Do not use Autogas - Dometic says

Still reading through mountain of manuals for Sussex when I came across this in fridge instructions..'on gas, use butane or propane, do not use Autogas' ...isn't that what we fill underslung tanks with?

I believe that they can not be used from the tanks of LPG vehicles as they use a higher pressure.motorhome tanks have a lower settings regulator fitted by the converter

Yes unless you went to a Calor Filling Depot AG is all you can get.  Can’t say we have had any performance issues due to using Auutogas and it’s 2 in a couple of months. We did have to have the fridge repaired but it wasn’t a gas issue

From Wiki...............

Autogas is the common name for [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (LPG) when it is used as a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] as well as in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] such as [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. It is a mixture of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].


Of course it is ok to use in a MH, as to the storage tank it is the same as used in some car conversions.


Also, if Autogas is not to be used, why is an autogas connector fitted to the vehicle to fill the tank?

Now there's a thing, can you get an Autogas tank with both a liquid and vapour take off to feed a petrol  engine and appliances at the same time?

crosgor wrote:Now there's a thing, can you get an Autogas tank with both a liquid and vapour take off to feed a petrol  engine and appliances at the same time?

Probably not, but you could have 2 tanks...................

Paulmold wrote:Still reading through mountain of manuals for Sussex when I came across this in fridge instructions..'on gas, use butane or propane, do not use Autogas' ...isn't that what we fill underslung tanks with?

If it is quite capable of using either, I can't see how it can make any possible difference if it is half and half (or whatever other ratio), as in Autogas.

IanH wrote:If Autogas is not to be used, why is an autogas connector fitted to the vehicle to fill the tank?  

matchlessman wrote:If it is quite capable of using either, I can't see how it can make any possible difference if it is half and half (or whatever other ratio), as in Autogas.

Quite so Ian and MM.

What else are you going to put in the tank if you can't use autogas, specially when abroad. The Calor filling stations referred to by Roli are not available in foreign parts, so you would be thoroughly stuffed.

Incidentally, I didn't know that Calor filling stations supplied pure propane. Are you sure your information is correct Roger? Calor themselves appear to say that they use the same autogas as everyone else??

Confused, I am now . See here . . . [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  

I am thinking of their filling depots where they fill both standard and liquid displacement propane cylinders.  They would have to use Propane

the mix of 'Autogas' varies from region to region, country to country..
bulkhead (or bulk lpg tank) regulators on modern leisure vehicle gas systems are set to 30mbar to cope with the full range of mixtures.
obviously, a butane heavy mix might not gas off as well as a propane heavy one in very cold (skiing) conditions, but Autogas it is, whatever the bias....
We've had a refillable Gaslow on the last three vans (two with Dometic fridges and hobs) for 6/7 years and used it all over europe with, no doubt, many variances in mixture....no problems at all.
I think the underslung tanks on AS vans are one of their best features and certainly work with all brands of hob/fridge.

I just phoned Dometic's customer support helpline, which was a complete waste of time. They have no technical help available via the telephone, so the only way to get an answer from them to Paul's original query is via email.

Very helpful!!!!

I suggest that nobody bothers, since there is obviously no alternative but to use autogas, and if there was any sort of problem it would have been all over the internet for years by now.

I never had any intention of asking Dometic as I know we have no choice. I just wanted to highlight the stupidity of the statement in the Dometic literature. Vans with underslung tanks have been around since well before my van was built. Just goes to show that even worldwide companies such as Dometic have no real idea of what their end consumer really want.

Absolutely Paul.

If I could have spoken to a technical help "expert" I intended to ask him what we should use instead of autogas.

I would have enjoyed that! 

I'm tempted to send them an email to ask that question . . . . just for devilment. I wonder what they would come up with?

Go on Dave, you know you want to.

IanH wrote:
This for exactly the same reason we cannot use pure Butane in the colder months, it freezes, inconvenient in a MH, disaster in a car!

You must live somewhere pretty cold then, butane freezes at around -140C ;)

It stops boiling around 0C and so the pressure drops below a useful point at around 4C.

Paulmold wrote:Go on Dave, you know you want to.

You do it Paul. Then you can quote from your manual, and confuse them properly.

I don't admit to reading manuals, so I have a reputation to consider! 

Oh all right then, I will.

I read once that Dometic have shares in Calor?
I have no idea if that is true but it would explain the warning.
Pete

I emailed Dometic for clarification on Friday but no response yet.

Response just received, very interesting content...blame the converter..... invalidate warranty.... anyway read yourselves..

Hello Sir. 

Using Autogas can cause the burner to fail quicker than normal (burners are a consumable and are normally replaced during the gas service on the fridge). 
As Autogas is a unspecified mixture of both butane and propane. Both these gases burn at different temperatures and can cause fluctuations in the flame temperature, plus more carbon can be produced, lining the inside of the exhaust creating a thermal barrier and thus causing issues with cooling. 

The manual does clearly state Butane or Propane and not Autogas. Unfortunately as we did not install the fridge or the gas tanks so we are unable to advise as this is not our error. I would recommend contacting your dealer regarding this.   

As the manufacture of the product we can only advise installers how to install our products, if they choose not to then we can void warranty on faults relating to that. 

However, many UK owners do use Autogas, but because of this we recommend the gas servicing of the fridge should be every 6 months not the standard 12 months, to correctly maintain the gas equipment. Please be aware, servicing intervals could be shorter than this depending 

Other than have a separate bottle of Propane or Butane a Shorter service intervals would be required. 


Kind regards 

Customer Service and Technical Support Department

Thanks Paul.

They could just as easily have said, "It's not our fault, whatever happens!" 

Wondering whether to forward to AS.

If my van had underslung tanks. I would certainly be raising it with AS.

Let loose the dogs of war Paul! 

I would suggest sending it to one of the bosses rather than to Mark. With no detriment to him at all, it goes above his pay scale . . . . and from what I gather they wouldn't listen to him anyway.