907 vs C500 Gas in a Van

[keynsham1]

I have just bought an adaptor to use the 445g C500 gas canisters in my van rather than using the 2.75kg 907 bottles. I have the bottle connected via a quick release fitting so I can swap from one to the other at will. The simple reason which has passed me by for the last ten years is that gas in the C500 canisters is only 47% of the price of a 907 refill!!



12xC500 canisters with 445g gas = 5.34kg, £41.99 on Amazon so £7.86/kg
907 refill with 2.75kg of gas is £46 at my local caravan shop so £16.72/kg

7.86/16.72 = 47%

It is mad that small non-refillables are so much cheaper, or more to the point, a large refillable bottle costs so much more!

The only issue is my fridge on gas will eat a C500 canister in a day and a half so I will need to take a backup supply with me!!

Copilot says this:


For camping and caravan use:

• Campingaz 907 bottle contains butane gas. It holds about 2.75 kg of butane and is the familiar blue refillable Campingaz cylinder used across Europe.
  
• C500 canister (the tall aerosol-style cartridge used with camping stoves and lanterns) normally contains a butane/propane mix, typically around 70-80% butane and 20-30% propane, although the exact ratio varies slightly by manufacturer and season.
  

For your Electrolux RM919, if it's fitted with the standard jetting for UK caravan use, it will run perfectly on either:

• Campingaz 907 butane (through the correct regulator), or
  
• Propane cylinders such as Calor propane.
  

[keynsham1]

PS note: Amazon just dropped the price today from £41.99 to £39.99 for twelve C500 canisters!!

[hotpod]

a 4.5kg Calor bottle refill is £7.33/kg
a 7kg Calor bottle is £5.14/kg

I use a 6kg propane in my van and that is £5.33/kg and lasts for ever in the summer and is necessary in the winter because I use a propex heater.

Why not use the larger bottles?

[keynsham1]

Yes I just checked and for some reason the larger bottles are substantially cheaper to fill. I just don't have the space for the larger bottles in my van's layout as they are in a cupboard which isn't very tall. It does seem my local shop is very expensive though. I may measure up for a 4.5kg bottle. I have two 2.75kg bottles so I never run out and swap as one runs out but I suppose if I had one 4.5kg bottle and a few C500 cartridges as emergency backup, that would be just as good!