the filling pressure of the pumps can be nearly 200 psi.
 
Calorlite are still available but are becoming more difficult to get hold of as new ones are not being made, and not all that go back for refilling are being sent back out.

They should not be re-filled except by being returned to Calor, who check them all before filling and reissueing.

I do know of a garage in Portugal who apparently will refill any type of bottle and I know some people buy a gadget off ebay and try to do so - but most garages won't allow that if they suspect it is being done. I wouldn't attempt to do it myself.
 
As Caz states several places in Portugal will refill almost any gas bottle, but health and safety are so lax over here nobody seems to take any notice of rules!
 
You can no longer 'buy' a Calorlite from Calor, you can only exchange lite for lite. The Calor stand at Malvern show had a huge stock of them but you can't swop a standard 6kg for a lite but you can do the other way around but then you can't go back to a lite.
 
I've used the refill services in Portugal.
In my experience they will refill any foreign (non refillable) bottle but not a Portuguese one, I've used two different outlets and both had a good set up where they checked the tare weight of bottle and then filled to 80% via what appeared to be an accurate weighing device.

I'd have to agree with the comment ref the general lack of regard to H&S around some areas of the EU.
 
Not sure they can be accurate using weight rather than volume. LPG in Europe varies in content, pure propane in some regions and a mixture of propane and butane in others. They have different weights so whilst the operator might know what his gas weighs per litre he probably will not know what the weight of the residual gas in the bottle means in kg per litre. Perhaps the different weights are not enough to matter much but why not buy the right equipment to start with.
 
Perhaps should have mentioned they will only fill a bottle that is empty i.e. at the tare weight, if not empty they would either discharge the residue in bottle or refuse to do the job.
On the subject of the right equipment, I live permanently in France and normally use French bottles, often winter in Spain so have a Spanish bottle as well, on my first instance of needing the service because of weather we had strayed into Portugal, with a virtually empty French bottle and a reasonably full Spanish one, by the time we reached the Algarve area we were virtually out of gas and sought a remedy.
 
I still would have thought the right equipment would be a proper refillable system that you can use throughout Europe.
 
Calor are always messing about with bottle groups.
I find that you can quite often get a stockist to swap you a lite for standard.
If you really want a lite keep going till you get one.
 
Okta said:
I still would have thought the right equipment would be a proper refillable system that you can use throughout Europe.
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The "right" equipment will not be the same for every individual, it will depend on circumstance and use.
So whilst for you the right equipment is a proper refillable system, for others maybe not so.
I am very aware of the various options, through the years I have installed / used refillable bulk tanks, refillable bottle sets as well as swap over from various suppliers.
Here in France and much of mainland Europe outside of the bigger towns there is no gas distribution structure and bottled gas is readily available just about everywhere, from small corner shop type of business to virtually every supermarket.
The cost of refills is cheaper than UK as well, with a 11kg propane costing around €23.
 
Okta said:
I still would have thought the right equipment would be a proper refillable system that you can use throughout Europe.
Click to expand...

Not really - "loose" LPG is not readily available throughout Europe, try finding it in norther Scotland and the islands.
 
Caz said:
Not really - "loose" LPG is not readily available throughout Europe, try finding it in norther Scotland and the islands.
Click to expand...

I have kept Calor Lite bottles for just such circumstances but they are now left at home. I might take one if doing an extended tour of N Scotland. The point I was trying to make is that if you are going to refill bottles at a forecourt pump I think they should be proper refillable ones.
 
Okta said:
I have kept Calor Lite bottles for just such circumstances but they are now left at home. I might take one if doing an extended tour of N Scotland. The point I was trying to make is that if you are going to refill bottles at a forecourt pump I think they should be proper refillable ones.
Click to expand...

Who suggested refilling non refillable bottles at a forecourt pump?
 
Hi all. I suggest that thread no 1 is read before replies. I was trying to find out certain things which some people were saying you can and some were saying you can't do , Not like thread 18. I did not say you can refill bottles.
 
I had two Lite bottles, both were replaced by calor when I took them in for refill with the standard (heavy) bottles. The sales person would not consider replacing with Lite ones. He said they were all being taken out of circulation for safety reasons and there were no plans to manufacture replacements. This was some time after the initial scare when they punched a hole in the aluminium disc to indicate a "safe" bottle.
Are some of you still finding Lite bottles available for exchange?
 
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