New Gas Install - Is This Normal?

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Paul1977

5043 posts

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#205538 17-Nov-2016 09:59

We recently had our old hot water cylinder removed and converted to continuous gas (LPG bottles).

As I understand it, when the first bottle runs out of gas it switches over to the second bottle automatically and the indicator turns red to let you know you need to order a bottle swap.

After 5 or 6 weeks I noticed that the indicator had turned red, OK first bottle must be empty right? Later the same day it was back to green. Next morning was red, that afternoon green again. Same the next day and the next.

Is this normal if a bottle is nearly empty?

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#1672581 17-Nov-2016 10:04

Shouldn't your installer answer this question?

Paul1977

5043 posts

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#1672601 17-Nov-2016 10:21

BlinkyBill: Shouldn't your installer answer this question?

His answer wasn't very definitive, and I figure before I press any further about it I'd ask here as I'm sure plenty of Geekzoners will have gas installs.

MikeB4

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#1672607 17-Nov-2016 10:35

could be ambient temperature changes confusing the sensors.

Aredwood

3885 posts

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#1673938 19-Nov-2016 00:47

LPG in NZ is a mixture of propane and butane. You have used all of the propane. Butane boils at -1deg so when the bottles get cold the gas pressure gets too low. So it can sometimes be difficult to use up the last little bit of gas in the bottle. Easiest way is to wait a bit before ordering a new bottle when the flag appears. Or wait until the flag stays up in the afternoon. The regulator will top up the flow from the first bottle with the second bottle.

CYaBro

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#1673951 19-Nov-2016 07:37

Our indicator thing broke not long after being installed but we never bothered to get it fixed.
We just leave one bottle off until the other runs out then open it. Wait a few weeks then order a replacement and that one stays closed until the other runs out. Rinse and repeat.
We've just had our fifth replacement bottle for the year.

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Goosey

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#1673960 19-Nov-2016 08:38

Use bathroom scales if your not sure. Im assuming these are those 45kg bottles so there will be a tare weight and empty weight stamped on the top of the bottle.

Simply use the "EW".

Be careful when unhooking the bottles that you dont strip the threads.

antoniosk

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#1673972 19-Nov-2016 09:28

CYaBro: Our indicator thing broke not long after being installed but we never bothered to get it fixed.
We just leave one bottle off until the other runs out then open it. Wait a few weeks then order a replacement and that one stays closed until the other runs out. Rinse and repeat.
We've just had our fifth replacement bottle for the year.

The average I've been told about is a new order every 2 months, for 2 bottles. So 12 bottles a year for a typical house and consumption.

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Paul1977

5043 posts

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#1674825 21-Nov-2016 10:35

Aredwood: LPG in NZ is a mixture of propane and butane. You have used all of the propane. Butane boils at -1deg so when the bottles get cold the gas pressure gets too low. So it can sometimes be difficult to use up the last little bit of gas in the bottle. Easiest way is to wait a bit before ordering a new bottle when the flag appears. Or wait until the flag stays up in the afternoon. The regulator will top up the flow from the first bottle with the second bottle.

Thanks for that.

After about 4 days or so it is now always on the red, so I'll just get in the habit of not ordering straight away when it turns red.

CYaBro

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#1674919 21-Nov-2016 12:16

antoniosk:

CYaBro: Our indicator thing broke not long after being installed but we never bothered to get it fixed.
We just leave one bottle off until the other runs out then open it. Wait a few weeks then order a replacement and that one stays closed until the other runs out. Rinse and repeat.
We've just had our fifth replacement bottle for the year.

The average I've been told about is a new order every 2 months, for 2 bottles. So 12 bottles a year for a typical house and consumption.

We must not use a lot of hot water then!

We do about half the average, as we may need one more bottle this year, making 6 in total in a year.

The gas does our hob as well!

We do have the controllers so can set the temp of the water.

Without them the gas will heat it to the default, which is 55 degrees I think, and then you are just cooling it down again straight away.

By setting the temp for baths/showers I guess we must be saving a lot of gas. Depending on the time of year we generally have the temp set to 41-44 degrees.

All of our shower heads are low flow so that could be helping to keep the gas usage down too.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Flickky

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#1674968 21-Nov-2016 13:34

When you have LPG and your property is consuming too much gas than one bottle can draw from, with some setups it'll start drawing from both - this is called high draw. Don't know about your setup specifically OP but it sounds like there's a chance it could be this.

mattwnz

20154 posts

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#1674997 21-Nov-2016 14:04

Does it work out cheaper than a standard electric water heater, to run hot water from LPG bottles on a house? I have one of these gas systems on a weekender and it probably uses 1-2 bottles a years, but each time it is $100 per bottle plus yearly bottle rental.

wasabi2k

2096 posts

Uber Geek

#1675043 21-Nov-2016 15:50

mattwnz:

Does it work out cheaper than a standard electric water heater, to run hot water from LPG bottles on a house? I have one of these gas systems on a weekender and it probably uses 1-2 bottles a years, but each time it is $100 per bottle plus yearly bottle rental.

You would need to do some maths, based on total cost of gas vs total cost of electric - which would depend entirely on the amount of hot water you use and how often you go up there.

Also are you heating a hot water cylinder with gas or using an instant hot water system...

need more info.

Paul1977

5043 posts

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#1675956 23-Nov-2016 12:07

Flickky:

When you have LPG and your property is consuming too much gas than one bottle can draw from, with some setups it'll start drawing from both - this is called high draw. Don't know about your setup specifically OP but it sounds like there's a chance it could be this.

I would've thought that unlikely. The only thing connected to the gas is a single continuous hot water unit. I'm putting it down to temperature changes when the bottle is nearly empty meaning somethimes there is still enough pressure and sometimes not.

spronkey

117 posts

Master Geek

#1675972 23-Nov-2016 12:41

Our indicator flits a little bit depending on temperature when the bottles are nearly empty.

If it's a physical green/red thing, give it a slight tap when it's playing up and it will give you a more 'correct' reading.

pbgben

261 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1675980 23-Nov-2016 12:51

In the UK we had a combi boiler, does the heating and hot water. No tank was needed and they were able to heat the water when required. So "Instant" heat via a gas bottle would be cheaper I would think.

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