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How much gas do you use?


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On 02/10/2017 at 07:09, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Easily sorted. Get yourself a 500 litre Calor vessel installed on your boat then you can buy it in bulk for 42p/litre for the boat too. 

Or have you now spotted the reason for the price difference?

 

I was wondering if anyone spotted the poor comparison?

Propane has a density of 0.49 giving a price of 42p/litre the same as 86p/kg

Still around 1/2 the price of propane in a cylinder!

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2 hours ago, MartynG said:

It's the boiling point that is of interest - which for Butane is -0.5degC. While propane boiling point is  at -42degC. 

if its below its boiling point there will be no gas boiling off the liquid.

I have known campingaz  to fail to light in frosty weather.

I have been known to place small gas cylinders in warm water to make a flame a little more energetic!

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On 04/10/2017 at 21:45, Mikexx said:

 

I was wondering if anyone spotted the poor comparison?

Propane has a density of 0.49 giving a price of 42p/litre the same as 86p/kg

Still around 1/2 the price of propane in a cylinder!

The best price comparison would be the price per KwHr of energy rather than price per kg weight.

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7 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

The best price comparison would be the price per KwHr of energy rather than price per kg weight.

If my calculation is correct my campingaz works out at around £1 per kWh which backs up the thought it is somewhat over priced (even when the small quantity purchased is factored in).

 

 

 

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15 hours ago, chubby said:

Cheers

Can it be used solely for heating a tank of water by isolating the rads & using a timer to run for ... i dunno ... one hour to make enough for a shower & washing up / laundry ?

I currently have an eber and use it for one hour to make a tank of hot water and im looking to assess whether an Alde can be economical on a liveaboard boat but for hot water not central heating . 

A boat im considering as a replacement for my current boat has only an alde & installing an eber is not affordable . 

If an Alde is just plain uneconomical for hot water only tjen the boats a no goer so im trying to establish how much gas i t might use 

cheers

My Alde takes about 50 minutes to heat my 22 litre tank up to shower temperature which gives me enough hot water for a shower and wash up.  In the winter the back boiler warms the water in the tank and it only takes 15 minutes to get it shower hot.

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1 hour ago, MartynG said:

If my calculation is correct my campingaz works out at around £1 per kWh which backs up the thought it is somewhat over priced (even when the small quantity purchased is factored in).

 

 

A 13kg cyclinder has a nominal 180kWh of energy, which at £25 will cost around 14p/kWh

A litre of diesel is about 10kWh, so is a cheaper fuel.

Edited by Mikexx
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the op asked how much gas do you use ? but dont answer this if you only use your boat twice a week or only in the summer ...for those who do this dont you now you are suppose to live on them 24/7 

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1 minute ago, haza said:

the op asked how much gas do you use ? but dont answer this if you only use your boat twice a week or only in the summer ...for those who do this dont you now you are suppose to live on them 24/7 

Blimey if you own a boat where else would you live? I can understand people also owning houses, we owned them for years in places like Cornwall for weekends away and holidays but no way to live in what a crap idea.

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On 30/09/2017 at 23:59, Wanderer Vagabond said:

We use about 13Kg every 8 weeks, full time liveaboard. As an added bonus we've just got a repalcement bottle at Castleford for £18, cheapest we have found anywhere (even beats that place at Stoke on Trent!):D

Have not read the whole thread. So this may have been said before. We too found the place in Castleford. Cheapest we have found. I believe they top up their own bottles. Hence the price. We had absolutely no issues with the gas.

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i was being dare i say it a bit sarcastic ...just get a bit fed up about how boat owners get it in the neck about how they  use there boats ...if they use it twice a week once a month  .what does that have to do with anyone ...its there boat ...

  • Greenie 1
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23 hours ago, chubby said:

Cheers

Can it be used solely for heating a tank of water by isolating the rads & using a timer to run for ... i dunno ... one hour to make enough for a shower & washing up / laundry ?

I currently have an eber and use it for one hour to make a tank of hot water and im looking to assess whether an Alde can be economical on a liveaboard boat but for hot water not central heating . 

A boat im considering as a replacement for my current boat has only an alde & installing an eber is not affordable . 

If an Alde is just plain uneconomical for hot water only tjen the boats a no goer so im trying to establish how much gas i t might use 

cheers

I would say yes that's entirely feasible, if it is already installed then no point changing it. Going on my figures if you run it for a hour a day just heating hot water then worst case scenario is 3 weeks per cylinder, could possibly be 4 or 5 weeks if not using central heating. 

I have heard that alde are better when they are run regularly so an hour a day should be good for it. 

If you want to heat hot water in summer high temperatures then It is best to bypass the thermostat, can't remember how that done but it quite simple someone on here will probably know. 

If you ever need it servicing then this gentleman comes highly recommended 

http://www.grahamcutmoreengineering.co.uk/contact-details/4513331784

 

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The comments about the silly costs from Camping Gaz - why don't you change to Calor, then it's just expensive instead of total rip-off! If space is really at a premium the little 4.5kg calor bottles are still available but do cost more per kg than the bigger sizes, but still cheaper than Camping Gaz. I know you can get adaptors to convert the bottle connectors as I've got one!

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16 minutes ago, D. W. Walker said:

The comments about the silly costs from Camping Gaz - why don't you change to Calor, then it's just expensive instead of total rip-off! If space is really at a premium the little 4.5kg calor bottles are still available but do cost more per kg than the bigger sizes, but still cheaper than Camping Gaz. I know you can get adaptors to convert the bottle connectors as I've got one!

The gas locker on my boat is made specifically to suit the 907 campingaz cylinders . Even they are a snug fit.

I think modification of the gas locker is not a sensible  option.

 

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On ‎30‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 19:35, Meanderingviking said:

That's the same as us, liveaboards with ordinary house size cooker, used for kettle and daily cooking usually from scratch, we like to eat well :D

Same for us, cook and bake, live well and both love cooking. Only difference is I only pay Calor Direct £25-73 including delivery 

Phil

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On 30/09/2017 at 22:12, Rumsky said:

Solo liveaboard, 13kg for gas hob and oven lasts me about 5 months. 

I'm with Rumsky on this one. I've been waiting for my first 13kg bottle to run out, and it just has. 5 months just using oven/grill/hob, solo with visitors sometimes and a roast about every other week, 20/3/40 mins oven most nites, the odd bit of grilling and two teas a day. It's certainly set an excellent precedent, though I was prolly being a tad frugal at times. If I use enthusiastically I should always get a good 3+ months by the look of things, so I'm delighted. Unlike water and leccy :(

I had a nasty accident changing the bottle over though - just nipping up the nut with the little spanner the gas man left me, it slipped off and I managed to tear a lump of finger off on the blunt/rounded neck of the bottle. I'm always careful using grinder/drills/planers etc, who would have thought one could do so much damage out of nothing :(

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  • 1 year later...

This is going to sound horrendous compared to others in this thread, but in the syndicate we can use two bottles in a week. Aurora does use gas for heating/hot water and cooking, but in the cooler months it can be 2 bottles a week....

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56 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

This is going to sound horrendous compared to others in this thread, but in the syndicate we can use two bottles in a week. Aurora does use gas for heating/hot water and cooking, but in the cooler months it can be 2 bottles a week....

Gas heating on a boat is a money pit. Some former boating neighbours had it and they were going through two x 13kg bottles a week living aboard in winter, same as your syndicate boat. They had a solid fuel stove fitted instead and the consumption dropped to more normal levels. Only worth considering gas if the boat is used only in the summer with the occasional cool evening and you want something quick and convenient to take the chill off for a couple of hours. Even diesel heating is cheaper. I use one 13kg bottle ever three to four months for cooking, baking and kettle boiling, similar to others on here.

 

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

This is going to sound horrendous compared to others in this thread, but in the syndicate we can use two bottles in a week. Aurora does use gas for heating/hot water and cooking, but in the cooler months it can be 2 bottles a week....

 

The energy density of coal is around 25MJ/kg so a 25kg bag contains about 625 MJ of heat.

 

The energy density of Propane is also about 25MJ/kg so a 13kg refill contains about half the energy of a bag of coal. 

 

So if you switched to smokeless coal for heating you'd probably use about one bag a week, which sounds much more normal doesn't it!

 

 

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
Edit to correct a glaring error!
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23 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

The energy density of coal is around 25MJ/kg so a 25kg bag contains about 625 MJ of heat.

 

The energy density of Propane is also about 25MJ/kg so a 13kg refill contains about half the energy of a bag of coal. 

 

So if you switched to smokeless coal for heating you'd probably use about one bag a week, which sounds much more normal doesn't it!

 

 

I was under the impression LPG Propane was 49.6 MJ/Kg and coal 25-35Mj=J/Kg ?

 

Or to put it another way :

 

Propane LPG = 13.6Wh / gram
 
Seasoned Dry Wood = 4.2 Wh / gram
 

Petrol / Diesel = 12.5Wh / gram

 

Anthracite = 8.6 Wh / gram
Edited by Alan de Enfield
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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Or to put it another way :

 

Propane LPG = 13.6Wh / gram
 
Seasoned Dry Wood = 4.2 Wh / gram
 

Petrol / Diesel = 12.5Wh / gram

 

Anthracite = 8.6 Wh / gram

 

 

This overlooks the point I was making (not very clearly), that propane costs four times the price of coal for the same amount of energy! 

 

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2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

This overlooks the point I was making (not very clearly), that propane costs four times the price of coal for the same amount of energy! 

 

Agreed it is more expensive but (see my edit) - but I was under the impression that Propane had twice the MJ/Kg than Coal.

 

So maybe only a factor of 2 rather than 4 ?

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