Safefill Fill Ups. Dave Croft Garage Near Chesterfield Gone

[Johnb]

Just an alert for anyone like myself who used Dave Croft for LPG. Garage now shut - I would imagine retired.

Just back from Morrisons, Bawtrey Rd, Rotherham which is a 30 mile round trip. If fuel was around 1 gallon still worth the trouble but not quite as good value with a pump 10 minutes drive away.

Of course the main benefit is that I simply topped up from the level I was at a few weeks ago so apart from really cheap, conveniently full for Europe with no waste.

 

[Gozza2]

That's what concerns me - I have a plan, once my current Calor Lites are empty, to switch to Safefill, but how long are LPG filling stations going to be as common as they are now? I've got a garage really near me that does it, but if they ever stopped it'd be a real trek to the next nearest.

 

[otherclive]

That's what concerns me - I have a plan, once my current Calor Lites are empty, to switch to Safefill, but how long are LPG filling stations going to be as common as they are now? I've got a garage really near me that does it, but if they ever stopped it'd be a real trek to the next nearest.

Doesn’t Safefill also have outlets at some local hardware/trade outlets that are not associated with fuel outlets.

 

[Buckman]

That's what concerns me - I have a plan, once my current Calor Lites are empty, to switch to Safefill, but how long are LPG filling stations going to be as common as they are now? I've got a garage really near me that does it, but if they ever stopped it'd be a real trek to the next nearest.

Many farmers use gas and we have filled up on more than one occasion at a farming place or shop. Morrisons still do LPG at a number of their service stations.
I am not sure how up to date this map is for refill points;
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...&ll=50.73300249343872,-2.1581067212229077&z=9

 

[Boff]

Safefill only makes sense if you use a lot of gas. If you are always on Ehu it doesn’t make economic sense.

 

[Buckman]

Safefill only makes sense if you use a lot of gas. If you are always on Ehu it doesn’t make economic sense.

Although we do not use a lot of gas, our Safefill has paid for itself many time over. With many sites introducing metering, it will probably be cheaper to use gas for hot water heating and also to supplement EHU heating in cooler months.

 

[Boff]

If you are only using 1 or 2 6kg bottles per year I can’t see how you are going to get any payback when you consider the cost to buy one.

 

[Buckman]

If you are only using 1 or 2 6kg bottles per year I can’t see how you are going to get any payback when you consider the cost to buy one.

We did buy many years ago when price was lower. To refill cost under £10 so saving £17 on each refill as opposed to Calor.

 

[Hutch]

That's what concerns me - I have a plan, once my current Calor Lites are empty, to switch to Safefill, but how long are LPG filling stations going to be as common as they are now? I've got a garage really near me that does it, but if they ever stopped it'd be a real trek to the next nearest.

I did notice that there is a company advertising on Ebay , exchanging Calorlites in Meriden, near Coventry, about an hours run for me, but If I exchange my two bottles and visit my son on the way it would be worth it.

Refill Full Calor LITE gas 6kg propane bottle (cylinder) EXCHANGE LIKE FOR LIKE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Refill Full Calor LITE gas 6kg propane bottle (cylinder) EXCHANGE LIKE FOR LIKE at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Boff]

I wonder if these are “official” refills ?

 

[Hutch]

I wonder if these are “official” refills ?

I doubt it very much,

 

[Boff]

If I were to buy a calorlite of unknown provenance. For safety’s sake I think I would check the weight. Weigh the bottle. The weight of the empty cylinder in kg is stamped on the bottom foot 4.45kg iirc. Subtract that from the total weight to get the weight of gas. If it were up to about 6.5kg then I wouldn’t worry to much any more time to be careful.

 

[Hutch]

If I were to buy a calorlite of unknown provenance. For safety’s sake I think I would check the weight. Weigh the bottle. The weight of the empty cylinder in kg is stamped on the bottom foot 4.45kg iirc. Subtract that from the total weight to get the weight of gas. If it were up to about 6.5kg then I wouldn’t worry to much any more time to be careful.

So if you buy an adaptor to be able to refill your calor or other propane gas bottle, from an LPG garage, ie Morrisons and your bottle is in the boot of your car is this ileagle
Edit. So how do you leagally refill your LPG bottles

 

[Buckman]

So if you buy an adaptor to be able to refill your calor or other propane gas bottle, from an LPG garage, ie Morrisons and your bottle is in the boot of your car is this ileagle
Edit. So how do you leagally refill your LPG bottles

Morrisons check as they have CCTV in their forecourts. You need to take the bottle out of the vehicle otherwise pump remains shut.

 

[Beachball]

We did have a 6kg calorlite propane and it was full someone was selling some years ago the new buyer of caravan that one thing of the list i don"t need

 

[Gozza2]

If you are only using 1 or 2 6kg bottles per year I can’t see how you are going to get any payback when you consider the cost to buy one.

Financially you're probably right, but there are other sorts of payback - for example, for health reasons I've described elsewhere I need to minimise the amount of physical effort involved in caravanning, and with the Calor Lites being withdrawn I'm keen to find an alternative to the "standard" heavy Calor cylinders. Plus of course the ability to start every caravan trip with a full cylinder means that most of us wouldn't need to carry a second cylinder "just in case".

 

[Bluetonic]

I'm keen to find an alternative to the "standard" heavy Calor cylinders

We have used Flogas Gaslight for the last 5 years. Readily available from Homebase so have had no problems finding a refill when we have needed one, even when there were huge problems with Gas availability last year.
Obviously if you want to start each trip with a full cylinder Safe fill would be a better option

 

[Buckman]

Financially you're probably right, but there are other sorts of payback - for example, for health reasons I've described elsewhere I need to minimise the amount of physical effort involved in caravanning, and with the Calor Lites being withdrawn I'm keen to find an alternative to the "standard" heavy Calor cylinders. Plus of course the ability to start every caravan trip with a full cylinder means that most of us wouldn't need to carry a second cylinder "just in case".

We only fill up when out and about and never saw the point in filling up just before each trip.

 

[SteveW]

Hi all! I bought two Safefills with no expectation of saving money, quite the opposite given the cost. The key things for me are weight and flexibility. Easy to lift in and out of the locker. Max gas capacity is way higher as it’s now possible to use two large bottles assuming you can balance the weight which would be impossible on our van with two 13kg Calors. Allows long European trips with no worries about gas. Winter off grid too. The setup is flexible in that the large bottles are light, you may as well have that size. You don’t have to fill them, you have control compared to Calor replacements, so you can use one or both large bottles in part filled mode to provide a main and reserve at minimal weight penalty. Of course we’ve got a friendly LPG dealer round the corner here near Wokingham, the setup might not be so ideal if they were not to hand.

Steve

 

[Buckman]

Hi all! I bought two Safefills with no expectation of saving money, quite the opposite given the cost. The key things for me are weight and flexibility. Easy to lift in and out of the locker. Max gas capacity is way higher as it’s now possible to use two large bottles assuming you can balance the weight which would be impossible on our van with two 13kg Calors. Allows long European trips with no worries about gas. Winter off grid too. The setup is flexible in that the large bottles are light, you may as well have that size. You don’t have to fill them, you have control compared to Calor replacements, so you can use one or both large bottles in part filled mode to provide a main and reserve at minimal weight penalty. Of course we’ve got a friendly LPG dealer round the corner here near Wokingham, the setup might not be so ideal if they were not to hand.

Steve

Are you aware that you can buy adaptors so that you cna fill up the bottles anywhere on the continent and probably cheaper?

 

[ProfJohnL]

LPG Butane and Propane gasses are produced from crude oil refining. It will take several years, but as the use of oil based fuels for transport is cut back as electrification expands, there will be a double effect on the cost and availability of LPG.

With less demand for oil for transport. It is certain that the number of filling stations will shrink, and that will also remove some that presently sell LPG. This will make refilling even more inconvenient than at present.

The second effect will be with less demand for petrol and diesel fuels, the economics of drilling, extracting , transporting refining, storing distributing, and retailing, will push prices up considerably, and that not to mention governments pushing up fuel taxes to help lever people away from using fossil fuels.

This process has already started, but presently it's the odd filling station closing and being redeveloped rather than being refitted. Perhaps the recent crude price hikes are a transient event, but the cost of crude has been rising at rate above inflation over recent years. Probably the OPEC producers looking to sustain their income on reduced volumes sold, and to build up 'cash in the bank' for the leaner years ahead when world consumption reduces significantly.

There will always be some petroleum products needed for the foreseeable future, but they won't be so widely available, and they might price themselves out beyond what some caravanner's are prepared to pay.

We will see caravan manufacturers looking to make caravans less dependant on LPG, for example all electric caravans, possibly set up to run of your electric cars battery.

 

[otherclive]

The Safefill supply chain seems to be predominantly at trade outlets where gas is used for domestic and commercial work. In our area the three Morrisons have stopped selling Autogas but there are a reasonable number of outlets where Safefill bottles could be filled. But it’s not unreasonable to expect such refill prices to fluctuate in line with other equivalent fuel prices.

 

[Buckman]

It will be decades before gas is no longer mainstream so by that time we have all gone to join caravanners in the big sky.

 

[ProfJohnL]

It will be decades before gas is no longer mainstream so by that time we have all gone to join caravanners in the big sky.

Yes that will apply to existing products, but new caravans are increasingly going to need to look at how to reduce reliance on gas. We have begun to see it already, some caravans now have an electric hob, and there has been a USA proposal for all electric off grid caravans that have their own large storage battery, which can also assist an EV towcar.

Small beginnings, but mighty Oaks begin with a tiny acorn. And if you look at the way the EV car market has grown over the last year, it might surprise many how quickly EV's are becoming accepted partly due to the penalties of cost and accessibility are falling for EV's and increasing for ICE .

The rate of change towards an electric future in so many areas ont just EV's is likely to be faster than even I suspect.

Every little bit of effort to reduce our impact is valuable, but even if we have already made some changes, it should be a goal to look and achieve more if we can.

 

[otherclive]

Yes that will apply to existing products, but new caravans are increasingly going to need to look at how to reduce reliance on gas. We have begun to see it already, some caravans now have an electric hob, and there has been a USA proposal for all electric off grid caravans that have their own large storage battery, which can also assist an EV towcar.

Small beginnings, but mighty Oaks begin with a tiny acorn. And if you look at the way the EV car market has grown over the last year, it might surprise many how quickly EV's are becoming accepted partly due to the penalties of cost and accessibility are falling for EV's and increasing for ICE .

The rate of change towards an electric future in so many areas ont just EV's is likely to be faster than even I suspect.

Every little bit of effort to reduce our impact is valuable, but even if we have already made some changes, it should be a goal to look and achieve more if we can.

Re your comment on EV prices the new MG4 available from September is £26000 with a 218 mile range. Stated to be £10000 less than the VW equivalent ID3 I feel a Datsun Cherry, Yamaha 350 DL situation arising soon. 😂