Camping Gas

[MrCatDNA]

Do the gas knobs (on the hob) push down as you turn them? I couldn't light my burners even though i had a small amount of gas left and it turned out i had to hold them down while lighting and then for a few seconds after.

[Gunslinger]

ooooh you're clever!

I'll try that then.

Just went down and checked and I've forgotten what it is already! I think it's butane!

Forgot to say, finish your ciggie first

[Nicola&Tony]

Yes there are cut off pipes in the cupboard next to the fridge. They are set to vertical position so I have assumed this means they are "on".

When you say that you have cut-off pipes in the cupboard, is it a gas manifold like this (might have more than two red knobs though)?


If that's what you've got, it's a case of:

vertical knob = gas turned off

horizontal knob = gas turned on

So in the photo above, knobs are in horizontal position and gas would be supplied to cooker and fridge etc.

Tony

[TravellingChick]

Tony, it's exactly like that and they are currently vertical which means they're off then?

I'll try turning them horizontal tomorrow and giving it a go.

I'll put me ciggie out first too

[Nicola&Tony]

I think it's a Calor 4.5kg. It's blue and both it and the hose/reg look very new. It's on the top shelf of a cupboard which has a hole thru the floor and another grilled vent out just by the base of the bench seat. It's secured with a bungy attached to a strut that's been screwed in.

When I read this description I remembered seeing some pics of your van when you bought it. Back then I highlighted a possible safety issue with your gas bottle location i.e. it's in the top cupboard and most gas bottles usually stand on the floor. This makes me wonder whether or not it is still vented through the floor of the van, into the outside world. This needs to be done in case your gas bottle or regulator becomes faulty and starts leaking gas inside your van which would be dangerous.

I searched for the post and the pics and managed to find it:
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 8#p7326008" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and here's one of the pics from the link:


Sorry for banging on about this but it's an important safety issue.

As others have said, blue bottle = butane. Butane is heavier than air. If the bottle starts leaking, the gas will fall down to the bottle of the cupboard. If there isn't a vent in the bottom of the cupboard which allows the gas to escape out into the outside world via a vent hole in the floor of your van, it will leak out from under the cupboard door (or through that vent hole by your bench seat) and into the inside of your van where it will be poisonous and flammable.

Please have a good look inside your cupboards and satisfy yourself that there is a clear escape route for any gas that leaks from your bottle. It's a risk that doesn't need to be taken, better safe than sorry etc.

I hope you get sorted and have a safe camping trip.

Tony

[ajp]

If your really not sure what to do I would really suggest driving down to your nearest Calor dealer and ask them to swap the bottle like for like. Its gas its never worth the risk. I see far to many chances being taken when I'm working around holiday parks and campsites. They won't mind you asking and you'll have peace of mind.

Hang on, you can probably ignore this. I just realised I posted this before reading the 2nd page

But if your still not sure it is an easy fix for peace of mind.

[TravellingChick]

Hi Tony

Yes you're spot on that is exactly where the gas bottle is and thanks for remembering.

I took your advice at the time when I picked Tink up and behind the grill you can see by the bench seat in the photo is a hole that goes straight out the floor of the van. It's probably about an inch in diametre. The inside of that cupboard is shelved so altho there are two doors it is one cupboard inside and the hose from the gas bottle travels down towards that hole.

I did consider re-siting the gas bottle but according to the owners manual the cupboard below is where the portapotti would normally be altho I don't have that anyway.

I've searched locally for Calor outlets but they all seem to be heating engineers so not sure they'd be able to help me..........

There's a camping outlet about 5 miles away so I think I'll ring them today and see if they can help me change over assuming I can't get it working.

Thanks again all.

Sarah

[Nicola&Tony]

. . . is a hole that goes straight out the floor of the van.

Phew!! Nice one. Hope you have a good trip.

Tony

[TravellingChick]

Thanks Tony.

I've found a camping outlet in Shepperton. They supply butane bottles and said they'd help me fit a new one etc so I'm going over there tomorrow.

[TravellingChick]

I have GAS!

The nice man at the camping shop fitted the new one for me, confirmed that the hole in the shelf that the hose goes thru before passing past the hole in the floor is sufficient ventilation and agreed with Tony that the shut off valves in vertical are OFF.

Both burners work, didn't get the fridge going but I think it takes a bit of time for the gas to get thru.

Should I unplug the 12v fridge plug before running it on gas?

I'm so pleased, I can cook now!

[Molly Man]

When you are running fridge on gas make sure the camper is level!...sometimes these fridges do not like being at any angle and will not work!...use a spirit level on your floor to confirm.
Sounds a pain but may need leveling chocs to get the fridge working... or try corner of your local supermarket car park ...that should be pretty flat.

Molly Man

[TravellingChick]

Thanks Molly, I've got a spirit level already fixed to one of the worktops.

But should I unplug the fridge from the 12v before switching to gas?

[R0B]

nah..

But should I unplug the fridge from the 12v before switching to gas?