Gas it kit..

About to get a second Gas-It bottle and a joining kit here, as only currently have the 1x 6kg... 6kg is the largest we can get in the Broadway locker sadly, it's designed for 3x bottles as standard.

I personally would never go back to the hassle of running around getting Calor bottles ever again, when you can just pull into a gas station and top up once in a while, to fill from empty it only costs about a fiver or so & being available just about everywhere in Europe takes the worry out of getting caught short, well worth the reasonable outlay.

CC

The Symbol has 4 straps fixed to the forward locker wall and the regulator fixed to the rear wall (nothing else in the locker), 2 for each cylinder. It is only possible to fit a single cylinder in our locker, you can have one on the step or one next to the door. It's not big enough for 2 cylinders at the same time. This is why I'm considering the Gasit cylinders as they are 10 mm diameter smaller than the Calor ones. I think that our locker is a Friday afternoon locker!!

Paul

Mine's older than yours and doesn't have the fixed regulator which makes things difficult for you.

Progress Eh!

Frank

Cruising Comet wrote:About to get a second Gas-It bottle and a joining kit here, as only currently have the 1x 6kg...

Out of interest, how long did you find you could go on 1 x 6kg bottle before needing to fill up.

We had a week in South Wales without hook up last October. But we used the sites showers as some idiot did not realise that the gas water heater will not work with the off side top window open we have had a couple of weekends since but they have all been on hook up so we've only used it for cooking. You could summarise this as being about a week of running the fridge Kettle and cooking. It must be noted that the ayatola says that she is on holiday so occasional cooking and morning toast only.

Although When we go to France in the summer we will be on hook up, we will either need one of grommets recommended connectors or Gasit cylinders fitted.

Noggin wrote:

Cruising Comet wrote:About to get a second Gas-It bottle and a joining kit here, as only currently have the 1x 6kg...

Out of interest, how long did you find you could go on 1 x 6kg bottle before needing to fill up.

Sorry for the delay... It's difficult to state with total accuracy as we've not used it enough to say for certain, we certainly use a considerable amount more gas in our Broadway than we did with the Nuevo as we have no electric hot plate for cooking and the Truma blown heating seems to use a little extra as well. 

We had two weeks in the Scottish highlands on Route NC500 mostly off EHU and I seem to remember we only topped up once (about 46p worth) other than that when in Germany & Italy last May for a month we only topped it up twice in the whole month so it lasts a good while, we don't worry about "using the gas" so if we need it it's on, so we are not concerned about how much we are using up like we did with Calor bottles but I think that's because you know you don't have the hassle of finding a stockist to exchange and having to use up what gas you have in the bottle before exchanging it and guessing when it's going to actually run out.

If I had to list the upgrades we've made or purchased I'd list them in this order as the most beneficial IMO

1) Duvalay - Absolutely essential & worth every penny, best thing ever purchased without a doubt.
2) Gas-It kit - Essential for gas cost and convenience, Gasit half the price of identical Gaslow.
3) Solar Panel - Very helpful but not really essential, worth it for extended times away from EHU.
4) Silver Screens - Use only occasionally, overused by most I'd say.

CC

Last year we used just less than 0.5 ltrs/day and on checking over the last few years this would be a good average.  
Bear in mind we normally would use the van all year with a high % on rallies with no EHU etc

Hi can anyone clarify how this Gas-it twin bottle connection kit works, understand it appears simple but want to be sure before ordering.

Did consider the auto changeover but adds to the cost, complicates the setup, and I don't think there's room in our locker anyway.

Would the second bottle when full need shutting off and manually opening when the first bottle is empty or can both bottles be left open as one tank then fill them as one when emptied? 

CC

The two inlets can be both connected together and have non return valves, that's the point of the T in your picture. There is no on off on the inlet it is sealed to the supply point by the rubber hose/hoses if two connected. 
The Two outlets than are like calor propane bottles with on/ off valves, so if no autochange over you'd need to connect them the same way as changing a calor bottle. 
Just fitted to my benimar, only issue is one of the gauges is sticky so not worth having. 

Still a tad confused.... The T piece attaches directly to the bottle doesn't it? Thought that's what I read on Gas-it's site anyway.

Isn't the inlet non-return internal to the bottle. Connect Tee to bot 1, fill pipe from Tee to filler point, hose with bend from Tee to other bottle. In use, manually turn on whichever bottle you want to use connected to the regulator.

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Isn't the inlet non-return internal to the bottle. Connect Tee to bot 1, fill pipe from Tee to filler point, hose with bend from Tee to other bottle. In use, manually turn on whichever bottle you want to use connected to the regulator.

That's how I understood it but wasn't certain... 

Am I right to presume "Only one bottle will be supplying gas at any time" and when emptied the other bottle will need to be turned on, or will they both work together until empty? 
The more I'm thinking about it the more confused I'm getting  


There are plenty of pics and diagrams online that show a setup with manual changeover or the auto changeover setup but can't find anything as a guide using just the T adaptor.


CC

Peter Brown wrote:I can't find this on the Gasit site but 'T' pieces are used to connect two bottles in parallel to increase the flow to high demand appliances such as Marquee heaters.  Both bottle connected will empty at the same rate and both will be empty together - the worst possible scenario.

That does not make any sense to me Peter. A 1/4" bore pipe @ X psi will deliver the same volume whether one, two or three bottles are connected to it.

Frank

Peter Brown wrote:
I'm not a gas man

No, me neither but I did spend a number of years in the test lab of a hydraulic hose manufacturer.

Frank

boxerman wrote:

Peter Brown wrote:I can't find this on the Gasit site but 'T' pieces are used to connect two bottles in parallel to increase the flow to high demand appliances such as Marquee heaters.  Both bottle connected will empty at the same rate and both will be empty together - the worst possible scenario.

That does not make any sense to me Peter. A 1/4" bore pipe @ X psi will deliver the same volume whether one, two or three bottles are connected to it

I think there's a little confusion because the term 'at the same rate' isn't actually clarifying what that rate is, simply that both bottles empty together so you end up with 2 empty bottles.

It would be logical that although they would empty at the same rate, with 2 bottles they would empty at half the rate of a single bottle.

So the sentence is correct but confuses the fact it lasts twice as long

I could be wrong too as not a gas guy either , but that makes better sense to me.

Blimey this just get more confusing 

Found this pic which shows the T-Adaptor on bottle 1 and the connecting hose from bottle 1-2 now obviously another hose goes from one bottle to the regulator, but what happens to the 2nd bottle?  Does it just remain shut down / closed? Obviously I realise if you had a manual or auto changeover valve that you would have a hose on both bottles going to that via the regulator.





I think the T-adaptor setup is ok Peter as Gas-it push this as the easiest way to connect two bottles together
More info here http://www.gasit.co.uk/leisure-gas-refillable-products/6-fill-hoses-bottle-joining-/-connection-hoses/gas-it-twin-bottle-kit-for-use-with-your-existing-fill-point.html

I'm not bothered about both tanks emptying as that should never happen, just want two bottles joined to act as one larger tank as obviously just one 6kg bottle is not a huge amount in reserve.

Does anyone with the compact gas locker on the Broadway EL Duo have either the manual changeover or auto valve fitted? It's very tight so I'm not sure if they would fit, the manual one probably isn't quite as bulky, maybe I'll see if Mark at Auto-Sleepers knows as I guess they've possibly come across this at the service centre.

CC

There will be a hose on each bottle to a regulator with two inputs and either manual or auto change over. The hoses shown in the photos only fill the bottles.

Like these manual change over ones. http://www.gasproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Manual_Changeover_Low_Pressure_LPG_Propane_Regulator_Kits.html

PLOUGHLIN wrote:There will be a hose on each bottle to a regulator with two inputs and either manual or auto change over. The hoses shown in the photos only fill the bottles.

Hi PLOUGHLIN.... Yes I understand, that's providing you wish to install an additional auto or manual changover kit, which I'm trying to avoid doing due to the dimensions of the Broadway's locker... 

Gas-it clearly state: "Simply buy another new refillable gas bottle and this joining kit and thats all you need to allow your original bottle and the new 2nd bottle be filled via your original single fillpoint - it's that simple!"

Maybe I'm not making sense of what I'm trying to say.... But I'm trying to find out how the gas from both bottles enters the regulator when only one bottle has a hose connected? Does the gas from the other bottle enter the regulator via the same hose or not? 

Come on guys there must be some of you using this system who surely must know? If not, I'll work it out.... can't be that flippin hard 

CC 

In that case, use one hose tail to regulator and change the bottle end to the active bottle. The fill hoses won't allow gas to transfer from one bottle to the other due to the internal non-return valve which  must exist otherwise you would loose all the gas if you undid one fill pipe to take the bottle out of the locker.

Gromit wrote:

Noggin wrote:Really interested in fitting a GasIt cylinder in the Nuevo - does anyone know the right size bottles that would fit in the cabinet?
Just a larger single or 2 small cylinders would suit us?

At risk of upsetting m8form8 I would suggest a single 11kg GasIt (or similar) cylinder which will go in easily, plus a 6kg Calor which you may already have.

Only my opinion of course, but for most people I can't see the point of two refillable cylinders. Topping up is so quick and easy, and if you have a little Calor bottle already plumbed in with a manual changeover switch, you will never have the worry of running out of gas. You will also have saved quite a lot of money.

We had that system for several years and never used the Calor - but it was there "just in case".

Dave

I am very tempted by the idea of a single 11kg GasIt but not too keen on cutting the body for mounting the filling point.  The 11kg has virtually the same capacity as the underslung tank on modern Nuevos and I could use the 6kg space for other storage.
Where did you fit your filler? Bracket fitting inside the locker or a through body filler?  I have heard that some filling points are sniffy about in-locker fill points but, given the relative ease of fitting it seems the way to go unles it causes some garages to send you away.
Can you post some photos of your installation please?

PLOUGHLIN wrote:In that case, use one hose tail to regulator and change the bottle end to the active bottle. The fill hoses won't allow gas to transfer from one bottle to the other due to the internal non-return valve which  must exist otherwise you would loose all the gas if you undid one fill pipe to take the bottle out of the locker.

Thanks... Ah so that's where my thoughts are going astray it seems.... So the bottle will fill together as one, but to use the bottles I'd have to treat them as separate bottles? Swapping over the hose like you would with say two Calor bottles? If this is the case then I'll definitely have to consider if it's possible to fit a changeover valve as I'd find that annoying.

CC

I cant get on the GasIt web site at the moment but the photo above is ok and as OP have posted the remaining outlets should go to a regulator.

But I think what CC is saying GasIt infer that this kit is all you need for a twin cylinder installation.

If you are going to retain the original regulator then another T piece is required along with a pitail to join the cylinders to the reg.

I personally wouldn't go for an autochange (if they work on the same principle as industrial propane a/c do - ie differential pressure between the cylinders) as when one gets low it will change and you dont know, when that gets low it will change again - you dont know.
Unless you have further instrumention.
If you have 2 cylinders coupled and manually open and shut the valves then you are aware 1 cylinder needs refilling,  none of use that much gas and it is easily forgotten



Ron, 


I will go and take a photo of my installation later, but I have what you are thinking about. 

The fill point and bracket are bolted to the gas locker floor inside the locker. There have been only 2 issues I have had over the last few years which shouldn't be a bother.
1.   Remember to park far enough away from the pump to open the gas locker door !!
2.   Think about the location of the bracket

My fp location was fine for a few years but last year I fitted an anti-crash regulator which took more wall space and required me to move the 11kg cylinder to the other position The pigtail wasn't long enough so 5 minutes later the fill point was moved to the other side of the locker.

Thanks, Roger - no need for photo then as I was thinking more of where the fill point could go in the wall so that it was not in the living space with all that entails regarding ventilation in case of a leak. t is certainly convenient to bolt theangled bracket to the perforated floor of the gas locker.
My main concern was the reports that if you had to open the locker door a man would run out and say words to the effect of " C'est interdit - vous ne pouvez pas remplir votre bouteille avec autogas ici"!  I presume that you have never had that problem either here or in Europe.  I take your point that you need to park sufficiently far from the fill point to open the door!  And with the filler in the locker there is room for the bayonet to be left in place.
What have you done about a gas barbecue?  With two Calorlites I just take out the unused cylinder for the Cadac.  I am wondering about putting a bbq tap inside the wet locker.  Our gas locker is on the offside so would need a very long hose to reach a sensible bbq location. That now seems my only sticking point.