LPG tank level

Hi All

Having not picked up our van yet, we were just wondering if the Fairford Plus has a level indication on the LPG gas tank?
This will be our first van so sorry if this sounds like a daft question. 
We presume it has one, but don’t know for sure!

If anyone could advise and typically how long a full tank of gas lasts that would be great

Cheers Jon

You'll have a little LED gauge to the right side of the steering wheel (assuming it's a GASIT tank kit) which shows the current tank level.

If we're on grid, it'll often last an entire summer season.

If we're wild camping in winter and running the heating, hot water, cooker, fridge etc on gas.  Um.... not very long at all 

Hi Jon

It will have a level indicator. Most likely 7 or 8 green LED lights and one red one, on a little unit at the right hand end of the dash. 

As for how long the gas will last, it depends how quickly you use it. 

Can'r really be specific as it all depends on (particularly) whether, and how much you use it to heat the van and the water. That's what can really cane your consumption. The fridge doesn't use a great amount, and boiling the kettle hardly makes a dent.

I think your best bet is to monitor your usage quite closely to begin with, until you have an idea of how long it will last in the way that you use it. The big advantage is you can top up at any time, so whenever it's getting a bit low you can call in and get some more.

Hope this helps

Dave

Dave beat me (for once) as he says it   has a gauge but they are very inaccurate, normally they underread the level which should mean you'll refill earlier than you probably need to which means you should never run out. As for how long it lasts, that all depends if you use hook up sites or not and whether you use heating a lot. The tank is rated at 25 litres but they have a fill cut off level of 20 litres which is equivalent to approx 1.75 6kg bottles if you're used to those to give you some idea of how long they last.

You get this (a 2017 van but probably hasn't changed)


As previously stated, usage will vary considerably with the heating likely being the main culprit.

I use EHU most of the time and a tank can last me years only boiling water for tea and coffee.
I camped in northern Norway (cold) in a car park with no EHU (heater and water on 24/7) and that took me down to one red LED in 5 days. When I filled up it took 15.5 litres (20 litre tank capacity) so it was actually at 23%.
Although it is not laboratory accuracy I find the gauge useful.

Also I will add that if you plan to travel abroad then it's a good idea to get a set (of the 3) adapters.

As others have said, the guage isn't very accurate. We've filled up on the red light and only added 10/11 litres, so, effectively, we still had half a tank.

For reference, across our two years of ownership, with about 70/30 EHU/NON-EHU and using it all year around (including winter trips to The Alps), we're averaging just under a litre per night.

At maximum winter usage, we emptied the tank over 9 nights.

Wow everyone, that’s just a brilliant set of responses from lots of perspectives. It gives a great idea of what to expect and what to consider when using the system.

We are so excited for our first trip off to Beadnell Bay and this completes another piece of our prep jigsaw

I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. Only 10 more sleeps to go
Thanks again everyone for your contributions, amazing and will certainly help me and I suspect other newbies who read this.

Best regards
Brackjo

Weegies' suggestion of just under a Litre per day is a good guide.
For the 1st few fills dont get frustrated with yourself when you think you need to fill up(reading leds) and go to the pumps only to find you can only get a couple of quids worth in.  We have all done it!

Thanks Roli
Appreciate the heads up. We are only staying three nights on our first outing so hopefully it will last oK. 

Regards 
Brackjo

Hi Brackjo

You would have to try very hard to use all the gas in three nights, so don't worry! 

Several members have said that the gauge is not very accurate, which is quite correct, but that's not the same as being consistent and reliable -  which it is!

Take note of your green lights before you fill up and calculate how many litres each one represents. You will have some idea from several previous comments.

For some reason the gauge only works when the engine is running, so when you turn on the ignition and nothing happens, don't panic Mr Mainwearing you haven't lost all your gas. 

One other serious caveat. You will have an automatic fridge, and if you don't turn it right off after your trip it will switch itself to gas when you get home, and next time you check you really will have lost all your gas. Take it from me!!    

The easy way to avoid this is never to use it on "Auto". It's only a matter of 2 seconds to manually change the setting, and it means you will never waste a tankful of gas.

Have fun. Beadnell is a lovely area.

Dave

Hi Gromit,

Thanks for the reassurance on usage over our first 3 day trip.
What a great tip regarding the fridge. Would have definitely fallen foul of this one.
Many thanks for taking the time to advise. 
Regards
Brackjo

When members are as appreciative as you Brackjo, they will get all the help any of us can offer.   

Regrettably there are those who don't even bother to say a simple "Thanks!" which is very annoying

I know a few established members have a "Black list" and I can't say I blame them. Courtesy costs nothing!

as Weegies and roli have said to cook run the fridge about  1lt per day .when you get to 1 green light and fill up I could only put 11lt when I filled up and the tank will take 20lt. when using in very cold conditions -4 at night so I had to kept heating going at a low setting all night so the water did not freeze up I was using 2 green level lights per day .to check your level most vans now have to have the engine running .I have fitted the  Bluetooth level sensor and have not been able to test it yet but hopefully will give a better accuracy to be able to use more of the capacity in my tank before having to make  a trip to fill up

Thanks Glyne,

Appreciate the info and bluetooth measurement sounds interesting. Would be really interested to see how you get on with this.
I’m quite a detailed person and love tech. 

One more question is the LPG the same as the Autogas I have seen on the Shell garage forecourt? I assume the van will have a fitting I can use anywhere in the UK.

Regards
Brackjo

Don't be surprised if you get different readings on the gas gauge in summer, than you do in winter either 

Autogas is the trade name for LPG that you see at Shell garages etc but Shell are removing all their LPG tanks this year except for franchised Shell garages. But don't panic, there are still over a thousand outlets for LPG. Use an   app such as Filllpg (android only or bookmark their website) or Mylpg. These apps are updated by users who can report latest price and any availability. Morrisons have many garages that have lpg , a list of those can be downloaded. Don't wait until you are low on gas, fill up whenever you pass an lpg garage en route (you'll get used to how much you can top up, I don't mean fill up when you've still got 7 lights on the gauge).

That is a good guide - well done

Hi Cymro

This is such a good table I’m printing it off and going to place in my new van glove box (when I get it). I feel sure with this as a guide it’s going to help me massively.
I’ve just said to Gillian (my partner) that anyone who didn’t know anything about gas tanks has a full and comprehensive guide now through reading this forum thread.

I think by the time I’ve finished asking all my newbie question I’ll be able to create a campervan guide for dummies!! Although I suspect there is already one in existence.

Thanks again

Regards
Brackjo

I decided to put Cymro and Gromits post into the Factsheets section to enable it to be more easily found for future reference by members particularly those not fully conversant with a tank system

roli wrote:I decided to put Cymro and Gromits post into the Factsheets section to enable it to be more easily found for future reference by members particularly those not fully conversant with a tank system

Thanks Roger.    And Cymro - I had forgotten about it. 

One tiny extra point to add to Cymro's caveat.

There's no longer any need to worry about the tank being installed at the right angle (which it often wasn't!!) because they are now made with a pair of upside down feet which are bolted to the underside of the van floor.

Don't know why they didn't come like that in the first place, but at least that's one inconsistency less, and I will repeat in case anyone missed it . . . the gauges are not very accurate, but they are reliable. 

Dave

Brilliant contributions from everyone and Cymro I’ve PM’d you. Many thanks for the offer.

Please look out for my next question on the forum boards.

Ps. Uk conversion lead just arrive. Another one off the to do list
Cheers
Brackjo

I have a 2019 Fairford and the fridge isn’t automatic I’m afraid. Possibly one thing not to worry about.
Good luck and happy camping