Club 80-90 Forums

Used to use Millets for my refills and at £14 maybe I've been spoiled, Millets only now sell filled bottles

My local (Stafford) Freedom Caravans want £21

Any suggestions anyone, maybe near an M5 or M6 junction

you'll pay between £19 & £21 everywhere for them these days.....one of the reasons I need to adjust my cupboards to take a small calor gas bottle!

yep Calor 3.9kg is £14

it's just a regulator change and a bit more room

everything runs on it the same.

What are these 'bottles' of which you speak

Ian

My Holdsworth Villa 3 conversion has a cupboard made to take two bottles snugly, Camping gaz 2.72 kgs.
What are the dimensions of the Calor 3.9kgs

Had a look on Calor's website, their 3.9kg bottles are H340mm x D240mm. My 2.72kg CampingGaz bottles are H250 x D203mm so would have to use the other cupboard and reroute the gas pipework, doesn't seem to be an option.
£19 to £21

I had trouble with the butane gaz freezing while at Dub-Aid so decided to change to propane. The Calor bottles will not go through the door of the gas locker on my auto-sleeper so I removed to base of the storage cupboard above the locker, cut it about 12" from the end and drilled a 1" hole in the corner. I just have to open the cupboard put my finger in the hole, lift out the small piece of the base to get at the gas bottle. Changing to Calor means I get twice as much gas for nearly half the price and there are more Calor stockist than Gaz.

Got to admit that its a pain using camping gaz - but it is the only gas cylinder that will fit in the holdsworth villa 3.

I dont know about other conversions, but the villa 3 has got a cupboard to fit two 907's which is lined with fibre glass and has a vent out the bottom for safety issues.
I was a bit reluctant to start cutting this up so i just bit the bullet and stuck with it. If i didnt use the fridge on gas i only used two a year.

I did however get fed up of not using the fridge so i fitted an under floor gas tank. Now i dont have to think about camping gaz....

Ringo

We swapped over to using the Calor 3.9kg bottles - fitting the appropriate regulator of course.

My cupboard was just a wee bit low for them to fit, but solution = unscrew the metal ring that is on the top of the bottle, only 3 screws, fits fine now and saves lots of money. Plus, as they last MUCH longer, I only have to do the fiddling with the screws once a season, so no real bother

I couldn't fit a larger cylinder either as would have meant moving the Propex. I just run the hose out through the floor vent, fitted a quick release coupling and have a larger cylinder by the side of the van. just disconnect it and leave it in the awning when I go out.

ringo wrote

Got to admit that its a pain using camping gaz - but it is the only gas cylinder that will fit in the holdsworth villa 3.

I dont know about other conversions, but the villa 3 has got a cupboard to fit two 907's which is lined with fibre glass and has a vent out the bottom for safety issues.
I was a bit reluctant to start cutting this up so i just bit the bullet and stuck with it. If i didnt use the fridge on gas i only used two a year.

Ringo
Can i interject... slightly off subject, and ask this... What is the fibreglass lining for in the cupboard and is it Holdsworth fitted or an after thought?

Thanks

Molly Man

Molly Man wrote: Ringo
Can i interject... slightly off subject, and ask this... What is the fibreglass lining for in the cupboard and is it Holdsworth fitted or an after thought?

Thanks

Molly Man

I assume its fitted by holdsworth as it is (or was) a legal requirement to put gas cannisters in a sealed and vented space. So the cupboard is sealed with fibreglass and a seal on the door frame. It is vented by a hole in the floor.

Therefore, if gas leaks from the bottle, it goes straigth outside and not in the van...

HTH's

Ringo

ringo wrote

I assume its fitted by holdsworth as it is (or was) a legal requirement to put gas cannisters in a sealed and vented space. So the cupboard is sealed with fibreglass and a seal on the door frame. It is vented by a hole in the floor.

Thats an interestng 'can of worms' all the Holdsworths I have seen do not have a seal to the door but certainly have the vent. BTW there is no reference to a sealed cupboard in Holdsworths extensive owners manual

Do other campers....Westfalia, Devon, Danbury etc. have dedicated cupboards with seals and lining?

Ringo... et al... do you think a previous owner had fitted all these safety measures (just paranoia?) and should we all think of sealing this storage area? Do we really need to ...or is some airflow required to force and remove any trace of gas out of the vent as gas is, heavier than air, so it sinks and exits.

Ringo...Any chance of a pic of seal and lining ?

Molly Man

The seal on the door is just weather seal - like sponge. Nothing special.

It really does look factory fitted as its that good. To be honest, i wouldnt worry about it at all. You have a vent, thats sufficient IMHO.

Ringo

Current regs, you need it to be a sealed box, with air vent to out side in the floor. When our vans were built regs were different, vent in the floor and something to secure the gas bottle. Most regs only come into force if you are carrying out paid work, if you do the work yourself, you can almost do what you like You can still get prosecuted if you blow up the van next to you though