I bought into this system when I first heard of it - a 'plastic' see through bottle, much lighter than the metal ones and you can see how much gas you have left. The 10Kg size lasts an awful long time and it was initially a lot cheaper than Calor per Kg..
Initially BPlight and you could buy it at many BP garages, plus some independents even cheaper, plus Homebase for quite a bit more. Homebase originally insisted you proved that you had paid a bottle deposit to them, but later dropped that.
BP then sold the system to MacGas, now it's owned by Flogas.
Flowgas and Homebase now charge the same £50 for a refill, but supplies are short, due to people buying it due to covid for their BBQ's, garden etc., plus shortage of the actual bottles from France.
Flowgas depots and Homebase still stock it, but they are now sold UK wide by B&M at a discounted £45 for a refill. I just picked a refill up this morning.
I keep two, one in use in the caravan and when that begins to run too low for my trip, add the second full one to the locker. I was thinking to keep a 10Kg and 5Kg, but there is so little difference in price between the two sizes and a near empty 10Kg is so light, it makes it worthwhile to just run with two 10Kg bottles.
I did consider at one time, buying into the (red top, instead of the green) refilable version of the 10Kg, but I use so little gas, it would take years to repay the cost.
I've been using Calorlite for the last 15 years but because of the difficulty obtaining them now I have to travel as far as 25 miles to get one so recently I swapped over to BP Gaslight due to the fact that we have a local Flo-Gas dealer so gas cylinders are readily available on the doorstep. However, I'm using a pair of 5 kg. bottles to keep the caravan noseweight down but a refill has just cost me £35. We don't use much gas really but at least I can get them locally now.
If you use a lot of gas then consider a Safefill refillable. Once you get past the initial purchase price the refills are cheap and you don't have to wait for them to be completely empty before refilling.
Quote: Originally posted by Dave and Cyn on 16/8/2021
If you use a lot of gas then consider a Safefill refillable. Once you get past the initial purchase price the refills are cheap and you don't have to wait for them to be completely empty before refilling.
and it helps with the nose weight. An empty 7.5 kg safefill bottle is 4.1kg about half the weight of an empty 6kg calor propane bottle (steel). The more recent safefill bottles are less "see through" so its more difficult to see the level of gas left. Put 8 litres (just over 4kg) in mine last week for £5.
Quote: Originally posted by Dave and Cyn on 16/8/2021
If you use a lot of gas then consider a Safefill refillable. Once you get past the initial purchase price the refills are cheap and you don't have to wait for them to be completely empty before refilling.
Just ensure whilst considering that change you check you will be able to refill it, in that in more recent times there has been a large-scale removal of LPG pumps from garage forecourts. Plus, not all of the remaining allow the refilling of these "portable" bottles on their forecourts, only refilling built in systems.
Very sad situation, as these can be an otherwise excellent solution for our LPG needs.
Include the "supply" logistics before, rather than afterwards.
Quote: Originally posted by gari on 16/8/2021
And it helps with the nose weight. An empty 7.5 kg safefill bottle is 4.1kg about half the weight of an empty 6kg calor propane bottle (steel). The more recent safefill bottles are less "see through" so its more difficult to see the level of gas left. Put 8 litres (just over 4kg) in mine last week for £5.
Basically the same weight as the GasLight version of the bottle. I agree that like the Safefill, they have become less 'see through'. I find the best way is to rock bottle, so you can see the movement of the liquid. I then use a white board marker, to put a line on the container with the date. That gives me an idea of my consumption.
I must admit, I was in a bit of a panic whilst away last week, watching my single Gaslight bottle approaching empty, with my other empty bottle at home. I had no idea the refilled Gaslight bottle situation had improved as much as it had, since the last time I needed to source one.
Even with so many outlets, supplies are not 100%, because of bottle and driver shortages.
Quote: Originally posted by Dave and Cyn on 16/8/2021
If you use a lot of gas then consider a Safefill refillable. Once you get past the initial purchase price the refills are cheap and you don't have to wait for them to be completely empty before refilling.
Just ensure whilst considering that change you check you will be able to refill it, in that in more recent times there has been a large-scale removal of LPG pumps from garage forecourts. Plus, not all of the remaining allow the refilling of these "portable" bottles on their forecourts, only refilling built in systems.
Very sad situation, as these can be an otherwise excellent solution for our LPG needs.
Include the "supply" logistics before, rather than afterwards.
The comment on the availability of refilling is a very valid consideration, but what is often overlooked is the number of dedicated LPG filling stations and outlets that are dotted around. Although these are few and far between when rural, I've had little difficulty and due to the option to refill Safefill regardless of gas level, I easily refill mine from a local supplier at an average cost of £6-7 for the 10kg bottle.
A little homework can pay dividends.
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Topic: GasLight/BPlight
via mobile 16/8/2021 at 1:02pm
