Another gas bottle rule

[jr]

Just had one of my gas bottles filled and was talking to the guy filling the bottle and he pointed out the plastic plug over the bottle safety valve adjustment is normally RED.

He advised that if that plug is missing the bottle cannot be filled.

A new red plug is not available, and I expect the bottle would need a full inspection and new valve fitted.

My red plug has turned white from sunlight and this valve is now six years old so should have another four years to go before the bottle needs another inspection and new valve fitted.

If you have your own gas bottle make sure that plug stays there or you will not be able to get the bottle filled.


JR

[spaceland]

Is this a new rule or just an old one you have discovered? I would not have expected that a bottle would be refilled if it had a damaged valve on it. Something like a cover over a vital piece of the valve would constitute damage.

[Old Techo]

What size bottle JR?

Mine are 9kg but I fill my own anyhow.

If I have any over 10 years old then Bunnings will swap them for a refilled brand.

[jr]

9Kg bottle and the guy said he has only just resonantly been advised to not refill if the red plug is missing.

I expect if the plug is missing they would think someone was fiddling with the safety valve setting. The problem I see is that the plug could have fallen out due to deterioration from the elements but means a full valve replacement just because of a crappy plastic plug.

I pay to fill my 9Kg bottles ($23.00 at BCF). My 80Kg bottle for house use cost about $140.00 to have changed which works out at $35.00 per 9Kgs so cheaper to get BCF to fill but only issue is bottle must be up to date and red pug in place. Naturally my 80Kg bottle has no filling tube but I have turned it upside down to fill an out of date bottle.

OT, you will need to fill when on the road so expect you do not have your big filling bottle then.


JR

[gerrym]

JR, I you like I can try to extract a plug from an out of date bottle that I have, and mail it to you. (just PM your address)

It is devoid of colour, so a quick squirt of red paint may be required.

I have noticed that a 1 yo cylinder has started to lose colour in the plug already and it doesn't even get much sun.

The plug would be to stop insects from building nests in the relief valve.

[Old Techo]

JR,

I meant only to replace an expired bottle at Bunnings as it still costs the normal ‘swap-n-go’ charge.

I agree with your home costs that BCF is the wiser choice, providing it doesn’t mean making a special trip.

My last fill was 696Lt costing $918.70 and my last 3 fills have all been at $1.32/Lt.  Elgas use a density of 0.51 for their calcs thus 1kg = 1.96Lt

By weight it costs $2.59/kg or 22 bucks to fill an 8.5kg bottle without wastage. Venting certainly wastes a bit but filling by weighing is waste free.

Anyhow, it is cheaper, faster and a lot easier for me to fill my own.  I have I think 7 x 9kg bottles and tend to fill several at once.

When I got my first big bottle (190kg and date stamped 3/95) I specifically ordered a liquid withdrawal connection. My second bottle is a little bigger at 210kg. Together they hold 760Lt when filled to 80%

As for filling on the road I cannot recollect ever doing that. Our first major trip was 92 days and 19,000km from Melbourne to around WA, Darwin, Alice and home. I began with 2 full 9kg bottles and got home with about 1 third of a bottle left. Back then our HWS was gas only and gobbled a bit as we always used our van shower.  Also I had to refill our 1.3kg BBQ bottle 2 or 3 times from our 9kg inverted.

Since that trip in 2008 I replaced the HWS with gas/electric but the van cook top is still gas. In recent years we have done several trips exceeding 2 months and always enough gas. In fact for the last 2 or maybe 3 trips I took only 1 x 9k bottle to reduce weight on the tug tow-ball as the 2 bikes add about 45kg.

Perhaps JR you spend more time on the road if you need any gas refills?

[jr]

Thanks for the offer Gerry,
I too have spare out of date bottles that I could pinch the plug from. Even though the plug has gone white I expect it to last anyway as I have never had a red plug fail over 40years of caravanning.

Yes, OT I probably do much more free camping than you, so the three-way fridge is running a lot more on gas. Also I may set off from home with one bottle half full or even less.

Once a bottle is empty I try and get it filled as soon as possible even though I may get home before the second bottle is empty.

I remember reading one of your posts on your large home gas supply. Do you need to get the large gas containers inspected every X years?


JR

[Old Techo]

JR,

Because I rotate my 9kg bottles with 2 on the van and 2 on a pair of home BBQs then I have 3 spares sitting in the shed. That way I never begin a van trip without 100% full bottles.

Yes, 10 year inspections are mandatory and Elgas will not fill if out of spec.

My 190kg (on right) has had 2 inspections and the 210kg (on left) just had its 2nd inspection prior to my last fill. That is why I have the wide pic of the setup that I emailed to the accredited inspector.

They remove the valving and do an internal inspection by camera and then replace all valving with brand new stuff. The valving comprises the main on/off tap fitting, the connection valve for filling and the safety release valve. So there are a few bucks there in 3 shiny bits of brass hardware.

The whole job takes about an hour and cost $350. A test date plate is riveted to the bottle with the inspectors accreditation info and also a paper certification receipt is issued.

[jr]

Thanks for the description OT,
Last time I had my 9Kg galvanised bottles inspected I was in attendance and they did similar to what you had done except they just looked through the hole after the valve was removed with a small torch.

They used a homemade spanner to remove the valve (which was super tight) and when they fitted the new valve they used a piece of pipe about six-foot-long to increase the mechanical advantage on there spanner and that new valve is going no we’re. Also, used a special home-made jig to hold the bottle while they did there thing as the bottle is not easy to hold when removing and fitting the valve assembly.


JR