Latest Calor Press Release on Calor Lite

For me it makes economic and practical sense CY

Does not the up front cost [£178 for Safefill 10 kg] and the amortisation of that in what is limited to ten years for composite bottles, what 15 for steel, not also come into the real price paid?

In my case the BP exchanges are dilvered to the door, so mileage charges are zero, another cost. A refill would involve driving many miles, and the options are disappearing here. Our brickwall.

Some will win some will not on a financial basis alone.

I suppose "it takes all sorts" as you said, those who do the sums, those who selectively do them.

the up front cost [£178 for Safefill 10 kg] and the amortisation of that in what is limited to ten years for composite bottles, what 15 for steel,

Who checks how old one's bottle(s) might be after the 10 years?  How would they be re-certified for another, perhaps, 10 years?

 There are doubtless some for who it makes economic sense as high users. Some like Steve who wish to use aires or park off site during the day and have the fridge on gas, would find it convenient. In my case I find it easier to drive my 3.9kg bottle to a site reception on most sites. I  can only recall two occasions when a 3.9kg was not available when required. And only one of those where I felt it necessary to drive offsite to get one. That was at Southport for our annual long December stop where temperatures probably did not rise over zero for an extended time with -14c overnight. I wanted to maintain a spare in case of power failure

My personal suspicion on recertification, having a faint and fading idea of what the company paid, albeit military, is the set up cost including proper documentation system and double transportation, would way way overtake the wholesale product cost.

Consequently IMO they would set up a destruction scheme along with an attractive repurchase offer; there must be some getting very close or the wrong side of requiring recertification.

Re checking, that presently is down to the owners.

Here I have my doubts things will be done in a safe way and some owners will ignore best practice with these pressure vessels, till and if something literally goes bang somewhere. The whole bottle or more likely IMO its surounding area if simply a leak.

Hi everyone,

At long last, I have managed to secure a reply from Calor with regards to a replacement for Calorlite, and it's not good news.....

Hi David, thank you for the message, In realtion to your query the 6Kg Lite Cylinder is gradually been phased out of circulation from our filling plants as we are no longer producing the Lite cylinder, therefore we have limited availability of the Lite cylinder(s) within the Calor network.
Please be assured Calor have not taken this decision lightly to phase the cylinder out, our experience with the Calor Lite and its lack of longevity indicated the need for the cylinder to be better designed to withstand the rigours of transportation and refilling. There has been a number of investigations and projects made in to various alternatives with the potential for another light cylinder, however the investment involved in redesigning the filling plants and processes to accommodate a new composite bottle would be significant and to recover the investment cost would require a premium on any cylinder price. This is something we would not wish to impose on the Calor network.
Calor continue to regularly review the cylinder range, though I have been assured at this point we will not be replacing the Calor Lite with another composite cylinder. I appreciate this is not the response you would be hoping for, though I can confirm that Calor do still provide the 6Kg Propane Cylinder and the 3.9Kg Propane Cylinders, both of these cylinders are interchangeable with the Lite Cylinder. The Calor Lite has a full weight of approximately 10.2Kg, the 6Kg Propane has a full weight of 16Kg and the 3.9Kg Propane has a full weight of approximately 10K. Kind Regards Andy.

Best wishes to all

David

Thanks for posting that. So carrying two bottles in steel is a weight penalty of 11.6 kilogrammes (26.6lbs from 1st February).  I wish I could shed two stone of my weight!

I note they do not quote the per kilogramme cost in relation to the three sizes.

Interestingly  calor  say it would mean a "premium"on a  new type of composite cylinder that is not something that"we would not wish to impose on the calor network"? They seem to forget that's just what they did with the calor lite cylinders 

+1

Perhaps they are talking more about the initial introduction of the cylinder. When I went from heavy to light there was no charge, apart from slightly more expensive gas, even when there was a charge for swapping, I think it was only about £5. They may well want to go down the line of a new agreement. Given that now there is the option of refillables, I can't see many wanting to part with £40/50 on a new contract. I suspect they can see themselves loosing money as there will not be enough take up.