Calor Lite 6kg gas cylindersa product recall

[Royston]

Reading in this months caravan club mag, that Calor gas have issued a immediate recall of 6kg Lite cylinders that have the date o8/09/10/11 stamped on the base of the cylinder , and also to check whether the tare disc alum below the valve has a small 5.5mm hole punched in it ,if it has this means the cylinder has been checked and is safe to use.
How to check your 6kg cylinders www.calor.co.uk/recall , if your cylinders fail you can take them to your local stockist for a replacement full Calor Lite Cylinder.

I am surprised that this recall message has not been flagged within this forum.

I am off tomorrow as both my cylinders have to be returned.

I trust this has been helpful Royston

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

I am surprised that this recall message has not been flagged within this forum.

It has, Twice.

Edit: Here's one thread

and here's the other

 

[Royston]

Thanks very much for your tip, gosh to miss them I must have been away, but never mind without this months Caravan Club I would have never known, I went onto the Calor website who gave me a list of local suppliers, the first one i contacted had received no info from Calor which was worrying, and did not believe me so I trundled of to my local dealer, who informed me , that yes he would exchange the bottles , they would exchange bottles with gas inside for new full bottle, for empty no gas I would have to pay for replacement full gas bottle.
Both of my bottles were half empty so I received two full gas bottles in the exchange.
Calor do not give the dealers any refund , and he will be out of pocket due to less demand for new bottles next year..
Something I was unaware of you can only exchange Gas bottles like for like ie Lite for Lite
I changed my standard heavy Gas bottles for Lite version several years ago in a straight swop , now you will have to pay the full gas bottle price if you wish to transfer to the 6 kg Lite version.

 

[RogerL]

they would exchange bottles with gas inside for new full bottle, for empty no gas I would have to pay for replacement full gas bottle.
Both of my bottles were half empty so I received two full gas bottles in the exchange.
Calor do not give the dealers any refund , and he will be out of pocket due to less demand for new bottles next year..
Something I was unaware of you can only exchange Gas bottles like for like ie Lite for Lite
I changed my standard heavy Gas bottles for Lite version several years ago in a straight swop , now you will have to pay the full gas bottle price if you wish to transfer to the 6 kg Lite version.

There's a difference between a Calor Reseller, eg caravan site or dealer, and a Calor Distributor.

The Distributors will exchange cylinders within groups, eg 6kg Calor Lite, 6kg Propane or 7kg Butane - the groups being defined by Calor themselves. Resellers have no obligation to exchange different types.

Calor's recall notice states a "free of charge replacement 6kg Calor Lite cylinder" so Resellers who try to change for replacing an empty recalled cylinder are pulling a fast one - but your only option is to go elsewhere.

 

[Gozza]

Calor's recall notice states a "free of charge replacement 6kg Calor Lite cylinder" so Resellers who try to change for replacing an empty recalled cylinder are pulling a fast one - but your only option is to go elsewhere.

I think that's a moot point - they are replacing the cylinder free, it's the new gas they're charging for. I was told the same at a Calor main depot.

In the case of a reseller I don't think it's unfair - if they were made to give a full replacement for an empty cylinder then the lucky caravanners would save a few quid now, but it's in all our interests for these smaller dealers to still be in business at the end of next year. They're already losing out because I've had a free replacement for an almost-empty cylinder, which means I'll buy one less refill from my local small dealer next season - and I can't be the only one.

In the case of Calor main dealers then it's maybe a bit different - if a company the size of Calor doesn't have insurance to indemnify them against the cost of a product safety recall then they're barmy.

 

[Damian]

The recall of affected cylinders should cost the user NOTHING, just a straight swap of cylinders REGARDLESS of how much gas is or is not in the cylinder.
Taken from the Calor Website:

What will Calor offer me when I return my cylinder?
•Upon return of your cylinder to a 6kg Calor Lite® retail outlet, regardless of how much gas has been used, you will be issued with a full, free of charge replacement 6kg Calor Lite® cylinder.

Will I be charged for the gas and/or a new cylinder hire charge?
•No, the replacement 6kg Calor Lite® will be issued entirely free of charge if you are returning a cylinder as part of the recall.

If you have been charged, contact Calor , keep the receipt , and Calor will arrange a refund.
Where can I get more information?
•Calor has set up a dedicated phone line for any customers who have further questions regarding the product recall. The number to call is 0800 783 4141.

 

[GrahamE]

For me my dealer was spot on, after checking my cylinders I found 1 needed replacing. I rang the dealer and they said they have a couple in stock. Took my name, put 1 aside. I called in half hour later exchanged cylinders, my 1/4 full for a complete full 1. Filled out my details on a sheet and job done. Thanked them for a good service and went on my way.

 

[JTQ]

The recall of affected cylinders should cost the user NOTHING, just a straight swap of cylinders REGARDLESS of how much gas is or is not in the cylinder.
Taken from the Calor Website:

What will Calor offer me when I return my cylinder?
•Upon return of your cylinder to a 6kg Calor Lite® retail outlet, regardless of how much gas has been used, you will be issued with a full, free of charge replacement 6kg Calor Lite® cylinder.

Will I be charged for the gas and/or a new cylinder hire charge?
•No, the replacement 6kg Calor Lite® will be issued entirely free of charge if you are returning a cylinder as part of the recall.

.

Great pity that Calor can't tell even their own depots; Calor Millbrook, Southampton was refusing to exchange empty affected cylinders without insisting on charging the full exchange price.

 

[Damian]

Quote :"Great pity that Calor can't tell even their own depots; Calor Millbrook, Southampton was refusing to exchange empty affected cylinders without insisting on charging the full exchange price."

So, if you paid, which you should NOT have, get in touch with Calor and arrange a refund.......simple

 

[ProfJohnL]

............................Great pity that Calor can't tell even their own depots; Calor Millbrook, Southampton was refusing to exchange empty affected cylinders without insisting on charging the full exchange price.

Yes do report them to Calor HQ. they are in breach of their contract with Calor.

Also if they are the dealer that supplied them to you, simply quote SoGA at them and threaten to sue for them supplying defective goods and endangering you when they supplied the cylinders in the first place.

These dealers do not seem to understand their duty under SoGA, which makes them liable as the seller of the gas, even despite Calor's admittance of the problem.

 

[Gafferbill]

...............you can be sure of one thing and that is the price of Calor lite refill is about to go up!

 

[ProfJohnL]

...............you can be sure of one thing and that is the price of Calor lite refill is about to go up!

Morning Gaffer,

What prompts you to have such a dire prognosis?

 

[HenryB1]

Changed my 2 cylinders yesterday at my local camping store. Took a print out of the recall information from the Calor web site with me but was not needed as they had recall information on display behind till. One was empty one third full. no charge. They put labels on my cylinders to show they had exchanged then free of charge. Thanked them good service.

 

[Gafferbill]

Morning Gaffer,

What prompts you to have such a dire prognosis?

.........because as HenryB1 has shown above, the exchange of cylinders for the recall, the examination of the cylinders and their repair or replacement, will cost Calor a lot of money and they are in business to make a profit.
There is a healthy price competition on their other types of cylinder, so I suspect they will increase the price of Calor Lite especially as they are almost exclusively used by caravanners.

Price today £23.75 full price at Go outdoors

 

[ProfJohnL]

Morning Gaffer,

What prompts you to have such a dire prognosis?

.........because as HenryB1 has shown above, the exchange of cylinders for the recall, the examination of the cylinders and their repair or replacement, will cost Calor a lot of money and they are in business to make a profit.
There is a healthy price competion on their other types of cylinder, so I suspect they will increase the price of Calor Lite especially as they are almost exclusively used by caravanners.

Hello Gaffer,
According to Calor's published notice, the problem is with some cylinders deteriorating. If this is down to a design flaw, then the designer will be held liable for costs. If its down to a manufacturing/material defect the manufacturer of the cylinders will be held liable. All these organisations should have product liability insurance which should cover the excess costs. Of course this excludes any inflationary pressures.

The recall should not cause a price rise.

 

[RayS]

Exemplary exchange service today at Calor Depot at Stalbridge. (Dorset) Left the tailgate open while I went to the office, completed the two forms and new bottles had been placed in the car before I got back to it.

Think I shall switch my domestic Calor account to them.

 

[cliveeaton44]

Calor Lite Recall.
Calor have a problem supplying cylinders to replace those required for recsll. My local stockists is fully aware of the problem is will exchange free of charge. But he cannot get Calor to commit to a supply date. So I an still waiting with 2 "out of date" cylinders one is full the other over half full. Dealer will ring me when supplies are available. He has customers waiting to exchange for recall and customers who want to replace empty cylinders without any recall. Any response from Calor anywhere out there?. It is their recall. cannot blame the local suppliers.

 

[Gozza]

Calor Lite Recall.
Any response from Calor anywhere out there?. It is their recall. cannot blame the local suppliers.

I totally agree, which is why I've made the comments I have in this and other threads on this subject.

I guess when you think about the practicalities, cylinders under recall must represent a huge proportion of all the Calor Lite cylinders out there - even if Calor have got their manufacturer to ramp up production of new, "non-dodgy" cylinders, they're only going to come on-stream at a fixed rate and if we're all trying to change our cylinders at the same time there are going to be problems in the supply chain.

What I'd have done if I were Calor:
1) Make sure the terms of the recall are properly communicated to all retailers and Calor own depots - it seems that the communication which many dealers have received isn't the same as what customers are being given.

2) Instead of struggling to supply all customers with an exchange cylinder, Issue retailers with a book of coupons redeemable against a new cylinder - customers can exchange their cylinder now if they want, but many would be happy to take the coupon and redeem it later - it saves storing a cylinder over what is for many the "close season" for caravanning, and it gets the most important part of the job done - getting the dodgy cylinders back under Calor's control. It would also work in Calor's favour - it would smooth their cash flow by spreading out the period over which they're giving away free gas.

Why didn't Calor do this? I suspect they don't have a robust product recall plan in place, so different people are running different bits of the process in the way they think best. The people who put the messages on the Calor website won't be the same people who communicate with the small retailers, and it's probably different people again who communicate with the Calor depots, and each of those three groups will be communicating what they THINK they've been told.

Any responsible manufacturer of products which may have to come under a product recall, has a product recall procedure which has been planned out in slow time and regularly practised so that everyone knows their part in it - I've spent a substantial part of my career in the food industry so I know a bit about this, and everywhere I've ever worked has done a dummy product recall six monthly. Calor's response seems to be much more like something being made up as they go along.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Calor Lite Recall.
Calor have a problem supplying cylinders to replace those required for recsll. My local stockists is fully aware of the problem is will exchange free of charge. But he cannot get Calor to commit to a supply date. So I an still waiting with 2 "out of date" cylinders one is full the other over half full. Dealer will ring me when supplies are available. He has customers waiting to exchange for recall and customers who want to replace empty cylinders without any recall. Any response from Calor anywhere out there?. It is their recall. cannot blame the local suppliers.

Hello Clive,
I can only agree with part of your comment. Calor obviously do not have enough replacement cylinders in circulation, but as this is a recall on the grounds of safety, obviously urgent action was/is required to remove suspect hazardous product from circulation. A business that fails act rapidly when a serious safety issue is identified with its product would rightly be condemned by all and sundry.

I am pretty confident that Calor will have had in place a number of emergency policy and procedures, disaster planning etc. However with all the will in the world the best laid plans can partly unravel when the real situation arises, so its almost inevitable that some elements of the disaster management process will be found wanting.

Because this is a safety recall,
SAFETY must come first,
Inconvenience to customer or agent second
Financial consequences can be settled in the cold light of day.

You can be certain that Calor will review their recall procedures.

Given the stated nature of problem, which is some cylinder deteriorating with the risk of liquid or vapour escape, the danger is as much having the cylinder as using them. So the normal process of simply issuing a "do not use instruction" fails to reduce the potential hazard. This is why the instruction is to immediately return suspect cylinders to Calor agents.

In this situation Calor agents obviously cannot be blamed for shortages, but that is a direct consequence of Calor having to immediately to secure hazardous product, and not having the luxury of ensuring sufficient replacement cylinders were available before the notice was issued. I cannot stress enough that Calor must perceive this as a major safety issue, which required such precipitous action.

The rental agreement every calor user has with Calor under certain situations permits Calor to ask customers to surrender their cylinders or for Calor to reclaim cylinders at any time. This recall is one of those situations.

ALL CALOR AGENTS must consider the legal consequences of not acting. It's akin to a customer bringing a ticking bomb to the agent and the agent allowing that dangerous item to be taken away again by the customer in the knowledge it is potentially lethal. If an agent is presented with a suspect cylinder it is my view they must offer to take it off the customers hands to secure it. Failure to do so is contrary to health and safety, and is in fact endangering the public.

I don't personally use the Calorlite cylinders so it does not affect me, but I am acutely aware of the dangers of improper or unsafe gas usage, and will support any moves to improve safety. I am also aware of how seriously Calor take safety issues, which is one reason they only rent you cylinders, and through the normal process of obtaining refills, the cylinders periodically get inspected and far more testing than most suppliers do. Calor were obvious caught on the hop with this one,and could not simply rely on the normal turnover of cylinders to secure the suspect cylinders.

 

[RogerL]

Since some date-affected cylinders have already been inspected and re-issued with a hole punched in the collar to verify it's been inspected (and presumably safe) it follows that not all of the date-affected cylinders will need replacing by new ones so any "shortage" is likely to simply be restrictions in the rate that Calor can inspect/test them.

 

[RayS]

I wonder if all this has led to the advert. In the December mag by BOC. (British Oxygen Co) ?

I didn't know they were in the LPG. Market

 

[ProfJohnL]

I wonder if all this has led to the advert. In the December mag by BOC. (British Oxygen Co) ?

I didn't know they were in the LPG. Market

I suspect that FLO GAS is BOC's retail arm for supplying propane and butane to the leisure and entertainment sector.

 

[JTQ]

I wonder if all this has led to the advert. In the December mag by BOC. (British Oxygen Co) ?

I didn't know they were in the LPG. Market

I suspect that FLO GAS is BOC's retail arm for supplying propane and butane to the leisure and entertainment sector.

Interesting; as far as I can ascertain they are each owned by different multinational groups, what leads you to your suspicion they are the same company?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello JTQ

As I wrote it is just a suspicion, because on the BOC web site in the industrial section they show cylinders with BOC clearly printed on them but in the leisure section they show several cylinders very clearly displaying "FloGas". It would be very unusual for a business like BOC to give a competitor free advertising, so I suspect there is some formal commercial arrangement linking the two brand names.

I could be wrong

 

[RayS]

Prof, you're probably right but Flo-Gas used to be an independent with considerably lower prices for the standard 6kg bottle than Calor - I had two on a Corniche I bought in 1992 as a 'discount' and until fairly recently you could get Flo Gas at our local hardware store but no longer.

I well remember the major battle between BOC and Air Products for the industrial market back in the 60's since they were both my customers at the time.