3.9kg v 13kg Propane Cylinder

[Gordon_374469888]

I'm still novice caravanner accumulating kit for first outing. I was advised by salesman to get 13kg propane for my new 2010 Bailey Bretagne.

I was unsure of my own technical undersatanding so dispatched my Dad on the case. Despite a career in industrial gas supply he chipped up with two 3.9kg Calor cylinders (next stop the old folks home).

Will these;

a) fit the spaces in the compartment securely

b) rattle about all over the place dangerously

c) last five minutes, running out halfway through first spag bol

For backgroung we will almost certainly use electric hookup so gas will only run cooker. Our trips will be max weeks.

Do I sack Dad and get two 13kgs, get one 13kg and keep one 3.9kg as spare or do something entirely different?

ps I am really good at other stuff unrelated to caravanning.

 

[lohr500]

Hi Gordon,

I would check again with the salesman. I am not familiar with the Bailey model you have, but the standard sized gas bottle for the Swift range is either 6kg propane or 7kg butane.

If the Bailey mounting is designed for the same 6Kg/7Kg bottles, then the smaller cylinders your dad has supplied will be too small and won't strap into the mounting. I suspect the pipe from the bulkhead mounted regulator won't reach low enough either to connect to a smaller propane cylinder.

I have two 6Kg propanes in my Swift and as one runs out I swap to the other then exchange the empty. On electric hook up and using the gas only for cooking, a single cylinder lasts for weeks and weeks. Didn't change a cylinder last year in 5 weeks of trips. We do have one electric ring on the hob though so even when cooking, gas is used as the reserve.

 

[Damian]

Just an added note to bear in mind.

Whilst a lot of people, including myself, tend to use all electric on site, please make sure that each time you use the van, run each gas appliance for a few minutes, 10 at most, to keep the gas valves working and not sticking.

Prevention is much cheaper than having to replace gas valves due to lack of use.

 

[Sproket]

A 13kg of calor gas weighs in the region of 30kgs when full, that's a lot of weight to put in your front locker & that's dependent on your nose weight on your tow bar....

I would suggest two x 6kg calor light the one i have when full weighed 10kg

take a look on here for more information gas bottle weights

 

[TD42]

I go with sprocket 2 x 6 kg calor light or BP light with BP light you could buy 1x10g & 1x5kg the advantage of BP light is you can see the gas level so should not be caught out & if you buy the LE cube 27mm clip on connector instead of the BP 27mm connector from Gaslow you can use both gas types if you ever get caught out in france. your tow car nose weight allowance Is the deciding factor.The average saloon car has a 75KG nose weight allowance if your bailey like mine has a high noseweight you will have an awfull job getting it down to the 75kg so the lighter the load in the front locker the better

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I have the same as Sproket. We don't use gas for the fridge or heating, only cooking, and as tony said, they will last for ages.

 

[Dave_374330759]

You can fit 3.9 and 6kg Calor cylinders as well as the 5 or 10kg BP gaslight. The fittings in the van are designed for both the calor and gaslight cylinders and the straps will fit as well but I'm not sure that a 13kg will fit. Although a 13kg cylinder might fit its so heavy that you'll probably do your back a mischeif getting it in and out and you stand a fair chance of damaging the van as well.

We use BP Gaslight in our 2009 series 7 Champagne which has the same locker and kit as your 2010 model and we used it our series 6 Provence as well. We usually go to sites with EHU so only use gas for cooking. We were away for about 60 nights last year (20 with the grandchildren) and didn't manage to use a 5kg cylinder in the whole year (and that included a full Xmas dinner with Xmas pud and custard afterwards) so your two 3.9s will be fine and if one runs out you can usually exchange it on site. You might use a bit more if you are into Sunday roasts with all the trimmings and steak & kidney pies cooked from first principles in the oven but if you find that you are using a lot then upgrade to the 6kg size. It's usually the ralliers who are on sites with no electric who need to use the gas for heating and hotwater that need bigger cylinders.

(ps we cheated with the xmas custard as we did it in the microwave)

 

[RogerL]

The 3.9 propane (4.5 butane) cylinders will fit a normal caravan designed to accept 6 propane (7 butane) but the securing strap may be a little high - if so just make up a couple of wooden spacers to lift them up a couple of cm, that's all that's needed.

I've got two spare spacers as I've changed from 3.9 to 6 Calorlite.