Saturday 31 August 2019

The Magic Gas Cylinder


Here at the Van I run on a mixture of mains electricity ... supplied at cost so low that a once yearly bill just about creeps into the tens of pounds rather than hundreds ... and bottled gas.  The gas fuels the central heating, hot water and cooker and everything else is electric.

Last year I think we bought five or six cylinders the whole year, and considering we were here through some cold weather with the central heating on whenever we needed it I think that's pretty good going.  Each cylinder costs £67 plus £2 delivery so even if it was six last year that's a total cost of less than £500 for heat, hot water and cooking.  Not too high a price to pay to be nice and cosy, clean and well fed.


This year I bought the first replacement cylinder just five days after we arrived at the Van, the next just three weeks later.  I don't know if they are affected by being stood in freezing cold temperatures but that second purchase seemed very quick ... even with the heating on a lot.

Anyway I can't complain at all as the one I am currently using has been on the go since then,  a grand total up to now of 23 weeks.  Yes ... twenty three!

Last weekend Alan even went and double checked that we had not switched to the spare cylinder and forgotten to replace a used up one ... but no, it's the same one.


Of course the downside to thinking that we are about to run out of gas at anytime for so long is that every shower feels like a game of Russian Roulette.  

It's not quite the end of the world when we are both here, there's plenty of room to  sidestep in the shower and turn off the icy cold water while the other person hearing your screams of  'arrgghh what the f*ck'  can quickly nip outside the Van click over the diverter switch and turn on the new gas bottle, then come back inside and reset the combi boiler, meaning your nice hot shower merely has a bit of a commercial break.

 But when I'm on my own ... which has been a lot this year ... the thought of being left covered in soap suds with only the option of a cold rinse, is not a nice thought!


It's got to run out soon ... unless it's a magic gas cylinder!!

All the photos today are of the back of the Van ... a side I don't think I've shown before.


Sue xx


16 comments:

  1. A neighbour of ours runs on calor gas and has built a little cupboard to house them in.

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    1. A couple of the vans here have done that too, although we are not supposed to have anything made of wood between the caravans. But as you can see mine are in a nice cosy corner now ... it was all open to the wind last year.

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  2. Reminds me of holidays years ago when you paid 10p for a shower never knowing how long it would last

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  3. I'm surprised you haven't got an automatic switch over thing. I thought anything else was illegal now. On my two cylinders, when one is empty it automatically draws gas from the other one and flags up red in the little window. Then when I notice it I just have to switch the pointer over so I know which one is empty. Mine only run the range cooker and last a long while which is a good thing as I have to do all the change over and fetching a new one myself.

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    1. Maybe that's just applicable to houses, all the Van's here have the same set up as us ... and there are 270 or more on the park.

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    2. Maybe there is a difference between caravans and houses. I shall take a photo of my set up and see if it looks very different! Also have to have the cylinders chained to the wall so they dont fall over and kill something, not sure that's possible as they are not the tall 45 kg ones like yours but the 19kg - which I'm very glad about as I'd never shift the 45kg nowadays! Imagine maneuvering a 45kg one on a sack barrow!

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  4. The van looks lovely at all angles. I know what you mean about the shower thing. It's like that at the gym. Sometimes when you repress the button it sends cold out first. How I haven't had a serious fall jumping out of the way I'll never know. X

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    1. I rarely see that side of the Van, that's just our neighbours view, so it seems strange to me and oddly very blank compared to the other side.

      An icy blast is not good when you're not expecting it 😄

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  5. It is a magic gas cylinder!! Love your cozy van.

    God bless.

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    1. It's gonna go ... and any day now I'm guessing 🤣😄

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  6. Love the van which looks more like a cabin. Does it have wheels?

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    1. It does, but only for manoeuvring it into position when it's arrived at a destination, it can't travel far on them. Moving it any distance on roads would mean putting the whole thing onto the back of a low-loader truck and trailer.

      These are called Static Caravans as they usually spend most of their time in a single location.

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  7. Oh Sue, I hope the gas runs out at a convenient time, so you can just switch over without a towel wrapped round you! You have a lovely van :)

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    1. So do I 🤣😄🤞 Thank you. Xx

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  8. ooh no I don't think I would want it to run out whilst I was in the shower. Fingers crossed it happens at a convenient time!

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