Calor Lite question

[Surfer]

When you purchase a 6kg calor Lite bottle you are paying £22 for the 6kg as you have already paid the deposit for the bottle, but can you actually use all of the 6kgs of gas inside? If not, this makes even more expensive? Surely then it is cheaper to consider a safefill type option?

 

[ProfJohnL]

What makes you think you cant use all the gas in the Calor cylinders?

In common with all types of vapour take off LPG bottles, the content will be delivered provided there is sufficient pressure in the cylinder. The pressure is dependent on the temperature of the cylinder, and is different for Butane and Propane.

Whilst there is any liquefied gas left in the cylinder, and it is warm enough, it will continue to vapourise and regenerate bottle pressure. When the liquefied content has been exhausted, the vapour pressure will drop as the vapour is used. It will stop delivering vapour when the cylinder pressure matches the outlet pressure.

In normal use you will never completely empty an LPG cylinder of gas vapour, there will always be cylinder's volume of vapour remaining, but as a fraction of the original content it will be no more than about 0.15%.

 

[RogerL]

If you use the automatic changeover on your Lunar Delta, then all the gas in the old cylinder will be used.
As PJ says, there will still be one cylinder by volume at normal atmospheric pressure left - but weighing very little.

 

[Tukums]

With my Safefill cylinder, I use a small independent garage, pump attendant fills it, and pay £13.04 for 15Lts/8.6kg of gas,

why pay £22.00 for 6kg???

 

[RogerL]

With my Safefill cylinder, I use a small independent garage, pump attendant fills it, and pay £13.04 for 15Lts/8.6kg of gas,

why pay £22.00 for 6kg???

To save the initial £150 cost of a Safefill cylinder. The breakeven is at about 10x 6kg cylinders of gas but the certification expires after 10 years so if you only use 1 cylinder/year you'd LOSE money on Safefill from loss of interest if nothing else.
More and more caravanners use sites with EHU so have very low gas consumption with a 6kg cylinder lasting several years.

 

[ProfJohnL]

.

 

[MichaelE]

With my Safefill cylinder, I use a small independent garage, pump attendant fills it, and pay £13.04 for 15Lts/8.6kg of gas,

why pay £22.00 for 6kg???

To save the initial £150 cost of a Safefill cylinder. The breakeven is at about 10x 6kg cylinders of gas but the certification expires after 10 years so if you only use 1 cylinder/year you'd LOSE money on Safefill from loss of interest if nothing else.
More and more caravanners use sites with EHU so have very low gas consumption with a 6kg cylinder lasting several years.

You are forgetting taking into account the £50 Calor charge to initally hire the cylinder, it also depends on how you use your van, we hardly EHU so during a 5 day break in the winter we have used 13kgs of gas before.

 

[RogerL]

You are forgetting taking into account the £50 Calor charge to initally hire the cylinder, it also depends on how you use your van, we hardly EHU so during a 5 day break in the winter we have used 13kgs of gas before.

No - the Safefill comparison correctly takes their own purchase price and the Calor initial charge into account when calculating the breakeven point, as well as the cost of gas - bear in mind that after 10 years the Safefill either has to be replaced or be expensively re-certified, the Calor initial charge doesn't ever have to be renewed - indeed if you keep the original contract it can be returned for a sliding scale refund - mine is still worth 25% of original charge, even after 30 years.
Those who caravan frequently with no EHU would save money with a refillable cylinder - but Tukums asked "why pay £22.00" - to which the answer is the majority of caravanners, who use EHU frequently.
Choice is everything.

 

[Gafferbill]

......you can also use 13kg Calor propane cylinders which currently retail for £25.50.
Much better value is you often caravan without EHU.

 

[RogerL]

Some caravan sites, certainly the Caravan Club sites, don't allow external gas cylinders - and most caravans can't take the 13kg in their gas locker.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Quote - "Caravan Club sites, don't allow external gas cylinders" - This is not the case - they 'advise' against it, but it is not barred.
Indeed if you go on a rally field where gas is the main fuel many people use 13's.