They say you can find out anything on this site, so here we go.
The electric cooker's gone tits up and swmbo wondered how much a Calor Gas cooker costs to run on propane cylinders.
She's always wanted a bigger oven as my pies don't fit in the old one. 
I'm more worried about the fitting cost. 
Anyone shed any light on this ?
(I live out in the sticks so mains gas is not an option)
Cheers
Paul G
Propane burns hotter than natural gas - don't think that's a problem though.
A mate of mine has one and one of the large bottles lasts him a couple of years.
They need the proper jets for propane fitting and as far as I am aware you are supposed to get a CORGI approved gas fitter to fit it for you.
HTH
Cheers
Mark
As Mark says - many cookers that you buy will come with propane jets in a bag, to swap over if needed.
My neighbour uses propane for cooking - great big cylinders, about 4ft tall. Don't see him replacing them too often... I can ask him how much
the running costs are, if you like.
You probably will need a proper fitter, as his are properly plumbed in.
David
[Edited on 4/11/06 by David Jenkins]
BE WARNED!
It is an offence under the Gas Safety(Installation and Use) Regulations to install or work on gas equipment if you are not CORGI registered.
" Any person offending against these Regulations shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £5,000.00."
Yes, that was £5K not a typo.
If you get a big tank they come and refill then get a bottom connection and a pump so you can run your car on the propane, this works out about 28p
per litre!
Caber
As i understand it, you need a Corgi gas fitter when you conect to natural gas,
If you need corgi plumber for connecting to propane then theres going to be a lot of unhappy campers and caravan owners.
I thought anybody could connect a propane cylinder to thee cooker,
Do people really get Corgi plummers to connext their cylinders when they run out!!
He's explaining the installation of the pipework and fixed tanks etc.
LPG requires a seperate ACS course / exam. We decided for the amount of LPG we do, not to get qualified.
Stick with leccy
quote:
Originally posted by Confused but excited.
BE WARNED!
It is an offence under the Gas Safety(Installation and Use) Regulations to install or work on gas equipment if you are not CORGI registered.
" Any person offending against these Regulations shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £5,000.00."
Yes, that was £5K not a typo.
Your Qualifications deem you as competent i.e your ACS Gas or other assessments.
The Corgi registration is to do with trading as a company and being paid for jobs and also for insurance purposes.
They are also 1 of the most useless incompetent companys in existance!
4 months I was waiting for my Corgi card and even when I got it they spelt my bloody name wrong, in theory making it useless!
(if its for your own home out in the sticks fit it yourself if you feel competent just make sure you soundness test it, or have it done. How are the
ever going 2 know until maybe you come to sell the house.)
Unless your 100% confident why risk your life, or those of your family for the sake of a few quid well spent, paying a corgi registered engineer/
competant person to do the job properly. There's more to commisioning a gas appliance than you might think. And judging by some of the dodgy
installations iv'e come across over the years, some folk should leave well alone.
Al.
We live in the sticks miles from nearest gas line and have a range cooker which is electric ovens but 6 gas rings- reallygood and efficient and keeps
us going inpower cuts.
Buying bulk propane at 25p a litre at moment, which is allegedly a good price, would love to have mains gas and cut out the haggling everytime we fill
the tank 
Thanks for the replies chaps.
Firstly, a couple of points. I rent the house, so I don't pay the insurance, well not directly anyway.
Secondly, a bulk tank isn't an option as it would have to be away from the house, away from
neighbours boundaries, and away from mains drains.
So that would put it in the middle of my back lawn. Noooooooo way.
We have a wonderful white goods shop in my local town. Family business, and just as cheap as the
big chain stores. Popped in this afternoon and had a chat.
Anything I buy would have the LPG jets fitted, and he gave me the phone number of the fitter he uses.
Turns out he's just four miles down the road.
I'm hoping that if I run the copper pipe he could just do the nuts up on the ends, just to keep it legal.
I'll give him a call in the week.
It's a funny thing. As a welder I can handle oxyacetylene but can't connect a propane cylinder.
I have a 3000psi argon bottle in the garage.
Hang on, there's a thought, an oxyacetylene cooker.
If you could find out David how often your neighbour changes cylinders that would be a help.
Thanks everyone.
Paul G
quote:
Originally posted by BKLOCO
quote:
Originally posted by Confused but excited.
BE WARNED!
It is an offence under the Gas Safety(Installation and Use) Regulations to install or work on gas equipment if you are not CORGI registered.
" Any person offending against these Regulations shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £5,000.00."
Yes, that was £5K not a typo.
Afraid this is not quite true.....
The regs only say you have to be a competent person....
Generally if there is a problem and a case goes to court CORGI registration is the standard that the court will go by and if the fitter isn't CORGI registered then he will almost always be found guilty of negligence or worse if the installation does not meet current standards.
However unless the regs have changed since I last did my commercial/industrial gas course then nowhere in the regs does it say you HAVE to be CORGI registered.
I do NOT hold registration. My employer does, but I am still considered to be a "competent person"
And to answer the original question.
Propane cookers are only slightly more expensive to run than mains gas. due to the low consumption of these appliances.
However don't even think about using it for central heating.
Trust me I talk from experience....
Kinked gas supply
pipes, squashed pipes behind walls, and incorrect cooker fittings.... quote:
Originally posted by PeterW
And if you would like to see the quality of work that was installed by a CORGI reg fitter in our house, be my guest...
All done by someone with a little Orange shield to hide behind..
Cheers
Peter
I'd guess that most of it would be common sense to someone like you. Nice clean pipe work, flexy bits were anything might need to move, and get someone to leak test it all. I'd guess that the reg and similar bits are fairly standard fitment parts, or at least a local plumber should be able to tell you.
to have some run a gas pie extension ino my kitchen cost me £100. The guy was here for 3 hours. When I finall get the cupborads/worktop in, he will
have to come and do a final fixed connection to my hob, around £45. All this includes the saftey check as well.
I thought it was a very reasonable pice.
quote:
Originally posted by 907
If you could find out David how often your neighbour changes cylinders that would be a help.
)