Gas Bottle

[romingtim]

Hi Everyone,

I'm waiting for my new Romahome Duo Outlook to be delivered (In November) and just thought I hadn't asked about what gas bottle it can accomodate.

I have a 3.9kg Propane bottle from camping and hope that this can fit. I know I can ring the dealer and ask but thought seeing as I was here I'd ask the question!!

[wendy]

I can't answer your question as we have a Dimension, but a warm welcome to the friendly forum.
There are several people with Duos on here, so I'm sure that you will get an answer soon.

[Derek]

Hi Romingtim

Our 2004 Duo Hylo came kitted out for a 907 Camping Gaz cylinder (2.7 Kilo). There was a rumour that a 3.9 propane could be made to fit by making minor mods but I have never tried. If you want to use propane, I would recommend checking with the factory.

Derek

[romingtim]

Thanks Derek,

I'll get in touch with the dealer and the factory to check what the deal is. Haven't come across many campsites that store cylinders other than the normal calor ones so don't really want to get stuck with a campingaz cylinder if I can help it!

Tim

[romingtim]

Hi all,

Spoke to the factory today and after a lot of umming and ahhing they finally decided that they think it should all be ok because they had to change the gas locker to comply with the new regulator rules and they Calor 3.9kg bottle should fit.
A few to many coulds and maybes in there for my liking but will see what happens when it arrives I suppose!!

Has anyone got a more recent outlook that has the fixed regulator fitted? If so could you give me a bit more of a conclusive answer please?

Thanks

Tim
Tim

[Pauline]

romingtim said:

Haven't come across many campsites that store cylinders other than the normal calor ones so don't really want to get stuck with a campingaz cylinder if I can help it!

Tim

Hi Tim - a big welcome to the Forum!

When we had our Duo it would only take campingaz 907 bottles due to the size of the locker but we never had any problems with getting cylinders exchanged. All the sites we visited seemed to stock them.

In fact, if you are travelling in France you will find that campingaz is the main gas used and you would struggle to find a replacement Calor gas bottle over there!

The downside to campingaz is that it seems to work out much dearer than Calor.

[romingtim]

Hi Pauline,

Thanks for your reply to my query, I'm a bit disappointed that no-one else seems to be interested in replying though. There must be others reading the forum who have more recent models and could shed some light on the situation for me. Although the response on the romaclub forum has been even worse!!
I'm not intending on taking the van abroad in the near future as there is far too much of the UK that I want to visit first although you never know what may happen....

Tim

[Pauline]

Hi Tim

I know that several members with quite new vans are away on holiday at the moment but I'm sure on their return they will be happy to try and answer your query.

Pity the factory wasn't a bit more helpful! We had the same result when we phoned to ask if our Dimension could use either gaz or calor, like you we got lots of ummming and ahhhing plus talk about 'pig tail' pipes which meant nothing to us.

In the end we visited our local caravan dealer who was most helpful and showed us exactly what fittings we needed to be able to use either cylinder.

[romingtim]

Hi Pauline,

The Romaclub forum has come up trumps with info, an owner of a recently purchased Outlook has confirmed that the locker is indeed the correct size for the Calor 4.5/3.9Kg bottles and has a fixed regulator (as per the new rules) which you need to buy a pigtail (high pressure pipe) for.
Thanks for your help too and you never know when my unit arrives (November) you may end up bumping into me on site somewhere, I stayed on Salisbury site in July in my tent and have every intention of taking the van back next year!!
Tim

[moya]

romingtim said:

Hi Pauline,

Thanks for your reply to my query, I'm a bit disappointed that no-one else seems to be interested in replying though. There must be others reading the forum who have more recent models and could shed some light on the situation for me. Although the response on the romaclub forum has been even worse!!
I'm not intending on taking the van abroad in the near future as there is far too much of the UK that I want to visit first although you never know what may happen....

Tim

Hi Tim and a belated welcome. Just got back from our holiday hence no response from me. I saw your private message to me last night when I started to see whats been going on while I have been away with the intention of replying today and now it has gone.

We asked this question at Freeborn recently and said no problem changing to the calor gas, it would fit locker and you just change the connector to suit so you could keep the Camping Gaz in case you go to France. Didn't really do anymore about it as lack of time and don't use much gas as I'm a lazy so and so and don't use the cooker that much and we always tend to use sites with EHU.

I have copied this snippet for you which maybe helps.
Caravans and motorhomes built from 2004 onwards will be supplied with a universal 30mbar regulator fitted to the bulkhead in the gas locker, for both types of gas. You will need to obtain a different connector for each type of bottle you use.

We will look out for you when you get your new Romahaome. I bet you can't wait now to get it.

[viv]

Hello romingtim,
I would have replied but I did not know the answer. All I know is that it is a blue bottle and we have two of them as we bought one for the tent and there was one in the van when we bought it Campingaz butane. I understand that we will not be able to get a refund on the spare one does anyone know if we can or where?
Viv

[Derek]

Hi Viv,

I don't think you can get refunds on Coleman cylinders (Calor and Camping Gaz), we swapped in a spare 907 blue cylinder for a 901 which is much smaller. We carry it as a spare as it will fit in with the other cylinder.

Derek

[romingtim]

Hi Moya,
Thanks for your reply to my message. It seems a bit hit and miss as to what setup you get on a romahome from what I can gather. Geoff on the romaclub forum told me that his was set up to use calor propane when it was delivered and it seems that yours was set up for campingaz. The biggest problem is the size of the locker, everything else can be adapted to suit. At least I know now that the locker will be the right size so I am comfortable with that knowledge. I have got to say that I am not impressed with the response from Romahome though and it has shaken my confidence in the brand even before the unit has arrived!!
Even taking that into consideration I can't wait to get it and will be at the Teversal C&CC site for Christmas/New Year making the most of the warm air heating no doubt!!
Tim

[Derek]

romingtim said:

I have got to say that I am not impressed with the response from Romahome though and it has shaken my confidence in the brand even before the unit has arrived!!

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the world of motorhomes. Worry not, the wee beasties are hand crafted and very robust. Romahome have a good reputation for build quality unlike some manufacturers. Our Duo Hylo has not been back to Freeborn for any warranty work but did have some silly faults which I was able to fix myself.

I collected the camper in March 2004 which was a very busy time for the agents because of the new registration. They were still valeting the vehicle when I arrived. I had a thorough handover but with hindsight I would have spent more time checking out the van before I drove it home.

It would have been nice to have been told to run the fridge for several days on both gas and mains to burn off paint smells and use Milton or bleach in the water tanks before flushing the system.

You mention that you are having heating fitted, if it is Propex gas heating is it on this link?

www.propexheatsource.co.uk/heatsource.htm

They state that using propane gas at 30mbar will result in a significant reduction in heat output. Mind you, a lot more heat than out of a bottle of butane when it is really cold

Derek