Club 80-90 Forums

Hello All

I have just purchased a 1988 Westfalia camper that I have yet to take out for more than a trip to do the weekly shop. I'm keen to take it for a spin tommorow and make a cup of tea in some random scenic Yorkshire Dales location. Problem is, the Camping Gaz bottle is empty.

How do I get more gas. Do I get my Camping Gaz bottle refilled or replaced? Can I buy a Calor Gas bottle to replace it, or will that require some special adaptor?

Thanks

Llamapup

hi mate , you have to change the bottle for a full one at any good camping store , look on google just put camping gaz leeds and there are a few one in Otley called Caseyscamping , also one in leeds Jacks , if you use calor then you will need a different regulator .

hope that helps

Thanks Dwayne

That does help. I'll get my bottle switched.

Chris

Keep in mind campgaz will not vaporize below 0. Need Calor or similar (LPG) as it will vaporize to -40. We use Calor year round.

Llamapup wrote:Hello All

I have just purchased a 1988 Westfalia camper that I have yet to take out for more than a trip to do the weekly shop. I'm keen to take it for a spin tommorow and make a cup of tea in some random scenic Yorkshire Dales location. Problem is, the Camping Gaz bottle is empty.

How do I get more gas. Do I get my Camping Gaz bottle refilled or replaced? Can I buy a Calor Gas bottle to replace it, or will that require some special adaptor?

Thanks

Llamapup

Campingaz 907 is the most expensive to refill £19.50 on the web site. Far better get a 4.5kg calor propane £13.50 and buy a new regulator...no more than £6. I find that the calor gas lasts longer then the campingaz, but that's only my opinion.

Go outdoors sell the 907 for about 16.50. The cheapest I managed to get it last year was from Tiso for 15.00 don't know if tiso stores are down south.

jean

You can buy an adaptor that allows you to connect the regulator to either calor or camping gaz bottles. I have both and keep the GAZ bottle as a backup, also find it quite useful being so 'dinky' and easy to store.

lloyd wrote:Keep in mind campgaz will not vaporize below 0. Need Calor or similar (LPG) as it will vaporize to -40.

Probably worth mentioning that Calor sell both; butane (blue bottles) and propane (red bottles). As lloyd implies above, butane isn't good at low temperatures, but propane is.

Tony

Thanks for all that guys. I presumed my gas tank was empty because I could not get it to light. When I took it out to exchange it I realised that it still had a little gas sloshing around the bottom.

I consulted my Westfalia owners handbook (written in German) and found a diagram that indicated how the various valves needed to be positioned to opperate the cooker and fridge. I had to wait a bit to get the gas to flow. I think some of it may have liquified in a little dip in the piping. I have since managed to get things cooking! I'm pretty happy about that.

Are there any benefits to Camping Gaz at all? I may well need to get a Calor Gas regulator if that is what all of you reccomend.

Thanks

Llamapup

Llamapup wrote:Are there any benefits to Camping Gaz at all?

It's widely available, so easy to get hold of if you run out when you're away from home. The bottles are compact and fit into little cupboards. We use Camping Gaz, but would like to get an underfloor gas tank fitted when money permits.

Tony

We only use Calor LPG / propane. I've had several vans over the year and have always used propane. I see no reason to use anything else because we use our camper year around and Camping Gaz is more then twice the money and in such small bottles it wouldn't last long winter camping. Yes, Calor bottle takes up more space, but we enough room for everything and plenty we don't need even with big bottle.

Well, we did use camping gas in France... used 2 bottles in 3 weeks. Here we use 3 Calor bottles in a year.

lloyd wrote: . . . and in such small bottles it wouldn't last long winter camping.

Well, we did use camping gas in France... used 2 bottles in 3 weeks.

Was that the little, stubby 904 cylinders, or the bigger 907 you were using in France?

I agree about winter camping consumption, especially when it's very cold. Just out of interest lloyd, what size Calor bottle do you have and how much does it cost for a "refill"? I'm wondering about the possibility of switching over until we can afford an underfloor tank.

Tony

Used 907 Camping Gaz in France.
6 kg bottle (£16.50) fitted under sink in Westy Mozaic Joker galley. Height just fits under the drawer. In fact it's so close I have to remove drawer to change bottles. We got a week of winter camping parked up on a bottle. Those being last year's Dubfreeze (3 days -0 all weekend-9 one night), weekend in Cornwall (2 days March/April cold and rain), and April Fox & Goose (2 days cold and snow). Bottle in now has 14 days of summer/fall camping on it. Don't know how much is left. We cook 2 full meals a day and Nicky heats water for coffee at least 12 times, heater is on if it's below 16 out. Fridge is on all the time.. usually forget to change over before driving, and start it a day before we leave. 6kg is approx 10.5 litre and costs £16.50, so is approx 3 times as expensive in bottle as frame mounted tank at .55p/l. Camping Gas 907 is approx 5.3 litre and costs £12.99 so about 4.5 times as expensive.

Underfloor tanks are nice, but it takes a long time to pay for their cost.

I can only fit 907's in the gas cupboard - so i've got a pipe that is long enough to go out the vent at the bottom of the cupboard onto a calor gas bottle when im parked up for a long time

Camping gaz is very expensive your right - but i dont use much if the fridge isnt on. Useally get through two bottles a year. So, theres no point getting an underfloor tank as it will take years to pay for itself.

It would be nice to have the fridge on all the time though...

Ringo

Nicola&Tony wrote: I'm wondering about the possibility of switching over until we can afford an underfloor tank.

Have taken the plunge with this today, to make life easier for winter camping. It's Flogas rather than Calor and we got a 3.9kg propane bottle; £20 bottle deposit, £11.75 for the gas and had to buy the regulator as well. Now that we've got a bottle I know a place that only charges £9.95 for the gas. We've been paying £13.95 each time we needed another Camping Gaz 907 cylinder (and we get though a few of those each year), so it'll save us a few quid.

Nearly finished altering the cupboards to accommodate the taller bottle.

Tony