Calor Lite is it worth the hassle?

[Surrey_Chris]

Why is this still hard to find & why can yu not buy it in the most obvious place. We were in Morton in Marsh CC site this week. I was running out of gas on Sunday evening (the dinner was half cooked) So I went to the warden to find out where I may be able to get a cylinder. The Warden told be they stock Calor on Site, but not Lite. Now I may be wrong but I understood the primary reason for lite cylinders was to reduce weight in Carvans and other mobile uses. So why the hell do the CC not stock it. Even more interesting was whaen I called Calor the next day. I gave them the postcode where we were staying and the guy on the phone said " its your lucky day the Cravan Club Site in Morton are lite stockists" Erm well they are not.

I always have trouble getting lite cylinders, I am thinking of going back to the heavier cylinder

 

[stevecritchlow]

I'm surprised, as all the club sites (both clubs) I've been on recently had them. As someone who finds it a struggle to get my noseweight down low enough (unless I've got loads of extras packed at the very back of the van) I think the light bottles are a god send. I can never understand how anyone can acheive 75kg noseweight with two metal bottles in the front locker

 

[JTQ]

Calor Lite is it worth the hassle?

No

 

[Robtel]

Calor Lite is it worth the hassle?

What hassle??

Never had a problem getting a replacement cylinder. I do travel with two cylinders - one in use plus a spare full one,always done that even when I used the 4.5kg butane. Thought that was what most people did. Gives plenty of time to get a replacement.

 

[STEPHEN_374226156]

Steve it is very simple to get the nose weight to 75k even with two heavy gas bottles just use your inside loading as a counter balance ie put some heavy items towards the rear job done

 

[Rita1]

We always carry 2 bottles so never run out And we have good local stockist

FOSSEWAY HIRE, BOURTON INDUSTRIAL PARK, BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER, CHELTENHAM GL54 2HQ

Contact:

Tel: 01451 810885

And

FOSSEWAY TOOL HIRE, 1 TILEMANS PARK, TILEMANS LANE, SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR CV36 4GX

Contact:

Tel: 01608 661677

But if we are going away for a month we always look up the local stockist before we go Just like we look for supermarkets

 

[DomDom]

Having looked at it and with the cylinder refills costing

 

[DavidKlyne]

I have two Calor Lite and would certainly not change back to the old heavy cylinders. I have two places in MK where I can get them and have not had a problem. I am aware that some CC sites don't sell them. THis could be something to do with, I believe, gas sales being something of a warden perk but also meansit is his money he is investing in stock. I can perfectly understand the logic of Club sites selling as it helps with overall outfit weights. Perhaps its worth an e-mail to the Club putting forward these points?

David

 

[Icemaker]

absolutely worth it, the weight saving is a godsend on a heavy van like our coachman vip, my new ford galaxy has a pretty low noseweight so the two calor lites help a lot.

ive never had a problem sourcing the bottles and ive just this morning picked up a new full one for our trip to france next week it was in stock at my local dealer in hyde cheshire.

 

[Surrey_Chris]

yes I have to agree for the weight alone they are worth it. They really should be available at all dealers now

 

[ShadySadie]

I'm just surprised that somebody caravans with one Cylinder only.

How do you even know that the gas will run out when a CC warden is at your beck and call.

 

[foshy]

We caravan with one gas bottle - a Calor lite. It has a gauge on the top of the bottle. When it is approaching the Red section I swap it with the other bottle that I use at home for the BBQ. We have never yet run out while on site and I would never knock a warden up out of hours for replacement gas. In my mind the weight saving of the lite bottle is worth the extra money.

 

[Jimbob1]

Hi Granny Sadie,

I don't think the Caravan Wardens would be very pleased to hear you say they are at your beck and call,they're there to help you not chase after you.jimbob

 

[ShadySadie]

My point exactly Jimbob.

I would guess the last thing a warden wants is an excited caravanner chef wanting a replacement gas bottle at breakfast time or evening meal times as they have run out of gas halfway through their cordon bleu offering.

 

[Surrey_Chris]

HI Granny Sadie,

I think you will find a lot of people travel with one cylinder. Nose weight is the issue for me. The towcar only allows 75 KG, even with the spare wheel on the carrier it is close to this with one cylinder. The wardens are not at our beck and call. They sell Gas from reception. Why is it an issue to ask to buy something.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Hi,

We changed over to bp litegas when it first came out and never regretted it. For peace of mind we have always travelled with 2 cylinders

 

[ShadySadie]

Surrey_Chris

Do you not understand that if you were to put 3 gas bottles in the front locker and moved you load about you can still achieve 75Kg Nose weight.

It's a counter balance principle!

I know a few caravanners and I've never met one yet that just travels with one bottle in the past 25 years. And all meet there nose weight I would wager and long before lite bottles came along.

 

[Parksy]

I only put one 7 kg bottle in the front locker.

This is so that I have space to carry the waste water container in the front locker as well as the levelling ramps.

We tend not to go for long breaks and I've always got a good idea of how much gas is remaining just by lifting the bottle up and gauging the weight.

When we were away last time I knew that we were very low on gas so we didn't bother doing any cooking on that trip. The water heater and fridge went off on the morning of our departure so I replaced the bottle in time for our trip later this week. It should last at least until next spring.

 

[chillidave]

Parksy how dare you only carry one bottle when Queen Sadie oops I mean granny Sadie recommends two. Off with your head!!

 

[Parksy]

I've brought a note off my mom

 

[Surrey_Chris]

Sadie,

I may be wrong but adding weight at each end of the van is not the best way to load it. But I do understand the principle.

 

[James_374408700]

Sadie,

Counterbalacing the way you advocate is a sure way to create an unstable caravan !

Jim

 

[ShadySadie]

Well behind every good man is a great woman, so just do what you are told, especially you Parksy ;-)

Surrey_Chris. If you really thing that you have to load the other far end of the caravan then you do have a problem dear!

We've found that the gas tends to run out just when your in the middle of cooking, as at times we use the gas for heating and refrigeration and I've never had any luck trying to track when the gas will run out. Using UK bottles, as we tour abroad you can't get them filled so using one is out of the question. As before, I've never come across anyone just using one bottle, but we do venture a little further a field than CC.

 

[Parksy]

We last used our caravan in mid July when our gas bottle was used up. I couldn't complain because it lasted from the previous August.

I decided to exchange it at a Chichester Caravans in Birmingham and we called in when passing and asked if it would be possible to exchange our 'normal' bottle for a Calor Lite' The lady behind the counter assured us it was no problem and would cost the same.

I hadn't brought the empty bottle with me, it was still on the caravan in storage. She emphasised that I should exchange the bottle 'soon' but didn't say why.I resolved to exchange the bottle but forgot about it until just over a week later when I learned via this forum that Calor had decided to charge an extra deposit from 1st August. Doh!

I kept to a 'normal' bottle but it goes to prove that Sadie is right. I should have done what the lady told me!

 

[bigbilly]

Never had any problems getting the CalorLite bottles at Calor depots. The depots can be downloaded to your TomTom (or equivalent) FOC and are helpful when away.

For many years used 13Kg bottles but got too old to lump them around and nervous about carrying them in the car !

I don't agree with counterbalancing the weight of the van to get the correct noseweight and as a general principle never carry anything in the van that doesn't go in a cupboard. It all goes in the car. It's handier if you want to stop on route or arrive in a downpour !!

Bill