Thinking about getting a Safefill cylinder

IMO the "jury is not out" on the forecourt demise of LPG, it is well underway. With no new domestic cars being sold with factory fit LPG systems, it can only be a matter of time, probably very short before all forecourt LPG pumps are history. Forecourt space is so expensive, few, if any, major retailers are going to carry on for the small turnover of the camper taking a few kgs, the only hope is where a healthy converted taxi market exists.

We filled up at both LPG and diesel at Morrison’s in Doncaster recently. The lady in the kiosk said it gets a lot of use by RV’s. If many of these also fill with fuel and restock provisions in the adjacent supermarket, I would think it far from certain that they won’t consider the LPG pump worthwhile. Especially as it’s currently a very reasonable 58p per litre, so they could be charging more if they wanted. Other nearby outlets are 10p or more expensive a litre.

"the reports of LPG's death are exaggerated" (bit of a paraphrase, but location still plays an important part in ease, or not, of finding it...

im heading south this weekend, to Weymouth and will be on a THS for a few days with no ehu, so i thought id fill on the way..

my default station for south and south east trips is Podimore, but last time we jit the roundabout there on a 'busy' weekend, the roundabouth was extremely busy.....clogged.

so i can miss this one and get south another way but what about my gas... a few seconds on MYLPG and the BP station on Dorchester comes up, verified a couple of days ago....sorted.

not only that, we are heading east from there towards New Milton and there are three active stations on route, including one just a few miles from our stop.

similarly, when touring abroad, the rush away from fossil fuels doesnt run at quite the same pace....LPG is readily available in France and the whole of Spain runs on bottled gas and there are myriad stations also stocking LPG. 

I agree the situation is changing and things will inevitibly get more difficult over time, but we definitely aint there yet.

I’m not in any disagreement with any of the above BUT.

Having just returned from a month without EHU near Brockenhurst, this is the actuality for people like ourselves;

I bought 6kg Calor lite from the local hardware store. He had them sometimes, but not others, only the heavier bottles. The nearest Auto LPG vendor is in Totton and I can’t get beyond ‘out of stock’ anywhere in the vicinity for FloGas.

6Kg of gas lasts about 5 days without an EHU supplement, for us, so refills are most definitely needed for long stays.

That’s why we bought Safefill, because although Totton was further than Brockenhurst, the lower refill cost covered the extra diesel. But if we were reliant on FloGas, where would we have found a dealer who actually had it in stock? I’m not an expert on that brand, but an internet search hasn’t rescued me. 

I’m not criticising people who buy alternatives, I’m just asking for their realistic advice - which we all need for decision making.

I might have spoke too soon. Just read this re the proposed takeover bid for Morrison’s.

SoftBank-owned Fortress is leading a consortium that struck a deal with Morrisons’ board this month. It has funding from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and US billionaire Charles Koch.

Fortress said it will examine the long-term real estate strategy, executive pay and options for Morrisons’ petrol stations if it gets shareholder approval.

The Morrisons bid must be backed by 75pc of shareholders to be successful. Morrisons shares closed up 1pc at 267.9p.

Jenny,  i couldnt see a vendor at Totton (on MyLPG) but there is one at Wigley/Ower, another at Ringwood and, i reckon, your nearest from Brockenhurst would be Hinton Admiral, just west of New Milton...

in fact, this was the one I mentioned in my earlier post.

it may be you dont have the locker room but I think that, if you've gone refillable, you need to be able to take on more than 6kg at a time as youll no doubt be using it (more quickly) at non ehu sites...

by all means have a 'swap bottle' for resilience but id even have a large one of those over the 6kg version....if things are getting tight, id want to swap/fill as rarely as possible.

in our 3 month 'winter Spanish tours' we carry an 11kg Gaslow and a 13kg Repsol. best of both...

if i was touring as extensively here, as above id have the Gaslow and a large Calor.

BTW, there are a few Flogas LPG sites that are only available to 'members'. i was a member of Countrywide who got taken over by Flogas.

Like others, I think that we are unlikely to see an increase in the number of 'forecourt filling station' outlets, because of the decrease/ demise of LPG vehicles.  However, in my mind, there are sufficient independent gas suppliers and even 'caravan stockists' to make Safefill worthwhile.

When we bought our Safefill bottles, I specifically had this conversation with Jacksons of Arley (Camping/ caravsnning shop).  They assured me that they had spend a large sum of money installing their system for retailing LPG to fill Safefilll bottles etc., and had absolutely every intention to continue supplying.  They certainly aren't the cheapest, but they will do for me.  I've also heard that such places as Carvers in Wolverhampton and other 'non-garage/ filling stations' also supply.

With careful planning, I don't think there will be a major problem.  I can't see LPG completely disappear in our lifetime.

David

In the shorter term, there may be a decline in the convenience of provision of forecourt refilling of LPG, but there are a significant number of "industrial" outlets. I refilled a few days ago at such an establishment on the outskirts of Devizes.

Thanks BB, DSB et all.

Like you, BB I can’t see Totton on any map of LPG outlets, but it’s a location confidently advised by the site wardens as nearby. We actually used Ringwood which was combined with supermarket shops, so we were going that way anyway.

We have a two bottle locker installation, with one Safefill and a Calor lite carried. Fortunately, we’ve been able to obtain Calor lite by waiting for a favourable moment when they’re stocked, although there have been periods of famine. As such, with additional cost considerations too, the lite has only been used to bridge periods when the safefill bottle needs refilling.

I’d be very nervous about travelling with just one bottle of any type, because I cook from scratch, which takes me beyond the single electric ring, and anyway, our preference is back to nature locations which sometimes don’t have EHU.

I agree DSB, that it’s essential to have a reliable local source for autogas, our Morrison’s is about 11miles/14 minutes from home. The concern lies not in whether we can source it before we leave, but can we source it without a long trip while we are away? Despite the high initial cost, we’re tempted to buy a second Safefill for trips to places where we know that autogas is local. We could, maybe, take a small Camping Gaz bottle as a reserve, then take two Safefill’s for filling if a long round trip is required. It’s not ideal when using Camping Gaz is akin to burning £5 notes, and POL gas tails aren’t compatible. I think that it’s an option to be reserved for the day when it’s really needed.

Meanwhile our domestic stockpile of obsolescent gas bottles is mounting - 2 x 13kg Calor propane once used for the BBQ at home. 2 x Calor lites, one no longer used, with maybe another to follow. 2 x Camping Gaz, a legacy of children camping and reserves in past Europe. There’s even a small Calor propane bottle connected to a plumbing blowtorch. Maybe it’s time for a Gumtree sale?

I guess it all depends on useage, Jenny.  We are not huge gas users.  Our main reason for moving to Safefill was to avoid the heavy steel cylinders not that it is be coming more difficult to get calorlite.  We bought our Safefill before Christmas and have had around 40 nights away.  Haven't refilled yet and we have plenty left (we have one small and one medium sized bottle).  For us, it's not really an issue to be able to refill whilst away in the 'van.  We can easy fill up from home and we'll still have plenty...

David

I can completely understand your logic David.

If we weren’t swimming against the tide in terms of spending long periods without EHU then the logistics of obtaining gas supplies would be easy. Off EHU 6kg lasts about 6 days, that’s 5 bottles/ month, or well over £100 at Calor prices or closer to £30 with Safefill.

The conundrum is make five long trips and save a substantial sum, with Safefill, or pay Calor a premium for the convenience of a local supplier, and quite likely add to our payload because Calor lites are often out of stock.

Maybe if we didn’t shower in the morning we could reduce our gas  consumption! I’m not keen on cold showers, but that’s another option I suppose. Ouch!