LPG fuel level indication.

I previously reported in a separate thread that the LPG level gauge showed empty after on 5 nights use of my new unit (no hook up used) and when I refilled the tank it would only accept 8 Litres. The 25 Litre tank should take 20 Litres to fill from empty.

I visited Willersey yesterday and was advised that the tank had been incorrectly fitted at an angle, it was removed, refitted and filled. I am advised that I should now have a correct reading but it will take some time to prove as my next 3 trips are on sites where LPG usage will be minimal.

I'm sure its been mentioned elsewhere but the float on a hinged arm liquid level detector will only ever give a rough idea of how full the tank is and if the vehicle is 'off level' in any direction, the indication will vary significantly from that on the level.

Peter

plato2012 wrote:I previously reported in a separate thread that the LPG level gauge showed empty after on 5 nights use of my new unit (no hook up used) and when I refilled the tank it would only accept 8 Litres. The 25 Litre tank should take 20 Litres to fill from empty.

I visited Willersey yesterday and was advised that the tank had been incorrectly fitted at an angle, it was removed, refitted and filled. I am advised that I should now have a correct reading but it will take some time to prove as my next 3 trips are on sites where LPG usage will be minimal.

Hi there,

To paraphrase a saying "There are lies, damned lies and the information provided by instruments!!"

We use two ordinary cylinders rather than a re-fillable tank; and every time I see a post on the subject of inbuilt LPG tanks I breathe a sigh of relief that we don't use the system.

In any given circumstance we know 100% that we have a cylinder of gas available or, if we have recently changed over, enough LPG onboard to last at least a week before we have to buy a replacement.

It is our belief that the pennies saved by using inbuilt systems is by far outweighed by the problems that seem to be inherent with them.  

Best regards,
 

I've filled our on board tank 4 times now since we bought our Broadway in March and the Gauge as been near enough accurate.

John.

It's the same with the Whale water filling system, I've read nothing but folk having problems with this. I'm so glad I have the old fashioned foolproof system, along with two gas bottles and a manual step!
I've come to the conclusion that modern vans are being built on the assumption we're all crotchety old codgers who are barely capable of pressing buttons..

Fitted LPG tank for me is a great space saver, no gas locker therefore more storage! Filled up the other morning at my local distributer cost £17. Asked how much the equivelant quantity of gas would cost in bottles and was told £42. So glad I have one.

Found my guage to be pretty accurate too.

I use a plastic + magnetic device that sticks to the side of the cylinder (£1.45) and it is as accurate as you you find for a LPG Cylinder or Tank

I think the only way to find out:-

(a) how much gas it takes to fill an empty tank,
(b) how accurate the reading is on the guage,

is to purposely use up all the gas in the tank (potentially very inconvenient on the one hand since we have no facility to temporarily connect an alternative supply, and purposely wasteful if this is done merely for test purposes on the other hand) and then refill the gas tank, noting the quantity of gas infilled.

The tank manufacturers quote a precise tank capacity. AS accept this figure from the manufacturer and quote the given refill capacity to us. We take that figure as accurate.

However, that in practice there are widely varying figures being experienced by the users. It seems there is very little confidence that we can place on this piece of modern equipment.

Willersley did turn my tank a few degrees which has made the indication more accurate.

stoneb wrote:I think the only way to find out:-

(a) how much gas it takes to fill an empty tank,
(b) how accurate the reading is on the guage,

is to purposely use up all the gas in the tank (potentially very inconvenient on the one hand since we have no facility to temporarily connect an alternative supply, and purposely wasteful if this is done merely for test purposes on the other hand) and then refill the gas tank, noting the quantity of gas infilled.

The tank manufacturers quote a precise tank capacity. AS accept this figure from the manufacturer and quote the given refill capacity to us. We take that figure as accurate.

However, that in practice there are widely varying figures being experienced by the users. It seems there is very little confidence that we can place on this piece of modern equipment.

This is what Gaslow provide as a back up. 
http://www.gaslowdirect.com/epages/cyujrhdmmu67.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=4901996&ViewAction=ViewProduct. 
It can (with various adapters, be connected to any of the myriad types of bottle found in Europe).

For some reason the link I put does not lead where it's supposed to so the item is a:- 
Gaslow Reserve Connection Hose 

The link worked when I copied and pasted into a new tab.

Peter

Peter Brown wrote:The link worked when I copied and pasted into a new tab.

Peter

Cheers, any idea what I did to the original to coc# it up?

You had a full stop (.) at the end of the link. Take the full stop off and it works OK.

Thank you very kindly BB! I had no idea I the connecting pipe you refer us to is available.

This item helps by getting over the danger of the vehicle's fitted gas tank becoming empty in the middle of, say, a cold winter's night. Crumbs! Mrs stoneb (she who thinks she ought to be obeyed) might have to cuddle in! Presumably one has to leave the spare supply tank outside the 'van (subject to interference from other persons) with its tap turned on, ready in case the first tank becoming empty.

I think it might have to become an immediate-future purchase for me as well as others. I will also be looking seriously into the possibility of a second gas tank being fitted (although certainly at much more £££s than the £16.50 for this pipe!)

I saw some motorhomes long terming in Benidorm connecting a Spanish gas bottle and regulator through the barbeque point, in effect connecting their gas supplies in reverse.

John.

Spospe wrote:You had a full stop (.) at the end of the link. Take the full stop off and it works OK.

Many thanks, I'm an IT twit I'm afraid!

stoneb wrote:Thank you very kindly BB! I had no idea I the connecting pipe you refer us to is available.

This item helps by getting over the danger of the vehicle's fitted gas tank becoming empty in the middle of, say, a cold winter's night. Crumbs! Mrs stoneb (she who thinks she ought to be obeyed) might have to cuddle in! Presumably one has to leave the spare supply tank outside the 'van (subject to interference from other persons) with its tap turned on, ready in case the first tank becoming empty.

I think it might have to become an immediate-future purchase for me as well as others. I will also be looking seriously into the possibility of a second gas tank being fitted (although certainly at much more £££s than the £16.50 for this pipe!)

Glad it's of use stoneb. The beauty of this item is that you can retro-fit any bottle found in whatever country you are in (with the right adapters). I carry a spare 3.9Kg propane(sealed) as a back up now and will continue to do so when I get my new van next year. The only places where there is a lack of easily accessible supply seem to be Finland (NIL!), and North Norway which we plan to visit in the next two years, (I've been many times but Mrs BB needs to see the Northern Lights). The back up only kicks in when the underslung is completely empty and the bottle cannot fill the tank.

artheytrate wrote:I saw some motorhomes long terming in Benidorm connecting a Spanish gas bottle and regulator through the barbeque point, in effect connecting their gas supplies in reverse.

John.

This may seem a stupid question John but does that still pass through the regulator before getting to the onboard appliances? Can't visualise the internal set up.

BB, yes, the gas from an outside source would go into the tank via the refill valve fixed on the body of the vehicle. It would then pass through the tank, through the regulator, and onwards to the onboard appliances.

Jaytee, I've looked on the Gas-it tank supplier's website (they're in NW Wales) and it states that the cover fitted on the side of the tank is to be lined up at 105% from vertical (about 4 or 8 o'clock position, depending which end of the tank is viewed). This means it's slightly below horizontal. The measurement equates to about 27mm (or 1 1/8") below centreline on the outside diameter of the tank. Gas-it can supply a guage (£5 + postage) to set, or check, the tank alignment. I'm going out to look underneath my vehicle in a mo' and get an estimate using a 12" rule.

Yes AS above BB.

John.

Oh dear. before I went out to Winnie Winchcombe I made a cardboard template indicating the correct alignment of the side valve cover.

Even from the very awkward confines of the space under the vehicle I can see from my template that my gas tank needs to be moved radially by quite a bit! It's not far from horizontal at the moment, about 95 degrees, certainly less than 100 degrees and it should be at 105 degrees from vertical. (I can't find a degrees key on the keyboard)

Next thing is a chat with Gas-it (who are on annual holiday for a fortnight!) and the very nice people on aftersales at A/S.

stoneb wrote:BB, yes, the gas from an outside source would go into the tank via the refill valve fixed on the body of the vehicle. It would then pass through the tank, through the regulator, and onwards to the onboard appliances.

I might have misunderstood this - the surely the BBQ point on the side of a van is low-pressure?

The foreign (Spanish) gas bottle would therefore simply have it's own reg and feed gas straight into the low pressure systems on-board (cooker / fridge etc). The gas would not go into the onboard tank/bottles etc.

Unless I have misunderstood things!   

Steve

Correct Steve, Also on my new Broadway there's a sticker saying not to do this at the barbeque point, but as an ex gas engineer I can't see a problem with this especially if there's nowhere to fill your tank and your on a site for weeks on end.

John.

For clarification:

I had no knowledge of any of this before. In this thread there are mentioned two distinct methods of connecting and using a gas bottle when the on board tank is empty.

1. Connect a bottle without a regulator to the LPG filler point on the vehicle using a Gaslow (or designed for purpose equivalent) hose and connectors. When the tap on the bottle is opened, gas (not liquid) at cylinder pressure will fill the on board tank and will supply on board appliances via the built in vehicle gas regulator.

2 Connect a bottle WITH its own regulator to the external BBQ point and shut off the tap on the appliance side of the built in regulator. The bottle will supply all the on board appliances (as long as their individual taps are open). I have no knowledge of the reliability of the BBQ connectors so would have concerns about anyone using this method if they are not competent in gas fitting.

Peter