Gas boiler - mobile home

Hurley6969

Had some boiler probs in the mobile after the freeze. The guy that came out said we should be using the large bottles of gas instead of the "normal" size ones because the bigger ones have more pressure. He said the width of the pipe was too big for a normal gas bottle to pass through quickly? Is he talkin balls. I don't see how its much different, every one else on the site seems to have the normal bottles. Anyone know if this is true? Cheers

Hurley6969

Hurley6969 wrote: »

Had some boiler probs in the mobile after the freeze. The guy that came out said we should be using the large bottles of gas instead of the "normal" size ones because the bigger ones have more pressure. He said the width of the pipe was too big for a normal gas bottle to pass through quickly? Is he talkin balls. I don't see how its much different, every one else on the site seems to have the normal bottles. Anyone know if this is true? Cheers

The normal size for boilers would be the larger cylinders due to the volume of gas required but it's all relative to how much gas you use, if you were using loads you would soon get fed up swapping them out.

Long story short, if it's propane you're using I can't see a problem, if it's butane you're using then it the wrong gas for boilers(unless the manual say's different)


A test at the boiler would show any gas pressure issues, it saves having to guess.

badgerhowlin

I am using the same myself. Had the Small gas bottles as well but decided to go with what you did and got the Bigger bottle.

The problem i was having was that i got the wrong regulator for the top of the gas bottle and it was sending too much gas to my stove and water heater and kept blowing out the Flame.

Is this the problem that you were having?
If so, you will need new regulator. When i go home i will check the one i have and let you know what it is.

Pete67

The comment about pipe size makes no sense, however the small gas bottles are often Butane, which does not tend to work very well at low temperatures. The gas in the bottle is mostly liquid, and has to boil off to gas that your boiler can burn. At very low temperatures the liquid in the bottle just stops boiling, so the gas pressure drops so low that it will not keep the burner alight. Butane boiling point is -0.5C so if the bottle is outside you will not be able to use it in freezing weather.

Also, in boiling off liquid to gas, the liquid is cooled below ambient temperature, so even in milder weather, when using a large amount of gas the bottle can freeze and gas supply will stop until it warms up again. You can often see a coating of ice on the outside of the bottle for this reason, especially in humid weather.

The larger bottles are generally Propane, which boils at -42C, so it will work fine even in the coldest weather likely to be experienced in Ireland. So go for Propane bottles, large or small. You just need to make sure that you have the correct regulator for the bottles you are using, and the gas pressure is set appropriately for the burner(s) you have in the mobile home. Generally the larger the pipe size the better, especially if you are running several appliances at once.

Hurley6969

Thanks for the replies, we already had a boiler replaced after we bought the mobile in July and it was working fine up until we closed up for the winter. When we turned the water back on there was a small leak after the crazy temperatures. We don't use a lot of gas so in terms of swapping around its not a regular occurrence. I really cant see how the large bottle is of any benefit as the mobile would not be occupied in below 0 degrees temperatures so shouldn't matter it its butane/propane. The guy just said to use the larger bottles purely on the pressure aspect, nothing about operating temperatures or regulators.

Hurley6969

Hurley6969 wrote: »

shouldn't matter it its butane/propane. The guy just said to use the larger bottles purely on the pressure aspect, nothing about operating temperatures or regulators.

You have to check your boiler manual or ring the manufactures(if you don't already know;)) to see if the boiler is suitable to run on butane, it has different characteristics to propane and can effect your safety.

DoneDL

The sizing of the bottles is very important as different bottles give different take of rates, based on an ambient temperature of 15 C. Bottles have to be sized to provide the appropriate gas supply to allow all the appliances to work safely.