How long do your gas cylinders last?

[Themisto-Adrastea]

I have a 6Kg cylinder which is connected to the van, and a 3.9Kg one as a spare.
I disconnected the big one (lesson learnt: left-hand thread!) and took it out this evening and it seems very light. Still some liquid in there when I shake it though.
I went to lift out the little one and it weighs practically nothing, so I'm going to have to go and exchange soon.

My experience so far is with the green patio gas cylinders (for BBQ's and patio heaters). It's the same propane, but you pay much more for the privilege of having it in a nice green bottle, instead of the ugly orange one! I could happily run a BBQ and heater on 2 7.5Kg cylinders for two summers, plus the heater got a lot of use in winter.

How long do the orange 6Kg cylinders generally last? I know this will vary massively, but I'm interested in your anecdotes. I don't intend visiting sites without electric, but I will probably prefer to run the hot water and heating off the gas bottle to avoid drawing too many amps. Her indoors and the kids will want the heating on often (I will not be showing them how to operate the heater though, so this will be my choice!). I would probably keep it ticking over on electric overnight if absolutely necessary.

Also, how easy is it to exchange cylinders when on a site? Do sites ever offer this? I have a lot of experience camping in tents (in a previous life), but gas wasn't something we used. Or will it be a case of having to find the nearest Calor Gas dealer?

One more question: how easy is it to get the deposit back on the little bottle? I'd be happier with two 6Kg ones as I could swap them over when the other runs out.

Thanks
Themisto-Adrastea

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi Themisto-Adrastea,
A question in 3 parts ehh, right let's see,
1. not sure which bottle you have,as a 6kg one should be calor but there red not orange the red ones are propane and incidentaly there is a lightweight version called calor lite that has a gauge on the neck. replacments are a bit dearer @ £22 though. how long do they last!!!!! well how longs a piece of string :woohoo: however I can tell you I am on my 4th one since I bought the van in 2005. and yes I'm allways on EHU but I do use gas for the cooker.space heater, and heating the water up quickly I also make sure all appliances are run on gas at least 1 day every trip out with the van.
2.if you have calor bottles replacements are usually obtainable on site (on decent size ones) or any calor stockist, B&Q garden centres and some garages, I believe there is even a mobile phone app tells you the nearest stockist
3. getting the deposit back is nigh on impossible as you need the original recipt and contract, you had on the first bottle, in my case that was over 40 years ago.

 

[aldo]

Hi,

There is a calculation you can make to work this out ...

As an example, with a full 6kg bottle, using propane (calorific value of 13.9kwh), and running the oven (in my van 2kw) + 2 burners (2 x 1.5kw) - it would be 6 x 13.9 divided by 5 ... so you run out of gas in 16.7 hours of continuous use

Aldo

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Hi,

There is a calculation you can make to work this out ...

As an example, with a full 6kg bottle, using propane (calorific value of 13.9kwh), and running the oven (in my van 2kw) + 2 burners (2 x 1.5kw) - it would be 6 x 13.9 divided by 5 ... so you run out of gas in 16.7 hours of continuous use

Aldo

Your units don't appear to stack up. You are multiplying kg by kwh and dividing by kw, leaving an answer in kgh, not hours.

 

[JimD1]

Hi,

Early in the season, when there are still subzero temperatures around, we can get through 6kg of propane in a weekend. In the summer the same 6kg will last at least 2 weekends & normally 3. That is running everything off gas - heating, hot water, fridge & cooking.

I tend to replace them at our local Calor distributor, as they tend to be cheaper than either caravan dealers or camp sites. It is only a very slight detour on my way to work & I can often save £3 or £4 per refill.

Jim

 

[aldo]

Woodlands Camper,
Should it be 13.9 kwh/kg ??
But I think the final answer is correct isn't it?
Aldo

 

[colin-yorkshire]

Hi,
I tend to replace them at our local Calor distributor, as they tend to be cheaper than either caravan dealers or camp sites. It is only a very slight detour on my way to work & I can often save £3 or £4 per refill.

Jim

unless the distributor is selling at a discount, the price of a bottle should be fixed by a Calor price list. a Lite is £22 at the local dealer. £22 in Oban. £22 in St Austell where I bought my last two refills.

 

[Dustydog]

We use 6kg propane from Calor.
My last refill came from the Rivendale site last September at £20.00 .
It seems even Calor are jumping on the bandwagon with a 10% increase? Our usage is dependent on the weather. We rely on EHU using the gas as a starter to get heat into the caravan

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Woodlands Camper,
Should it be 13.9 kwh/kg ??
But I think the final answer is correct isn't it?
Aldo

That would certainly make the units right, as kg cancel out top and bottom of the equation, so I guess the numeric answer is correct.

 

[RayS]

With average use, but with water heat and fridge on electric I would expect a 6kg cylinder to last around 6 weeks.
A good way of checking is to get a scale as used for airline baggage weight around £10 from Amazon etc. weigh the bottle when new and then again say once a week. The rading will be higher than 6kg as it will include the weight of the bottle itself, but the difference between two readins will show you gas used, this does mean disconnecting and removing the bottle, but this is easy particularly if you get a connection hose with a 'wheel, tyoe fastening rather than a nut and spanner type.
I think this is a better way than the small magnetic indicators.

 

[ProfJohnL]

.........A good way of checking is to get a scale as used for airline baggage weight around £10 from Amazon etc. weigh the bottle when new and then again say once a week. The rading will be higher than 6kg as it will include the weight of the bottle itself, but the difference between two readins will show you gas used, this does mean disconnecting and removing the bottle, but this is easy particularly if you get a connection hose with a 'wheel, tyoe fastening rather than a nut and spanner type.
I think this is a better way than the small magnetic indicators.

Absolutely correct. Bottled LPG is sold by weight, and it is the only cost effective, and consistent method of establishing how much gas is left in a bottle. So if it is weighed regularly, you can track your usage, and use the trend to predict your usage.

 

[David McG]

"Go Outdoor" retailer is the cheapest

The Southampton Calor retail site who supplies all the Calor around a large area is more expensive than "Go Outdoor" 1/4 a mile away.

 

[Gafferbill]

"Go Outdoor" retailer is the cheapest

The Southampton Calor retail site who supplies all the Calor around a large area is more expensive than "Go Outdoor" 1/4 a mile away.

.........I was at Southampton Calor buying a 13Kgs propane cylinder last year.
I had just finished paying when another customer came in and asked for the same type of cylinder.
He was quoted the same price as I had just paid whereupon he stated that he could get the same product at Go Outdoor down the road for £5 less.
The Calor guy promptly offered to supply him with the cylinder at the same price as Go Outdoor.

Something tells me I was conned somewhere along the line

PS You do need to have a Go Outdoor discount card to get their lower Calor prices and the cost of the card is £5/year!