Explore europe in a campervan

Filling locations - It should be pointed out that LPG on forecourts is not as readily available as bottled gas (which can be bought at almost every large supermarket and most filling stations). There are several sites on the internet showing where LPG can be bought - see our links page. In France it’s not hard to come by, and by using the sat nav to find petrol stations when we’re in a large town we’ve found stations in Bourg St. Maurice at SuperU supermarket filling station, Cluses at a Total filling station and in Thonon-Les-Bains at Carrefour petrol station. We also spotted a Relais station on the road out of Chamonix selling LPG, which is where we filled up for the first time. ‘Total’ brand garages carry a free map showing all of their filliing stations in France which sell LPG. This covers Total, Relais, Avia, Auchan and Elf stations as well as a few others. It also includes details of LPG ‘professionals’ where you can get LPG vehicles or installations repaired. The map is not totally exhaustive as most larger supermarkets sell LPG in their filling stations too.

Filling - Refilling the bottles at a petrol station was a totally new experience, as they had been partially filled when we got the van back after installation. We were very glad of the remote filling arrangement as the pumps have all had signs showing that direct filling of bottles isn’t allowed.

Before re-filling we have to make sure that the no. 1 bottle is the one connected to the filling hose and that the gas is turned off on both bottles. This is best done before we arrive at the petrol station as the changeover can be tricky and sometimes takes a few minutes. The French/Italian adaptor is screwed onto the UK filling bayonet, then the pump is simply pushed into the adaptor and a lever on the pump depressed. The pump is now connected to the filling adaptor and doesn’t need to be held in place in the way a petrol pump does. There is a button on the pump which needs to be pushed in to dispense the gas. When filling is complete the pump stops, just like a petrol pump. To disconnect the pump from the filler you have to pull back the lever. WARNING!! When you do this some gas always escapes, rather like when you remove the compressor from a tyre valve after filling. We’ve found it’s best to look away as you undo the lever, just to avoid the possibility of getting gas in your eyes.

Consumption - Before we left we had read information that told us to expect to use an 11kg bottle in 3-6 days. Our consumption is nowhere near to this level, mainly because we choose not to run the blown-air heating overnight. We run the heating for at least 4 hours a day, sometimes more, and generally heat the interior of the van to around 20-23º. The outside temperature has been as low as -8º in the morning and down to -10º at night. Overnight we are warm enough in bed so that we don’t need the heating. Surprisingly, this doesn’t involve sleeping bags, bulky pyjamas or sleeping in hats and gloves, although socks are a bonus on colder nights and hot water bottles help to take any chill off the bed before we get in. On waking in the morning we run the heating for a half hour before getting out of bed - time you can afford to spare when you don’t have to be up and out by a certain time!

Otherwise the gas is used for the water heating, oven, hob and grill. The hob is used many times a day for cooking and boiling water for hot drinks and washing up - I believe this is more efficient than using the water heater to heat 10 litres of water. The water heater is used 3-4 times a week for a couple of hours in the evening, when we shower and wash hair. Hot running water at any minute would be a luxury, but seems wasteful for the odd hand-washing and half a bowl of washing-up water. Over half of our meals are pasta-based and hob-prepared, but the oven is used 3-4 times a week on average.

Based on all this information we’re using around 13 litres of gas a week at a cost of around €10. We’ve never run out of gas and have only had to change to the second bottle on two occasions.

LPG - Propane, butane or refillable….

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