Calor gas -what's the catch?

[Ads1987]

Hi all,

We currently use a campingaz 907 bottle in the van but it was a nightmare to find a replacement the last two times it ran out, it also costs about £30 to replace now. Looking around it seems you can get a larger 4.5kg calor gas bottle for under £20 once you have the bottle. Why are they so much cheaper for more gas is it just because campingaz are more popular in France etc?

I guess my best option is to sell my campingaz bottle on eBay and find an empty calor gas bottle there too and swap the adapter over and get it refilled?

Cheers !

Adam.

[kevtherev]

Yes just a regulator change when you switch to propane.
And it doesn't freeze in the winter.

[itchyfeet]

You can't get calor propane refils in France, bottles are different.
907 is about 20 euros in France and available in most big supermarkets, I get them in France every year.

I use both, 907 for a small portable stove and 4.5kg propane for my fridge, got the bottle from a car boot sale for next to nothing.
The local tip will always have some too.

[CovKid]

Bottles of any size can be a major pain if anything changes too. I used to use calor-lite bottles after being talked into swapping to one by a local camping place. Half the weight they may have been, but they subsequently had a recall on them and I couldn't get one without a 50 mile round trip each time. Calor would not let you swap back for a regular bottle either which was unfair. The shortage dragged on for a whole year. In the end I decided I had no choice but to ditch Calor and fitted my own onboard tank so I only pay by the litre. As long as I can find an LPG station (not hard), I can fill up. My annual gas bill (I use Propex a lot in Winter) went from £65 to just £14 and Calor didn't get their bottle back. I can't use it, and neither can they. Stalemate. I doubt I was the only one. They went so far to protect their business, they lost customers.

[Ads1987]

Thanks guys, so is butane any better for cooking normally, as if propane doesn't freeze then that seems the better option all round assuming my dometic fridge and smev hob run on it instead of butane?

Cheers,

[CovKid]

Very little between them in all honesty.

[a1winchester]

The local tip will always have some too.

The tip people aren't supposed to let you take them as they won't have been tested. I know - I tried!

I use Calor now for the reasons already stated - cheaper and doesn't freeze at low temps.

A bit of a heads up here - the last bottle I bought had a dodgy valve and I lost quite a bit from slow leakage - so I will be testing with soap bubbles when I get the replacement.