Sweden -- Gas Bottles

[Dockhead]

Not really relevant to my particular and immediate problem, but I ran across these:

Single Cylinder System - Gaslow Direct

Very cool system with a cylinder which can be refilled from a petrol station LPG pump. Expensive, but I guess it would pay for itself pretty soon.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by conachair

Odd. The kit I have definitely has adapters to fit both those bottles.

Kit Includes
1x Screw on Adaptor to fit Camping Gaz cylinders 901, 904, 907
1 x Screw on adapter to fit Primus cylinders
1x Screw on adapter to fit Propane Bottle - POL (BSP)
1x Screw on Adapter to Left Hand EU / G4 Cylinders
1x Screw on adapter for USA / Australasia / Scandinavia / Iceland - (NPT POL)
1x Clip on adapter to fit 21 mm cylinders (Calor Gas 15kg & 7Kg)
1x Clip on adapter to fit 20 mm cylinders (French TWINY, ELFI and MALICE)
1 x Clip on adapter to fit 27 mm cylinders (LE CUBE, Calor PATIO GAS and some Portuguese cylinders)
2x stainless steel spanners which fit the bottle adapters and regulators

The threads do not match. I tried them and so did the gas men who would have gladly sold me gas if they could have made it work. The problem is the threads.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The threads do not match. I tried them and so did the gas men who would have gladly sold me gas if they could have made it work. The problem is the threads.

Those 2 bottles, 907 gaz & calor propane, are ones I know for sure I connected, something must be different.

[Dsanduril]

Apples and oranges. The adapter kit is made so you can connect one regulator (the one you have on your boat) to a bottle you get anywhere. As a result it is also useful for bottle-bottle transfer, as you can use different adapters to get everything to a common hose size.

In Kenomac's case, however, he is trying to get bottles filled at the gas supplier, and for that you need an adapter that fits your bottle, and on the opposite side is the bottle-side connection for your host country so the gas man can fill it (so, if the host country's bottles have a female POL then your adapter needs to end in a female POL to make it look just like a bottle). The adapter kit in this specific example) has a male POL, making it look like the fill station, not the bottle.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Apples and oranges. The adapter kit is made so you can connect one regulator (the one you have on your boat) to a bottle you get anywhere. As a result it is also useful for bottle-bottle transfer, as you can use different adapters to get everything to a common hose size.

In Kenomac's case, however, he is trying to get bottles filled at the gas supplier, and for that you need an adapter that fits your bottle, and on the opposite side is the bottle-side connection for your host country so the gas man can fill it (so, if the host country's bottles have a female POL then your adapter needs to end in a female POL to make it look just like a bottle). The adapter kit in this specific example) has a male POL, making it look like the fill station, not the bottle.

All the adaptors terminate in m20 female so any supply with an m20 along the way will work.

[Dsanduril]

Exactly. What reason does a gas guy in (insert country here) have to have an M20 pigtail around? He just fills local bottles and doesn't need one, so it falls to us to carry the adapters, and the kit works, but only for the bottle-bottle method, otherwise you need to get from M20 to bottle valve fitting.

I've met some wonderfully accommodating gas suppliers, including a 140kg Tahitian guy who just jammed two hoses together and held them there, gas/liquid spewing all around while he filled my tank, but in the end it seems that you always have everything except the one adapter you need.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Exactly. What reason does a gas guy in (insert country here) have to have an M20 pigtail around? .

No idea, not needed to go near a supply place for a while, always a bottle to be had nearby. Though it can be a good excuse to hire a car once in a while and have a look around

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The threads do not match. I tried them and so did the gas men who would have gladly sold me gas if they could have made it work. The problem is the threads.

Think I got the wrong end of the stick, dsandural nailed it. The kit is only for attaching to bottles, not refill supplies.

[Dsanduril]

FWIW I find there is much less variability in the threads at the top of the bottle (where the valve screws in) rather than the valves themselves, and those threads are usually some form of pipe thread that can be made up from fittings at the plumbing store.

On my first go-around I visit the gas depot, they usually have old valves lying around, then I try to adapt to a coupling that will hold that valve. After that it's all easy.

[Dockhead]

Bingo!

So Visby Återvinning in Visby refilled my UK Calor gas bottle!! It cost about 20 euros -- not that cheap -- but 4.5kg of gas will get me back to the UK and last through part of the autumn I think. Hurra!

It took about 15 minutes. They used "LPG" -- a mixture of propane and butane.

I thought it was exceedingly odd, that they were able to refill the Calor bottle, but couldn't do anything with my 6kg Finnish/Estonian bottle, which is exactly the same as the Swedish 6kg bottle except for the connector.

But anyway, there you are. All's well that ends well!


So I guess the knowledge gained is this -- in Sweden, the LPG gas companies seem to be able to refill a variety of bottles. So you can hope to get your bottles filled rather than having to buy a Swedish bottle.

Cooking gas in Sweden is called "gasol", in case anyone needs it for googling up a local supplier.

[Kenomac]

Overall, refilling gas bottles IS a PITA and waste of time if one moves around between countries. IMHO.

After we switched to electric cooking there were no regrets and no more time wasted chasing or filling bottles. I encourage everyone with a generator to do the same.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Overall, refilling gas bottles IS a PITA and waste of time if one moves around between countries. IMHO.

After we switched to electric cooking there were no regrets and no more time wasted chasing or filling bottles. I encourage everyone with a generator to do the same.

I agree that electric cooking is better, and my next boat will be gas-free.

Too much of a PITA to convert this boat to electric, however. With some luck I will have a new boat in a couple of years.


My boat has a built-in microwave/grill which is incredibly useful. I use it more, by far, than the gas stove when I'm alone on board. I think I can find an electric convection oven/micro combination which would fit in its space. If I could, that would be so great -- it would almost eliminate the need for the gas oven and greatly reduce gas consumption when lots of people are on board. It's been taken off the project list a few times, but maybe this winter . . .

[Heg]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We've been cooking electric for the past three years. We also have a propane bottle and a butane bottle stored but disconnected in the on deck storage locker for when needed.

Just buy yourself a $99 Nuwave induction hot plate and a $125 Nuwave infrared oven, and never run around chasing silly bottles ever again.

You can buy these things anywhere:

How much power do those things use up? We have solar, but will be adding a genset and gas bottles are a pain