Gas....on...off...on...off...on...off.......

[Dream Machine]

i'm new to all this and therefore being extra careful!! First thing in the morning I remove the bottom shelf, unscrew the lid to the gas compartment and turn the gas on. Last thing in the evening I do exactly yet same and turn it all off. does everyone do this or am i being unnecessarily cautious??? What about the gas tap under the sink....when should I use this??
Thanks

 

[Dibz]

I open the gas when I get to site, and close it again when I leave (or any time we need to drive somewhere, then open it again when we park up on site again). We always isolate using the valve under the sink, only having that open when using the burners but closed at all other times.

 

[Californiaman]

We open the one in the back when we put a new bottle in and close it when it needs changing. We use the one in then van all the time.

 

[SteveW]

I open the gas when I get to site, and close it again when I leave (or any time we need to drive somewhere, then open it again when we park up on site again). We always isolate using the valve under the sink, only having that open when using the burners but closed at all other times.

Hi

This is exactly the same as we do. Definitely wouldn't drive with the gas bottle still turned on in case of a crash etc you would have big issues. That being said I have forgotten a few times when just nipping down to the beach. :?

 

[ChrisandPenney52]

I open the gas when I get to site, and close it again when I leave (or any time we need to drive somewhere, then open it again when we park up on site again). We always isolate using the valve under the sink, only having that open when using the burners but closed at all other times.

Hi

This is exactly the same as we do. Definitely wouldn't drive with the gas bottle still turned on in case of a crash etc you would have big issues. That being said I have forgotten a few times when just nipping down to the beach. :?

Yes to this. Can be a bit of a pain as we have a tow bar bike rack so have to hinge this open to get at the gas even to make a cup of coffee en route. But we've got more cautious not less, about this, as I don't fancy the idea of a severed live gas pipe in a crash.

 

[Dream Machine]

Thankyou for all the helpful hints - very much appreciated

 

[ja197]

At risk of being contentious this is a point (albeit small) I feel warrants comment .... why in such a well thought out and high tech vehicle do you have to; open a cupboard; then remove a false floor; and then unscrew a rubber lid thingy just to get at; a normal gas valve which you are advised to isolate each time you drive the vehicle??? Separate to another isolation that is easily to hand?!

Surely to really make the most of the California you shouldn't have to risk being de-capitated by the tailgate (more often than not with bikes on on a rack and a cupboard full of stuff adding to the entertainment) in order to get at a manual valve, in order to move from one cool remote camping location to another (as per the brochure)!? These days a remotely operated valve can't be beyond the realm of possible? (I must admit that I sometimes forget to isolate the bottle myself but alway isolate at the hob end).

Small rant over! :? :?:

 

[MisterTea]

I think the risks are over stated somewhat.

There are many fuel pipes that are more prone to rupture than the gas pipes

The isolation valve under the hob is enough IMO.

 

[beardie]

The closer to the cylinder the gas is turned off the less risk of a leak. If the van is involved in an accident then you don't want gas leaking into the passenger compartment if it could be contained in the screwed down compartment. Granted a rear end shunt could compromise this area. Consider a side impact and i am not sure the gas feed pipe is particularly well protected.

I also think the emergency services will be more knowledgeable about the risk of a diesel fuel leak rather than gas cylinders - it's not that obvious it's fitted to a Cali

I think it's best to turn off each trip

 

[Dibz]

The only difference for me really is where the leak would be. Gas is the only fuel source on board that is quick to ignite from a spark, it is the only fuel source inside the van. I'd rather any leak was contained in the sealed gas locker and dropping through the hole to the outside world than leaking into the living/cabin space. Even without a spark, breathing gas is never clever!

I would say the risk is pretty small, but personally I'm not comfortable taking it. It only takes a couple of minutes and for me, I'm usually in the back grabbing the cab blinds or hook up or something when we stop anyway so it all gets sorted at the same time.

I can see it being more of a chew if you stop for a brew or on quick stopovers but we've not done that yet.

 

[lonsdale13]

We always turn the gas off at the bottle when the van is moving, to have live gas in the pipes while moving is a recipe for disaster as the pipes that carry the gas are very thin. Why take the risk?

 

[Californiaman]

I'm gonna turn mine off in future!

 

[slowcoach65]

Just turned mine off having read this thread

Andy

 

[Freeley]

I've always turned mine off at the bottle. Don't think I've ever used the tap in the kitchen unit.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dream Machine]

Do you turn the gas off when you are sleeping in the cali at night or just when driving???

 

[Freeley]

Only when driving. Though I sometimes forget!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[GeoffB]

Our dealer told us to do exactly what the original poster described, and we did it throughout all of last year. That's a hell of a lot of slide door open-clothes off the shelf-shelf out-unscrew lid-turn off gas-screw lid-replace shelf-clothes back-slide door shut ! I even got up in the night on a couple of occasions when I forgot to do this.

Then we started thinking... would the world end if we used the 'inside' valve? At first it felt wrong, but that's what we always do now. Still wouldn't drive, or leave the van parked long-term with the gas cylinder unscrewed, though.

 

[slowcoach65]

I suppose the world might end if you had an accident and the rubber tube or connecting pipe between the cylinder and the hob ruptured :crazy

I've looked at the schematic for the path taken for the pipe and it seems to me to be fairly vulnerable. The cylinder, however, is cleverly recessed in the fresh water tank which offers some impact protection, more so if the cylinder is turned off.

Also, when we went through the Channel Tunnel recently, they wanted to check we had turned the gas off at the cylinder, which we hadn't thought to do - I managed to convince them (just) not to check the cylinder valve Instead, we showed them that we had the gas isolated under the sink - we had the bikes on the back and it would have taken a while to get to the cylinder. I think we were lucky and they could have easily demanded we isolate it at the cylinder.

Andy

 

[Martin]

I wonder if they forgot to turn their gas off !! :? Scary stuff


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQtEdXNjono[/youtube]

 

[DavidofHook]

VW don't seem to think it is necessary to close off the gas bottle tap.
The California supplement book says "close all gas shut off valves before driving'. The shut off valves are the ones under the cooker. The one on top of the gas bottle is the bottle safety valve (it says in the book).

We travel with the gas bottle tap open, not because the book says so but because it is such a faff getting to the bottle. Having seen Martins film I might rethink this!

I thought that my old Westfalia T4 had a special valve on top of the gas bottle which automatically closed the gas bottle valve if the gas line was cut but I might be imagining things!!

 

[ejmoore]

Having just watched that film, I went straight out and turned off the gas at the bottle. Our van had a lucky escape a couple of weeks ago when someone set fire to some motorbikes in our street - the car between them & our van was written off, but the van was undamaged, miraculously. Not nice.

 

[Andy]

Martin you been at the arson again ??

 

[jts46]

Never turned mine off, except for changing bottle, never had a problem.

 

[ejmoore]

I think the problem only occurs when someone crashes into the back of your Cali and then BOOM! Not an everyday occurrence, we hope.

 

[Alan]

Heck ....gripping stuff going on here...
Martins video has got me a tad anxious
Just nipped out to make sure gas is all off. The van gets parked on the forecourt outside the bay window of the house.