Exchange policy for calor gas bottles ?

Hi after being told by my local callor gas stockist (Bonnets of Stoke Ferry) that they where unable to swap a dumpy bottle for a 6.5 kilo bottle I rung callor gas at their Kings Lynn depot to see if this was correct and was told by a member of their sales staff that it was correct and had been their policy for the last few years but they will exchange the dumpy for any other size and also the lights are a £1 dearer but for personal clarification ring your nearest Callor Gas depot regards Debroy

Hi there,

Just asked the following of Calor Gas

Hi there,

I have been a Calor Gas customer for many years (since 1972 I think) and, during this time, I have exchanged the four bottles in my possession as and when required in terms of size (from 3.5kgs to 17kgs) and in terms of content (butane in summer in England and propane in winter in Scotland).

I am a member of an Internet forum (Autosleeper Owners) and there is some consternation with regard to your stockists refusing to change out cylinders other than on a "like-for-like" basis.

Could you please explain Calor Gas's policy on this matter and, if it has been changed from the "any-bottle-for-any-bottle" to the "like-for-like" system, exactly why this has occurred after, to my own knowledge, nearly forty years.

Best regards,

Ian Dutton

I will let you know their reply - and my own response!

Best regards,

Dutto

Good luck with that Dutto. I sent two email to them asking why the Calorlite were dearer than the standard when exchanging as both contain 6kg gas and shouldn't it be the gas you pay for. I'm still waiting for a reply, emails were sent 23rd Oct and 2nd Nov.

Does anyone have any experience of BP Gas (Propane) Light bottles? these are available in a 10kg size bottle (better for me than a 6kg lite) and you can get them from Homebase

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I presume the price is a 1st time purchase and not exchange?

CruizingComet wrote:Does anyone have any experience of BP Gas (Propane) Light bottles? these are available in a 10kg size bottle (better for me than a 6kg lite) and you can get them from Homebase

I was working for Dunlop Hiflex when these were introduced and was offered a couple gratis by the rep who supplied our hydraulic oil.
They were originally brought out for patio heaters and the portable gas heaters, but the rep wanted some feedback as to their suitability for motorhomes/caravans.
They were too large to fit in the gas locker so I had to give it a miss .

Frank

As is aid in my last comments about exchanging bottles phone callor gas head office direct at Warwick and you will get all the information you require about changing bottle they cannot ignore a phone call but can emails regards Debroy.

focus wrote: they cannot ignore a phone call .

Of course they can! they can do what I do with unwanted calls. Say "just a moment, I'll put you through" then put the receiver on the desktop and walk away - you'll hang up after a while

Frank

phone again until they do give you the answer but if you ring Kings Lynn depot the are always very polite and DO answer your questions regards Debroy

boxerman wrote:

CruizingComet wrote:Does anyone have any experience of BP Gas (Propane) Light bottles? these are available in a 10kg size bottle (better for me than a 6kg lite) and you can get them from Homebase

I was working for Dunlop Hiflex when these were introduced and was offered a couple gratis by the rep who supplied our hydraulic oil.
They were originally brought out for patio heaters and the portable gas heaters, but the rep wanted some feedback as to their suitability for motorhomes/caravans.
They were too large to fit in the gas locker so I had to give it a miss .

Frank

Hi Frank

The size shouldn't be a problem for us as I understand we can take the 13kg bottles, but the downside is they use a different sized regulator or so I understand. I was interested because we have a Homebase store nearby at Cromer which would be very convenient for us, but also mainly for the bigger size compared to the 6kg Calor lites and because of the visible gas level. BTW, if anyone can tell me why our Calor lite has NOT got the "Gas Trac" gauge I'd be interested to hear? as I thought in addition to the lightness, this was an additional selling point for these bottles!!

Phoned Calor yesterday and was told that a "Normal" 6K bottle can be exchanged for a "Lite" with no cost apart from the cost of the gas it contains.
Have looked at Go Outdoors and the price of a normal is £18 and a Lite is £19.80 but its the same amount of gas ???.
Will find out later this week if they do in fact do a swop to a Lite.

Hi there,

Here it is - the definitive Calor Gas Policy on what you can swap for what!!

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They never did get back to me and it appears that different outlets run different Calor Gas exchange systems so:

1. I refuse to buy from the one's that don't honour Calor Gas Policy.

2. MORRISONS Supermarket is the cheapest supplier in the Skegness area.

Best regards,

I asked Calor the question as to why the exchange of a 'lite' cylinder was dearer than normal 6kg and they did answer me. They said it was to pay for the investment they had made in the new lite cylinders. Not really a good enough answer when the volumn of gas is the same but there you have it.

Not sure if its worth paying £2 more for the same amount of gas just to lose a small amount of weight by the bottle being lighter.

Thanks for the info - I'd been thinking about swapping to the lite cylinders, but that's made me think again!

I've also been considering the Gaslow self-refill system using cheap autogas. Anyone know any other self-refill options (other than a built-in/built-under cylinder, as these are way too expensive for me) than Gaslow?

I have seen this site [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] mentioned on here a few times they look cheaper than gaslow.

Mike

Thanks Mike - I'll take a look at that. Apologies to the OP for straying a bit away from the original topic!

We have recently bought a Duetto and at the time of buying the dealers swapped the regulator and one bottle to Propane. They gave us one full 3.9 propane bottle and left a part used butane bottle for us to exchange later. From the advice so far I cant see me having trouble swapping the Butain for a Propane bottle. Thanks for the advice.

Hi All,
I have just been checking prices of calor versus gasit refillable for a friend who is thinking of buying a van, (Gaslow refillables are dearer) and one 6kg Gasit with contents gauge and filler is only about £20 dearer than 2 6kg calor cylinders when you do not have any empties to exchange. On this basis even if you do not use much gas it will repay its cost compared with calor very quickly. Because the gauge tells you when the cylinder is getting low and you can refill the part full cylinder you do not need a spare and the spare space in the gas locker can be used for other things.
Of course if you have empty calor cylinders to exchange and are on hookup most of the time this idea may not suit you.

2x Calor 6kg no exchange £108 1 x Gasit 6kg cyl £105 +filler £23 carraige free.

Brian2

I'm about to start my butane to propane swap. Found a local dealer who will do a straight swap. Got a propane regulator. Will take my empty butane bottle- get a full propane. Then when my current on-line half full butane one runs out, will put the propane on line and swap the spare for another full propane.

Don't forget to keep your butane regulator in the van, just in case!

Frank

boxerman wrote:Don't forget to keep your butane regulator in the van, just in case!

Frank

good idea Frank was going to do the first swap today but flooded roads all round and can't get to the shop. It can wait

murph wrote: ............

I have just been checking prices of calor versus gasit refillable ...........

...... Of course if you have empty calor cylinders to exchange and are on hookup most of the time .........

2x Calor 6kg ........ 1 x Gasit 6kg cyl ............ carraige free.

Brian2

Hi there,

It was only after reading Brian extolling the virtues of refillable bottles (yet again ) that I had the thought "Does anyone have an external gas supply to the garden from their house?"

I don't and, as a result, I have 4.5kg (for a small stove) and 13kg (for the smoker) butane bottles littering the garden when I could easily have a piped connection from my domestic supply; assuming that it is allowed!!

Well??

Best regards,

Ian