Bottled gas is safe as long as you take reasonable precautions. If you replace the bottle (because it is empty for example), check that the fitting on the end of the pipe is clean and that it is screwed up firmly. Note that it is a left hand thread.

If you have a bottle inside a vehicle it should be there as short a time as possible. This is because it is most likely unrestrained and also if it is leaking, you want as little gas as possible inside the vehicle. Make sure that you have the cabin fan drawing air from outside, and the bottle behind you. Hopefully the leaked gas (which is heavier than air and therefore falls to the floor of the car) will be blown out through the car's positive vents (Usually located near the rear wheel arches. And of course - DON'T SMOKE anywhere near the gas bottle.

Gas installations in motor homes and caravans are designed with vents to allow any leaked gas to escape. Therefore the systems are as safe as can reasonably be made.

Dougwe wrote:

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Don't ya mean the 'system' beats them, Delta 

 

Me, it doesn't scare me at all. I take precautions as needed and have gas on board and use it. A must have item when on the road travelling around. IMO.

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 are you concerned about a possible impact to the gas bottle or hoses if a car hits it?

Bottled gas, we've been using it while camping for 45 years. It's an essential item for us when we're traveling. What's the problem?

you are arriving at a waterside camp with a fuel tank half full of liquid explosive sloshing about, not wearing a lifejacket (tsunami) or hard hat (meteor strike) and are surrounded by mossies. Did you update your malaria shot?

In my opinion, there is no more risk of the gas tank being damaged in a collision, than there is of the fuel tank in the tow vehicle being damaged in a collision.

In fact, the gas tank is probably more strongly made and less likely to be damaged than the fuel tank is.

As for cost, it is a minor consideration really, compared to fuel for the travelling, camp sites, or food costs.

The other consideration is, if not gas, how would you intend to cook, heat water, or otherwise replace the gas uses needed for normal travel requirements?

-- Edited by TheHeaths on Saturday 28th of April 2018 12:45:46 PM

G'day Mark

I have seen film [the myth busters from the US] dropping a full LP Gas cylinder from a helicopter at 100 metres above ground level
The bottle bounced - bent and buckled sure, but it bounced ... it did not go 'bang'

Hope this helps
Phil

A mechanic I know says the only use for gas is in a bottle on a BBQ! And yet in the past few weeks there have been some serious accidents at people's homes due to leaking/faulty BBQs in North Qld.

I have a 30L autogas bottle under my car (had one in the GQ as well) but taking the correct procedures, it is safe. It is serviced regularly by Diesel-Gas Australia specialists - without it on the car my fuel bill would be much higher than it is. Would I drive through a bush fire? Probably not. If I really had to, I would turn the gas off at the tap.

When I travel with the van on the back, the cylinders are always turned off when in transit. Any flammable gas, liquid has its dangers - one just cannot get too complacent.

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

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Ditto.

Diesel heating and hot water, electric refrigeration and coffee etc. The only gas left is cooking and that is about 1kg per month. Eventually that will go too and we will cook with electric induction.

 

its good to see that someone shares my goal of creating a fully electric van. good thing is electricity from my panels is free and renewable and non polluting, unfortunately i cant say the same for gas though.

 

unfortunately i dont have diesel for heating or for hot water but i am currently building a DC battery powered instant electric water heater of 4500W with the use of my van GEL batteries which can easily supply the hot water needs of the shower and sink. because it is instantaneous it doesnt heat water all day in a tank and waste energy from the GEL batteries 24/7 like the off shelf models do. the same gel batteries can also run other things in the van like the kettle and heater with the aid of the 3000w inverter.

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-- Edited by Hot Water on Sunday 29th of April 2018 12:50:30 AM

Jaahn wrote:

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Hi Hot Water 

I hope your calculations add up to do this. Big power use out of gel batteries,eg 450 A, will stress them out a lot and will also need lots of solar to recharge them quickly. You might need more battery storage than that too. Perhaps you should look at Lithium batteries, also expensive, if you really want to go all electric.

However seems to me you are making your life difficult and building an expensive setup, to avoid a cheap and easy setup most people are happy with.

Your choice though, good luck !

Jaahn 

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 Actually, i am testing this same setup on my house first, as i want to take my house off grid. my calculations should be ok, as we will only take short showers 3-4 minutes so not much drain from such large capacity batteries.

 

i hear you about the costs, but cheap is not always the best and most convenient option.

if everone keeps with the status quo and uses gas, then things will never become more convenient and better ways of doing things wont ever be found.

yes, lithium will be lighter, but much higher startup costs so i will stick with GEL as they have high surge capacity as most lead acids do and should suit this application well. yes, maybe i will add another 120 aH for reserve power.

actually i was going to use approx. 500Ah of batteries anyway, so it isnt really any extra expense for me.

 

regards,

Mark

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-- Edited by Hot Water on Sunday 29th of April 2018 05:49:10 PM

-- Edited by Hot Water on Sunday 29th of April 2018 07:52:16 PM

TheHeaths wrote:

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Good luck with setting your van up with the system. You certainly seem to know what you are looking at and aiming for.

As a last comment from myself, just be aware that any batteries that you add, and panels you put on, will all come off of your allowable load when weighing the van, unless you are in the process of building the van and then they can be included in the Tare weight.

Are you building the van, or adding to an existing unit?

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 just retrofitting an existing van which i will buy from a relative.

TheHeaths wrote:

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In that case, be careful with the weights I mentioned.

Many vans only have a load allowance of 3 - 400 kg, which is taken up very quickly with water and the like. Looking at the amount of batteries you are considering will likely see 120 - 150 kg of any load allowance gone, and then solar panels will likely take another 50 - 100 kgs depending how many you add. You will very soon be overweight, and may also find issues with tow ball weight or stability, depending where you need to put the batteries in the van. (Load allowance is the ATM on the VIN plate, less the Tare weight, so check the van VIN plate before going to far, in case it isn't going to work for you.)

thanks Ian, i will look into this weight issue and see what  i find.

Tony Bev wrote:

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I will stick my neck out , and say that over 95% of Recreation Vehicles have LPG

The secret (for me), is to ensure that the gas is turned off at the bottle, when travelling

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 is it LPG or Propane like BBQ GAS?

Hot Water wrote:

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 is it LPG or Propane like BBQ GAS?

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Gday...

Here ya go HW - this'll cover any and all the names you might be looking for as a description -

LPG, LPG Gas, LP Gas, BBQ Gas, Propane, Autogas or what?

Cheers - John

Hot Water wrote:

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Tony Bev wrote:

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I will stick my neck out , and say that over 95% of Recreation Vehicles have LPG

The secret (for me), is to ensure that the gas is turned off at the bottle, when travelling

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 is it LPG or Propane like BBQ GAS?

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 Hello Hot Water

As John (Rockylizard, and The Heaths, have already pointed out, the gas in a Recreation Vehicle, is called a different name by different people

In my home base town, in the south west of Western Australia, our local Bunnings shop, call it LPG