Camping gaz refills in Africa
 

I've got 2 campingaz 907 cylinders, which I thought would be fine for a trans-Africa trip, crossing the Sahara and then down through East Africa to South Africa. Someone has suggested that these might not be easy to get refilled because the fitting isn't compatible in some countries.

Should I get swap them for Calor Gas cylinders or should I get 2 multi-fuel burners instead. I've searched and and searched the web and this site for answers, but none are clear. Please help.

Thanks
Belinda

Hi,
I did a trip trough south america and took a multi fuel burner with me. I took that one because fuel (gasoline) I have always with me (in the tank of the motorbike) and I do not have to worry about the gas at all, since everybody needs gasoline there. I never had problems with the burner even with very bad quality fuel in Bolivia.
It will not be very different in Africa i guess.

So I really recommend multi fuel burners.

Have a nice trip

Burnout1

Hey There,
Can't vouch any further South than Ghana, you will be able to refill your Camping Gaz cylinders in Morocco, but after that they are different sized bottles and regulators required for the other countries on your route.
I took 2x6kg propane (Calor Gas) cylinders for 6 months in West Africa - and still had some left after - though I normally used a volcano kettle for brews.
Next trip (South America) I'll be using a Coleman petrol dual burner stove - using petrol means less hassle finding and carrying gas bottles, though I prefer gas as a cooking fuel as it burns cleaner.
Hope this helps - If you need any more info, let me know,
Cheers
Grif



------------------
'95 LR 90 300 Tdi
'02 KTM Adventure 640
Ex Rockape, Ex Drago
...and Bloody Nice Bloke!

Hi Grif

Thanks for the info. Still struggling to get my head around this. Not so keen on the idea of cooking over diesel and would rather use butane/propane.

Can you buy bottles and regulators en route? And what do you do with the empty bottles that can't be refilled? Are they not tradeable?

I have a 2 plate camping stove/grill thing which, although not my first choice, has been given to me and, at a retail price of £70, it's difficult to kick a gift horse in the mouth! It needs a hose connected to the regulator on the bottle. Will this be connectable to anything, as long as I have the regulator? I also need to get a cooking plate to fit directly onto the bottle for quick boils and one-pot wonders.

Do you reckon calor gas is better than campingaz. The down side of calor gas is the shape of the bottle - less compact than campingaz, from what I've seen. In SA, we have cadac, which is different again and I'm not familiar with the stuff over here.

Hope you can answer my (perhaps dump, but necessary) questions.

Thanks
Bel

Bel,
This is the best alternative to a gas burner for 4x4 travel- it runs on unleaded petrol or White gas/Coleman fuel (where available) I will be using on of these for my next trip.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colem...ategoryid=2020

For your gas cooker, you can buy bottles and regulators on route, all you need to do is get some gas hose (max 2 metres long or the pressure drops too much for the regulator) and attatch it to the cooker with a proper sized hose clip (from any good camping/caravanning shop), leave this on the cooker, then you can change the regulator on the other end when you need to.
You will not be able to trade the empty bottles very easily, but you may be able to swop with travellers coming the other way.

The camping gaz bottles are 2 and a bit kilos of gas, so dont last very long, the calor gas bottles I used were 6 kilos of gas each, so lasted ages, they also lay on there side on my roof rack, are easy to strap down/secure as they have big handles on them.
With 2 metres of gas hose, I could leave the gas cylinders on the roofrack and connect the regulator to them without taking them down and putting them up every day. (I just had to stand it upright before use)

Which cooker do you have -a grillogaz nouveau ? does it have a lid, but no sides ? if so make some sides up as it will make the cooker much more gas effecient and perform better in the wind. I can email you a picture of how to do it with the grillgaz model easily.

Two other good bits of gear to carry are a Volcano kettle - theres several different makes (search the forums for disussions on these) so you can brew up with a handful of twigs, and a cooking grate, the ones with fold out legs work well, so you can put it over a fire and cook on top, they fold flat - I keep mine in the bottom of my cooker box, with some foam mat on top to stop it rattling.

Bel- your questions are far from dumb - good preparation and simple routine makes life easier on the road.
Cheers
Grif

Since you are travelling in a Landy why not take a large gas cylinder that will last you a month? I understand about the pleasures of self-reliance and the ability to cook your own food whenever you want to but I would use local eateries whenever I can.
It will give you the chance to sample local cuisine and meet the people. Stomach bugs are usually found in water and will therefore be present in your own broth anyway.

I find that ones stomach becomes used to new bacteria rather quickly if you persevere. We also use powdered bacteria to assist when things get awkward. Get cheap pets bacteria (white powder that taste like castor sugar) and eat a spoonful every week and you should never have a problem. The pets bacteria is completely harmless to humans and protects you from foreign bacteria – It’s also dirt cheap.

Refilling camping gaz bottles
 

25 years ago I used to refill my own Gaz bottles (not that I'm suggesting you do this-it's dangerous!).
Most African countries use large gas cylinders for home and restaurant use. From the local gas supplier obtain the appropriate fitting (NOT regulator) which connects to the gas bottle. These feed UNREGULATED gas to the appliance, typically large gas rings. Drill out a camping gaz screw in burner with the burner discarded. Put the 907 bottle in the freezer overnight which drops the internal pressure. Next day, screw in the gaz adapter you made and with some clear plastic hose secured with hose clips, hook up the large domestic gas bottle and your gaz bottle. Invert the domestic bottle and open both taps and watch the liquid gas flowing into your gaz bottle. When the flow stops, your gaz bottle is full (overfull actually). To create an air space above the liquid fuel to allow the gas to change into gaseous state, just vent off some (liquid) gas. Do all of this in the open air. Yes, it has it's dangers but I found you can fill your gaz cylinder fuller than the agents. Don't forget, don't do this!

Camping Gaz
 

If I'm not wrong, camping gas cyllinders have the same fitting as the other mainland europe gas cyllinders (like in France/Belgium, ...). And these can be filled with no problems in all francophone African countries. Also, if there's a bodge, in Africa it will be bodged, and they'll sell you gas.

You can go a looong time on a gas bottle if you can cook efficient (out of wind etc), and traveling by car, there's no way I would consider putting myself up with all that filthy black stuff from a multi fuel stove on all my kitchen gear. I'd rather buy a new bottle half way and cook the next 5 months with it.

I first cooked with a relative unprotected flame, emptying a half size gas cyllinder in 3 months or so. In Ghana I made a windshiled from a large milk powder tin, and did the remainder 7 months and still have a quarter left with the refill.

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43b0a...AxPTEBj9SeiDqV

Hi you could always get re-fillable cylinders which have an input which enables you to fill up from an autogas pump. I appreciate that these are far from common in the middle of Africa (!) but all you need is an adaptor, which any decent machine shop can turn up, enabling you to fill up from any local cylinder which you then fit to the gas input of your set up.

I appreciate what I've said is probably as clear as mud but this is an extract from an e-mail I got from a company called MTH Autogas which may make it clearer...........or not!

1.METAL STAKO BOTTLES - BECAUSE OF THE DIMENSIONS OF YOUR LOCKER THE 12L/5 KG WILL FIT. IT IS SMALLER AMOUNT OF GAS BUT DO NOT FORGET THAT THIS IS THE REFILIABLE SYSTEM SO YOU CAN TOP UP YOUR GAS ANYTIME AS YOU DOING WITH YOUR FUEL TANK.
THIS SYSTEM IS FITTED WITH EXTERNAL FILLER. BOTTEL HAS 80% STOP VALVE.
2. LIGHTWEIGHT CYLINDERS - AGAIN IN YOUR LOCKER WILL PROBABLY FIT 12 L/ 5 KG. THIS CYLINDERS HAVE DIRECT FIL - YOU SCREW THE FILLER ADAPTOR TO THE CYLINDER VALVE AND CONNECT THE NOZZLE OF THE LPG PUMP DIRECTLY TO THE CYLINDER. THIS CYLINDERS DO NOT HAVE 80 % STOP VALVE BUT BECAUSE MATERIAL WHAT THEY ARE MAID FROM IS TRANSPARENT YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH GAS DO YOU HAVE AND HOW MUCH YOU NEED T0 REFILL
DIAMETERS: 12 L STAKO BOTTLE- DIAMETER 230 MM, HEIGHT 440 MM, PRICE INCLUDE KIT £160.00
12 L LIGHTWEIGHT - DIAMETER 203 MM , HEIGHT 531 MM, PRICE INCL.KIT £110.00
24 L LIGHTWEIGHT - DIAMETER 302 MM , HEIGHT 585 MM PRICE INCL. KIT £120.00
IF YOU WANT TO USE CYLINDERS ABROAD YOU WILL NEED THE ADAPTORS FOR THE FILLER (£10.00) IN THE PRICES IS U. K. FILLER ADAPTOR WHAT YOU CAN USE ALSO IN N. IRELAND,HOLLAND AND SPAIN
IF WE POSTING THE CYLINDERS TO OUR CUSTOMER THERE IS A CHARGE FOR POSTAGE ON 12L LIGHTWEIGHT IT SI £9.00
THERE IS SOME PHOTO IN ATTACHEMENT SO HAVE A LOOK
KIND REGARDES MARIKA MTH GAS SYSTEMS LTD

The point is that the metal cylinders have an automatic stop valve to prevent over-filling. Also you avoid the hassle of having to get to get different bottles and regulators as you travel. Here in the UK there's another refillable cylinder manufacturer called "Gasflow" that I know of.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Q

Personally I would go for the Coleman stove. Used one for years on unleaded, which is available anywhere.
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/Colem..._id=3000000788

They do not burn black if used correctly. The fuel is dirt cheap and a small 5 litre can of unleaded would last you several months, with very extravagant use. I took two litres away on our 4 week trip this summer and returned with enough to give to the neighbours for there car, I think we used just over half.

We are three people, and do not cook efficiently.

I find cooking on the Coleman great as the flame can be turned really low and is very hot so you can boil water very fast, and simmer forever. I have also done loads of toast on it and it does not taste bad. There are a few miths.

Also the unleaded is better in the very cold and at altitude. Some military folk use similar in there arctic trips I am told.

Cheers

Dan

Sorry for resurecting this but this is a biggie if you're stuck with no gas here in Johannesburg or indeed SA.

Fill Camping Caz 907 Bottle in South Africa, Johannesburg
Filled at 'The Gas Guy'or 'Gas and Hardware Centre'
Has a big blue cadac bottle on the roof.
Address:-
14th ave opp 2nd street,
Boksburg north 1460
Jahannesburg
011 917 2283/5

Bottle filled today for 50 rand. Its the only place as far as we know and the one listed on Camping Gaz has closed down. They never actually filled 907 bottles as far as the company that bought them are concerned. We tried loads of places and this above is the only one. It took a lot of finding and a lot of ringing round.

If you use him tell him the English Guy sent you and you might think about taking a M16x1.5 male to 3/8ths BSP coupler with you on your trip. They do sell them in the UK. Gaslow sell them i think. If you get one without a valve the filling is easier.

Neill
www.overlandbirds.com