30 litre LPG tank

This is a Stako brand vapour take off gas tank, you mount it underneath your motorhome (freeing up space inside where gas bottles would live) it's a vapour take off tank.. do not confuse this with a car engine supply tank.. this supplies vapour NOT liquid, the cooker, fridge, heaters and so on run on gas vapour.

It's measurements are 255mm diameter, and around 760mm length, it's shown in the position you mount it under the van.. the valve plate at 45 to 52 degrees off horizontal, so as long as you have just over 255mm clearance under the floor of your van, and the required length free you can fit this.. it's about the smallest tank you can get.

I bought it brand new in 2002, it fitted underneath the floor of my last camper.. a VW LT 35, with no part of the tank showing under the side skirts.

To fit this tank and use it you will need....

The tank,

A set of mounting straps, these cost about a tenner from any gas tank fitting company.. they're not specific to a vapour take off tank, but when you fit them you adjust them to the size of this tank.

A  filler valve and hose.. this can cost from a tenner to £30 depending on the type, you mount the filler through the side of the van, and connect a hose between the filler and the valve on the far right in the photo above.

A standard gas bottle type Propane regulator.. the gat outlet valve (far left valve) is a POL valve, as found on the top of a propane gas bottle, you'll need to get a regulator that has a removable spigot where the hose would push on, as you should use copper pipe throughout a gas tank installation, you just need to unscrew the spigot on the regulator, and get a suitable fitting for the gas pipe you use in the system and attach it to the regulator.

You'll then want an access flap in the side of the van ideally, to see the gauge and get to the outlet valve, C.A.K. tanks sell a neat little flap that's just the right size to see the gauge and get your hand into operate the valve when needed.

That's about it, take the finished installation to an autogas station (any petrol station selling autogas.. find a Morrison's and you'll pay 29p a litre) and put in 2 or 3 litres of gas, then take the vehicle home and make up a solution of washing up liquid and water, ideally using a sprayer bottle spray the solution over all the connections, any gas leaks will show up as bubbles being blown in the solution, when your sure it's all gas tight, go back to the filling station and fill up fully.

This tank holds the equivalent of a 13 kilo calor gas bottle's worth of gas, (or 2 of the 6 kilo bottles) but where as 2 refills of the 6 kilo bottles would cost you well over 22 quid from calor, you'll pay from 7 to 10 quid a fill depending on where you fill it (you can only put in 80% of the total gas tanks volume.. this is a safety thing.. and it's got an automatic valve that cuts the pump off when it's full)

BUT one of the best things about owning a gas tank.. you don't have to wait until the gas has ran out on a dark and stormy night to get a re-fill, you can top the gas up at any time, just call in at any autogas station, attach the filler nozzle, press the button on the pump and it will top up the tank just like you do with your van's petrol/diesel tank.

Also.. going abroad, calor gas is no good over there, it's only available in the UK.. but autogas is sold all over Europe, especially in France, Holland, Germany and the like.. it's also cheaper over there like most things.. I filled up this tank in Luxemburg once and it cost me 4 euros!!!