GAS IT refillable LPG cylinder installation
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Judging by the "for and against" debates that regularly occur in various Caravan and Motorhome Social Media groups, having a refillable LPG gas system seems to polarise opinions.
On the one hand, proponents point to the easier handling of LPG if going overseas, the far lower costs of the gas itself, the lack of need to remove and carry heavy bottles around and the ability to "top up" the system to make sure you are carrying the maximum amount. On the other hand, the high initial costs are often put up as an argument not to go this route and in fairness you would need to use a lot of gas to recoup your investment if you looked at it purely in financial terms. For this customer, they opted for a refillable system as they will be travelling across Europe in the winter months and wanted to be able to fill up as easy as possible. |
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Some initial changes were made to the the existing system to add even more convenience. The existing Regulator was replaced with a combined "mini" combined gas pressure Regulator and Auto Changeover device. This means one bottle is nominated as the "main bottle" but if it runs out of gas then the valve automatically switches over to the other bottle.
The empty bottle can then be refilled. Note though that a changeover valve such as this can also be used with normal Calor type exchange gas bottles and no gas will escape the system when the empty one is disconnected. |
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Which bottle?
GAS IT supply a range of bottles to suit different applications as not all gas lockers are as accommodating as they could be. In addition to upright bottles, horizontal bottles are available that fit underneath the vehicle freeing up the gas locker for normal storage items (EHU, Toilet fluid etc etc).
In this case an 11kg (27ltr) "plus" bottle was chosen as it has a removable "collar" around the top of the bottle which when removed made more room in the gas locker to fit the external filler and it also has a better level indicator that will be connected up eventually to an LED "fuel gauge" in the motorhome. This will allow the gas level to be checked from inside the motorhome. Handy when its snowing and sub zero outside!
In this case an 11kg (27ltr) "plus" bottle was chosen as it has a removable "collar" around the top of the bottle which when removed made more room in the gas locker to fit the external filler and it also has a better level indicator that will be connected up eventually to an LED "fuel gauge" in the motorhome. This will allow the gas level to be checked from inside the motorhome. Handy when its snowing and sub zero outside!
Test fit
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The first job was to carry out a test fit to ensure everything was going to go where planned, The motorhome had plenty of room for two bottles and already had two fixing points. There was sufficient space above the bottle to fit the external filler which protrudes into the gas locker quite a bit.
In the photo you can see that the bottles "collar" has been removed. At this point the layout of the hose was determined so it would fit "stress free". Once everything was decided, the location of the external filler was finalised and marked out on the inside of the gas locker. |
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A word on Fill points
There are many opinions on these. Our customer opted for an external fill point as it integrates well with the motorhome, is at a convenient height for refilling and avoids any difficulties with service station staff that may suspect you are filling a non refillable bottle and switch your pump off!
A fill point could have been fitted to a bracket on the floor inside the gas locker meaning the locker door would need to be opened to refill, or the fill hose could have been passed out of the gas locker floor to a fill point fitted to the side skirt.
All the above would work and in the end it was the customers personal choice. Incidentally, GAS IT do not recommend fitting in the actual door so this was not an option.
A fill point could have been fitted to a bracket on the floor inside the gas locker meaning the locker door would need to be opened to refill, or the fill hose could have been passed out of the gas locker floor to a fill point fitted to the side skirt.
All the above would work and in the end it was the customers personal choice. Incidentally, GAS IT do not recommend fitting in the actual door so this was not an option.
Fitting the External Fill Point
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The old adage "measure twice cut once" is equally true when drilling big holes in the sides of Caravans and Motorhomes, especially when two different sizes of holes are needed.
Starting inside the gas locker, an 86mm diameter hole is drilled, but care is needed to stop as soon as the aluminium outside skin can be felt. At this point the insulation in the hole is removed leaving a large hole but with the outer skin intact apart from the pilot hole. Now it was time to go outside and drill a 70mm diameter hole using the same pilot hole. This creates a "flange" of the outer skin that is then sandwiched between the inner and outer parts of the filler housing assembly when fitted. |
86mm hole drilled to the outside skin
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Before starting work.
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Internal and external holes drilled
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External filler sealed and fitted
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Finishing off
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From this point it was just a matter of securing the bottle in the mount connecting the hoses from the fill point to the bottle and the "Pigtail" hose from the bottle to the changeover valve.
For the moment the customer will use a Calor bottle as a backup and this will be connected to the "other" side of the changeover valve. After a good clean up the get rid of all the polystyrene floating about it was off to the nearest Autogas service station for a test fill. With the gas bottle taps closed, the system was filled with a small amount of LPG from the pump and the connections tested with leak detection fluid (not soapy water!), since no leaks were found, the bottle was fully filled at a cost of just over £11.00. I should also say that due to the current LPG shortage, the first two service stations I visited were out gas, luckily the local Morrisons still had supply. |
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Next steps
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As mentioned before, an LED "fuel Gauge" will be fitted to the system and fitted inside the motorhome, as will an inline filter to prevent gas born debris entering the system.
A second refillable bottle will be linked to the first one with a "Tee" piece so that the overall refillable gas capacity can be increased. This will replace the current Calor backup bottle. UPDATE: we can now supply Bluetooth gas level sensors that allow you to check your gas level on your mobile phone. Contact us for details. |
(c) GASIT
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