Camper Self Build - Gas Storage Question

rosco p coltrane

Hi there,

In the middle of a self build. Just had the RGI guy around for some advice.

He left me with the "Technical Guidance Document For Registered Gas Installers" which was very nice of him.

My question is really directed towards any self builders who's vans have received camper status on since June 27th 2011.

What did you do for the gas compartment issue? A sealed compartment. What solutions did you come to? Photo's would be great.

My self build is really just to get over the line with the bare necessities. Sleeping, eating, cooker and sink.

Thanks in advance.

Rosco

rosco p coltrane

Or am i better to ignore all that gas malarky and put in a two ring electric hob?

This would save alot of hassle.

Its just that i rarely see a electric hob in a camper.

To be honest - i'm not going to be swinging out of a cooker - just want to get this thing passed as a camper.

Any thoughts will be very much appreciated.

spaceHopper

Stick with gas as you would have to go to a campsite just to make a cup of tea. My van has a simple wooden locker with draft proof seals. The key thing to do is use copper piping with a short rubber hose. The kocker should have a hole in the floor to let any leaks out. Remember a woman was found dead in her camper due to gas leak

rosco p coltrane

Hi Spacehopper,

Thanks for your response.

Your suggestion was exactly the way i was going to approach this issue, but since June 2011 any gas works has to be passed by an RGI (Registered Gas Installer), who will then issue you with a certificate. The following guidelines are what is required:

(from the Techincal Guidance Document For Registered Gas Installers)

"CYLINDER COMPARTMENTS

Cylinder compartments with internal access must satisfy the following:

The compartment contains a maximum of two cylinders with maximum capacity of 16kg each.
Access between compartment and habitable area must be via an attached sealed door or hatch, the bottom edge of is at least 50mm above the compartment floor.

as allowed in I.S. EN 1949

Apart from the exceptions above, the following applies:

Vehicle cylinders for road going must be installed in cylinder compartments.
Cylinder compartments must be sealed against the accommodation space and have exernal access only.
Any cylinder placement must provide a minimum distance from the engine exhaust system as shown in Fig 84."

So what i'm trying to find out is what solutions people who have had a camper conversion granted since June 2011 have done. Is it possible to purchase a sealed box, if so where.

The RGI guy who was around today, (who was very helpful by the way) hadn't been presented with a campervan self build project before, so naturally he's not going to put his name to a wooden box with draft holes etc....

So, i'm just seeing what new builds, since June 2011, have come up with.

Thanks again, any suggestions are most welcome.

The other side of the coin is electricity.

Instead of going down the gas installation route, (to pass the cooking aspect of the requirements for self builds), would it be easier to stick in a double electric hob or a microwave?? I'm not going to be cooking that much in it any way, its just to get past this hurdle.

moodrater

Take a look at the premier van conversion adria twin gas locker, thats a wood box 'externally accessible' via the back door. Its not rocket science;



Ignore the reg setup that guy installed a underslung tank

Heres another up close and personal view of a timber gas locker in a factory van

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/tech-mech-general/47639-gas-locker-bbq-point.html

If you google images for gaslow you'll get to see the inside of lots of crudely constructed and sealed gas lockers.

There are no real guidelines for registration purposes in fact my local NSAI center is refusing to deal with camper approvals until the RSA gets off their ass and draws up some documents. The insurance companies will have their own ideas though that you will need to fullfill. Dolmen requires rigid copper pipe except the flexible section connecting to the bottle. They also required two straps to secure the cylinder although it seems to vary who they chase about that.

Consider the gas locker essential in almost every civilised country there would be requirements/guidelines for it. In addition to being sealed from internal compartments it needs to be vented. The new guidelines for boats is 19mm minimum internal diameter for the vents. My locker is plywood also, if you make it top loading with a bottom vent you don't have to stress about seals.

Any easy way around the whole thing is a couple of these, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Campingaz-205370-Camp-Bistro/dp/B000Y854WC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402265057&sr=8-1&keywords=camping+stove if you but the gas in full boxes its not much more than the large campingaz cylinders and cheaper than the small ones.

The old style 3 way fridge is the main thing that eats energy/gas but if you plump for something with an efficient danfoss compressor you might be fine on leisure batteries.

You can buy gas lockers from chandlery but like everthing for a boat the come in only two varieties:- remarkably expensive or, remarkably expensive for their diminutive size.

Buford T Justice

A box that's sealed, or a good enough seal that can't be accessed from inside the van. ie. you need to be outside the van to do it. Make sure there's two straps securing the cylinder and put some drop holes in the floor since gas is heavier than air. that's it really, and thats all I did.

sogood

Many years ago, I converted a Boxer van into a camper. Before all these new regulations came into effect, but my approach may be of benefit to you. I built a wardrobe/storage unit in the rear of the van, divided into a top and bottom section. The top, wardrobe section opened from inside the van, and the bottom section was a sealed "box" accessed from outside the van, via the rear door. This was used as the gas cylinder storage compartment.

The attached picture might help to explain, but unfortunately, I don't have any taken from the outside.

Forrestsvan

Hey @Roscoe P Coltrane how did you get on with this? I'm in a similar situation, I've been using my van as a camper for years but its reg is commercial so I'm taking the next step to change registration but I don't like this idea of having an internal kitchen but I have to make one to suit the conversion criteria.

Shoog

What I did in the end was put a gas locker on the side of the van cut through the side panel. This gas locker is a form of dense polystyrene and is primarily intended for boats. Its main advantage is that the door opens to the outside and has vents to the outside so the locker itself doesn't need a gas dropout. The cooker is mounted literally just above the locker so the copper gas pipe is literally just 1 ft long. Its very advisable (if not specified in the regs) that the cooker has a thermal shutoff valve incase the flame blows out.

https://floatyourboat.co.uk/product/gas-bottle-storage-locker/

You will need a gas dropout wherever there is a joint or tee in the copper pipe and these dropouts are quite large (I think at least 70mm across), this means that you need a gas dropout under the cooker itself. A carefully designed setup can get by with just one gas dropout - but if you go for an internal locker you will need at least two - one below the locker and one below the cooker.

The gas fitter will check that you have met the specifications that he has supplied but he will also perform a sustained pressure check for leaks.

My first quick and dirty install used a meths stove (which I borrowed for the SQP check) which bypasses all the gas regs - not really a sustainable solution though.