How much gas left?

Just collected our first camper today - a 2000 Topaz. We tried to listen to all the information but we didn't ask how you can tell how much gas is left in the gas bottle. I remember camping and we just gave the gas bottle a shake to give us a clue of how much was left. Is there a better way these days?

Hi there,

When the flame on the cooker won't light you have run out of gas. You then change over to the second bottle and buy a replacement for the first bottle; and then repeat the excercise.

All other methods waste time and/or money and are never accurate!

Best regards,

Dutto

There is a law which says that the gas only runs out while the boss is cooking dinner. This means a very hurried bottle changeover to avoid ruining the culinary creation.

squip

That's good but there's only one bottle - do I need an adaptor type device to enable me to connect two bottles so that I've always got a full one?
I presume there's room for 2 bottles in there - I'll have to measure it up tomorrow.
John

John,
I don't have anything to connect my two bottles together. When one runs out I just undo the pigtail hose and connect it to the other bottle. This is for my van which has a bulkhead mounted regulator. I guess your van has a bottle mounted regulator and I am not familiar with the fittings used. Someone who uses a bottle mounted regulator will come along soon and advise.
However different bottle sizes have different fittings and butane and propane connexions are also different.

squip

Hi there,

As I am the chef I appreciate that "Yes!!" it always runs out whilst cooking!

Ditto with the switchover - just swing the pigtail and regulator over between the two bottles.

In our case we have one cylinder each of Calor Gas and Camping Gaz - but the regulator fits both valves so no problem; apart from the ruined soufflé!!

Reason for two different types is "Calor cheapest in UK but Camping available all over Europe". Whilst away from UK we have decided to "use" the Camping Gaz regularly and use the Calor as "just until we get a new Camping Gaz cylinder".

Hope this helps,

Dutto

The only accurate way that I know of is to weigh it. An empty 4.5 kg bottle weighs 14lbs - and a full one 24lbs (Sorry all weights in old money!). We don't carry bathroom scales :) - but weigh them before we go off on any longish trip using a portable luggage scale. Hope this helps.
Jock

Apart from the obvious, no gas when you need it. Fit a gauge.
As you will know if you have two bottles in your Topaz there won't be much room left in the gas locker. It will hold two (just) one in use plus a spare.
Connecting the two bottles together is difficult if not impossible.
I fitted a Gaslow gauge between the in-use bottle and the pig tail (gas tube). These are readily obtainable from caravan dealers but be sure to get a straight one as the one with a right angle bend won't fit. Plus you must use the one with the correct fitting for the type of cylinder you are using.
Mine is like the one below.

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Jock - Thanks, that's a good tip, using luggage scales, and with a 10lbs difference (I prefer old money too!) it would be easy to calculate what's left.

Ken - Thanks for the info. It is very tight in the locker isn't it? You can't even have the gas bottle handles swung upwards for ease of moving. Isn't it difficult to remove both the gas bottles when they're fixed together?
I'm tempted to try squeezing a second bottle in but connect it to the pigtail as and when the other runs out as was mentioned on a previous reply.

John.

Hello

I have fitted manual Gaslow changeover gauges to my last three MHs these enable both cylinders to be connected up so when the gas runs out all you have to do is close the valve on the empty cylinder and open the valve on the (hopefully) full cylinder. I also use the easy fit hose connectors as they simplify changing cylinders not having to hunt for the spanner as they are loosened and tightened just by hand, which is also easier in the confines of the gas locker.
The gauge is also useful to check that the gas pipework and fittings are not leaking enabling a pressure drop test to be carried out easily just by opening a cylinder valve to pressurise the system then closing the valve so the system is isolated from the cylinder any leakage will be indicated by the gauge reading dropping rapidly in the case of a bad leak or slowly with a minor leak. Using the internal isolation valves a leak can be traced to a specific appliance or section of the system.
The Gaslow products aren't particularly cheap but from personal experience are well worth the expenditure especially on a wild windy and rainy night when the gas gives up. Foolishly I have always sold my vans with the changeover still fitted, due not being of a generous nature but being too lazy to change back the system, then cursing my idleness when paying out for the new setup.

John.

ssjohnl wrote:Jock - Thanks, that's a good tip, using luggage scales, and with a 10lbs difference (I prefer old money too!) it would be easy to calculate what's left.

Ken - Thanks for the info. It is very tight in the locker isn't it? You can't even have the gas bottle handles swung upwards for ease of moving. Isn't it difficult to remove both the gas bottles when they're fixed together?
I'm tempted to try squeezing a second bottle in but connect it to the pigtail as and when the other runs out as was mentioned on a previous reply.

John.

I gave up on the idea of a changeover due to the lack of space. It is worth carrying a spare and it doesn't take long to change the pigtail over. You may also find it worth while to protect the bumper with an old towel or mat to avoid damage when wrestling to extract the cylinder.
My van was purchased from a dealer who told me he had to visit a recent Topaz customer to prove you could actually get two bottles in the space.
We've had the Topaz for 4 years and still love it. We have looked at others with a view to change but nothing else fits us quite as well.
Another useful tip is to cut a piece of towelling to lay under the shower mat when you are not using the shower. It will catch the grit and grime off your shoes and save a lot of time cleaning.
Ken

If you bung something like 'calor gas gauge' into GooGoo there's dozens of hits. Mostly they seem to be 'stick it on the side of the bottle thermometer thingies' whereas I was looking for a dial gauge that I used to have ages ago in my camping and VW days. Which is probably what you are looking for. Dunno, in a tight locker the magnetic thing is probably a better bet.

EDIT: Seems that, more or less as usual, I'm talking bolleux and that those magnetic thingies are not much use unless the gas draw-off is very high. However, how about something like this:

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Hi there,

Just been looking at all the "gauges" and they all seem to be "pressure gauges" rather than "level gauges".

The pressure in an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinder is dependent on a) the type of liquid gas inside and b) the temperature of the contents.

If there is one single drop of liquid left then the gauge will read "OK" (i.e. The pressure in the bottle will not fall below whatever is the pressure for that particular temperature of that particular gas.)

In normal use (e.g. UK summer NOT Scottish mountain in January!) when gas is being removed from the cylinder, only after the last drop of liquid has evaporated to a gas will the pressure in the cylinder start to fall.

If you are using the oven at that time then the pressure will fall to zero in a matter of minutes. In view of the fact that a bottle lasts for many days (in our case a 3.5kg bottle lasts four to six weeks) the chances of you looking at the gauge during this time is almost non-existent.

In synopsis, it is my humble opinion that they are useless bits of kit because they only tell you what you already know; and refer you to my first post.

Best regards,

Dutto

PS The temperature strips work as they give an indication of level.

I have a Trooper and use one medium calor and one small camping gaz. The regulator is a fixed bulkhead type and serves both types of gas. I need two pigtails, one for each type. When the calor runs out I swap pigtails and connect to the camping gaz, replacing the calor when i can. Use the camping gas up and revert to calor, replacing the camping gas when i can.......simples

I got a magnetic gauge and cannot see how it works, it was five quid from betterware and a complete waste of time.

It is supposed to work by the level bars changing colour due to the cold temp from the gas, but it never seems to change however full or empty the bottle is.

Would stay away from one of those ....

neldadog wrote:I got a magnetic gauge and cannot see how it works, it was five quid from betterware and a complete waste of time.

It is supposed to work by the level bars changing colour due to the cold temp from the gas, but it never seems to change however full or empty the bottle is.

Would stay away from one of those ....

Agreed! I bought two and they are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, they only indicate anything (if anything) when the gas is going out of the cylinder so the gas has to be in use before you can see a reading (IF you're lucky).

I have now fitted two 3.9 propane bottles in my gas locker. I have a regulator and a length of gas tubing on each. These are connected to each other and to the "main supply" by a brass "T" piece. When one bottle runs out, I close the valve on that one and open it on the other.
The tubing is fastened to the locker wall by pipe clips but a long enough length is left free on both bottles to allow me to screw the regulator onto a new bottle outside the locker.

Frank

neldadog, I have the same experience. The magnetic strip is not long - tall? - enough. I proved mine worked by placing it on a frozen chicken leg. It was empty. Even the gauges in the Calor Lite cylinders only indicate when the cylinder is right on empty.

bertb wrote:neldadog, I have the same experience. The magnetic strip is not long - tall? - enough. I proved mine worked by placing it on a frozen chicken leg. It was empty.

Sorry if this is mis-typed but I am still shaking my head at the level of desperation that must be required for a grown man to go and get a frozen chicken leg out of the freezer (I presume that you didn't have one "just handy") for the sole purpose of checking out a gas bottle level indicator!!



Tell me Bert, does the light really go off when you shut the fridge door?

I ask in the certain belief that you must have sat inside a fridge sometime to check!!

Merry Christmas!

Sorry if this is mis-typed but I am still shaking my head at the level of desperation that must be required for a grown man to go and get a frozen chicken leg out of the freezer (I presume that you didn't have one "just handy") for the sole purpose of checking out a gas bottle level indicator!!

To be honest I completly understand that, the magnetic gauges have to be one of the most useless, pointless, waste-of-time piecies of tosh I have ever bought. I spent at least an hour painfully looking at the thing trying to work out exactly what its purpose was meant to be!

I'm guilty of buying one of these as well, after being reassured by the guy in our local camping shop that they do work

Hi there,

On a serious note:

1. The gas sits in the bottle in both liquid and gaseous form. It is in a state of equilibrium.

2. When we open the tap to release the gas the pressure in the cylinder falls.

3. The liquid cannot stay as a liquid at the new (lower) pressure and some of the liquid changes to a gas.

4. The heat energy used to make the change from liquid to gas initially comes from within the liquefied gas itself - and the temperature of the liquid falls. THIS IS WHAT THE STRIP MEASURES. There has to be a significant usage of gas for the strip to recognise that the temperature has changed.

5. As more gas is removed, and the temperature of the liquid drops, heat comes into the cylinder from the surrounding air to keep the liquid boiling. At normal atmospheric pressure Butane boils at -4 degrees celsius (which is why it is useless in Scotland in winter) and Propane boils at -44 degrees celsius.

6. If the tap is left open, and the temperature of the air stays above the boiling point of the liquid, heat will keep entering the cylinder, the liquid will turn into a gas and the cylinder will empty.

7. If the tap is closed then sufficient heat will enter the cylinder from the surrounding air to bring the liquid and gas back to a state of equilibrium. (See 1. above.)

This is why NONE of the level strips OR pressure gauges work and are indeed, in my opinion, a waste of money!

Here endeth the lesson!

Best regards,

Haha Dutto! Thought you'd got me that time! I'm not daft enough to sit IN the fridge. I simply drilled a hole in the door and watched as I shut it. Why make the problem more difficult than it is?

bertb wrote:Haha Dutto! Thought you'd got me that time! I'm not daft enough to sit IN the fridge. I simply drilled a hole in the door and watched as I shut it. Why make the problem more difficult than it is?

I'm sure that someone on here said that they'd put a running video camera inside the fridge to check if the light went out.

Not so daft as it seems as they had fitted a battery operated, magnetically triggered light to their van fridge.

Frank

Hi there,

I brought on saturday from a caravan center a new style calor gas light weight 6kg propane to fit in my symphony fits a treat and the bonus is it came with a gauge fitted as standard not sure if they do one for butane.
Hope that helps.
P.S. this is my first posting since joining so hope all is ok.

Best regards

Seems like the Silly Gang has got to epidemic preportions on this thread.

We all know that darkness lives in the cupboard. Oh. and under the bed.



Whisky.



Yes Deckie. I know.