Advice on gas and electricity Forums

Bobonong

(I originally posted this at the end of another thread but realise now that it probably needs a more prominent location to attract any interest. Apologies if you have read this before!)

We're planning our first foray into France this year.
This forum is great but I still haven't cleared up some pretty basic queries:

Firstly about gas . . . . . .
Can you get replacement cylinders in France quite easily?
If so which type? (we have two 6kg propane cylinders at the moment)
Do you have to fit a different regulator to use with French cylinders?
Or is it worth the expense of switching to a re-fillable system like Gaslow?
If you do switch are there sufficient outlets in the UK to make this a practical permanent modification?

And about electricity . . . . . .
Do all sites provide 230v? For some reason I've always thought that France used 110v.
Do you need a plug adaptor of some sort?
And what about polarity - I've read somewhere that you have to check the supply first and then use an adaptor to switch the polarity if necessary.
And is there a danger of damage if connection is inadvertently made at the wrong polarity?!

Sorry to sound so naive but it's nice to find out these things before venturing abroad!

Any comments/help would be welcomed. Thanks in advance!

drcotts

Hi Bob
I cant give you much advise re gas but i know they do camping gas or similar but hopefully some others will enlighten. I have mentioned this before as others will no doubt see but a lot of people use refillable bottles now as these have many advantages over exchangable botles. they are expensive (approx £200 for a single bottle or approx £350 for a 2 bottle system) for a fully fitted system but they do pay for themselves and are more conveinient. PM me if you want further advice to save me repeating it for everyone.

Electricity - No All europe is now 230v including france. You will need a continental adaptor though which is a euro plug on one end and a caravan site socket on the other. Cost about £5 from a caravan shop. Polarity, The french have a slightly different system to ours and can result in you having no earth so when you buy your continental adaptor, but two and reverese the live and neutral in one. Keep this safe and marked up with sickers etxc saying reveresed polarity... When you go on hook up check the wiring with a safety plug. If it says the wiring is reveresed fit your rewired adaprtor. Note you can sometimes just trun the plug 180 deg but dont do this as you may not have an earth and so will electricaly less safe.

Phill

Hope this helps a bit

Phill

zulurita

France does use 230v electricity. It is America that uses 110v.

If you want to use gas cylinders bought in say France: if you have a newish motorhome I think 2004 onwards and it has the bulkhead regulator fitted then all you need are the "pigtails" for the country you are in. (that is the rubber tube that goes from bottle to regulator).

One UK cylinder and one foreign cylinder is what some people use. However to avoid collecting cylinders from different countries some people go down the re-fillable bottle route. this is fairly expensive but will depend on whether you will get good use out of it. If only having work holidays you may not think it cost effective.

Polarity, we bought a polarity tester and tend to check the sites electricity before plugging into the motorhome. some chargers have a red light that will come on if the polarity is reversed. I have my tester attached to an adapter and check at the sites source before plugging into the motorhome.
I have a separate plug with the wires reversed (if the site has reversed polarity) and use this to correct it when attaching my hook-up cable.

I have heard it mentioned that it could affect some chargers otherwise you will find that although the appliance has been switched off it is in fact still live.

baldybazza

We have 2 Gaslow refillable bottles and have no trouble in getting them filled either in France or the UK. Jan

apxc15

Refillable bottles have to have a 80% cut off device. At most filling stations these days they may stop you if you open the gas locker door to refill. There have been a few accidents filling un-regulated bottles and Spain has brought in legislation to prevent it. Thats why LPG stations are like hens teeth in Spain, Gaslow is OK but they fit the filler inside the locker in the UK which can cause problems re-filling 'cos you have to open the locker. You need a regulator for the type of bottle of the country you are in as each country uses different bottle pressures. Just rent a bottle and buy a regulator on your way in to the country and drop it off on the way out. Keep the regulator for your next trip,

Pete.

Grizzly

Be careful if you decide to buy a continental cylinder that it will fit in your locker.

We have a new van - well 2007 model - and cannot find a French cylinder that will fit through the door. We supect they would fit once through the actual hole but we can't get one in. We have tried pretty well all the bottles available on the open market in normal outlets.

The difference is only a matter of a couple of centimetres but, short of cutting a bigger hole and fitting a new locker door, it can't be done. Your van might be totally different but do check first.

We carry one 6kg propane and the largest camping gaz. The latter can be exchanged anywhere on the continent but it is a more expensive option than refilling a calor bottle would be.

G

spykal · Moderator

skratt

hi,
I fulltime around europe ( mostly France and Spain )
I use 2 gaslow bottles with the filler in a locker. I have never been stopped from refilling in the UK and have never had any problems finding a place to refill all over Europe. They are fewer in Spain but increasing all the time because of new government policies for cleaner fuel.
Gaslow is cheaper and easier .... why make life difficult ? Very Happy