The absolutely identicle container to the BP Gaslight container, 5Kg and 10Kg apart from - The BP has a green upper whereas that has red and it has a safefill float valve built in to prevent over filling.
My full BP bottles arrive with the liquid up to the top of the upper 'window' in the white plastic. I had a fresh 10Kg delivered here as an exchange, for the sum of £27 inc delivery - bargain compared to Homebase's attempt to rob people.
gasit easyfill
aluminum
non refillable plastic
Fundamental difference between normal bottle whether metal or plastic and refillable is the self refil ones have float shut off valve to ensure there is 20% ullage space. But operation is very defendant on the person filling it making sure it's upright.
Good I hate Bunnings, they cancelled my account when they took over my hardware chain in Australia because I did not always buy more than a set figure per month, I have not been in there since.
Judging by whats been written and seeing what they have stocked in the local Homebase* I'm surprised that the operation in Oz hasn't gone to the wall. There pricing wasn't competitive with the local B&Q warehouse and they didn't seem to realise that they were only 5 minutes away were a Screwfix and a Toolstation who advertise locally with regular letter box leaflet drops. I see that they are blaming a lack of understanding of UK culture and the DIY market but (IMO) in reality they just overpaid for a failing business that the previous owners were glad to get shot of and then ran it with incompetent management.
*My local Homebase had enough Christmas decorations at the start January to decorate every house in a town of 200,000 people
Thanks but no traditional cylinder will give me the weight saving offered by Safefill and their like, and which appeals as I get ever older/weaker.
And I think their point about "illegally" needs to be unpacked. AIUI it is that:
a. garages have concerns about people filling rented bottles which aren't designed for DIY filling at pumps and AIUI is illegal
b. so they play safe and decline to sell to anyone filling a bottle.
I don't see how that is restraint of trade. AFAICS it's also not unlawful discrimination - unless someone can argue successfully it is on the basis of a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. Now if Safefill gave cylinders to a load of travellers and sponsored their case...
Sounds like they should be renamed Bunglings. Brian
Jim K laid this down on his screen :
Apart from the throw-away cartridges, they are all refillable, including my own BP Gaslight system. The suppliers I assume, drain them completely, then refill with an amount measured by weight or volume - that is something which is less easy to safely accomplish on a garage forecourt.
The several tanks which are designed for the user to refill, include a float valve type to prevent them being over filled.
Me- I have two BP Gaslight bottles which use a 27mm clip on adaptor. When one becomes empty, I seek out an exchange for a full one. Problem the logistics - that often involves taking along a near empty one and a fresh full bottle for when that runs out, so it would be nice to be able to transfer the contents of say a 1/4 full bottle, into a 1/2 full bottle. That way I would only ever need to have one bottle in my front locker.
My system uses a 27mm clip on adaptor, connected to a regulator on a bulk head, connected via a high pressure hose. I could connect two bottle together with a high pressure hose, using two 27mm clip ons to allow me to transfer, except for the fact that each clip on has a built in one way valve which allows flow out from the cylinder, but not in.
I used to use Calor bottles, but they are expensive and being steel they are heavy. Back in the 1970's they introduced an alloy bottle which I bought into, then they stopped offering them. When the BP light composite bottle arrived, I bought into them (bottle deposits are not cheap), the refills were also cheaper than Calor.
I understand Calor did their best to kill the BP Gaslight system, by restrictive practices. Any dealer who tried to sell BP gas, was refused supply of Calor bottles.
Homebase sold BP, but they were uber expensive, along with just a few independents. The BP Gaslight system was then bought by Macgas, who continued to supply Homebase and reluctantly it seemed, the independents. Macgas seems to have not really promoted the BP system since they bought it, for reasons best known to themselves.
I had a fresh BP bottle delivered yesterday by an independent. He doesn't normally stock them, but agreed to have a go at getting them. He said he had quite a struggle getting a bottle from his supplier. He charged me £27 - yet Homebase quoted £41-99 for the same 10Kg bottle refill.
Macgas insist they can do nothing about how much Homebase charge. It is a far better system than Calor's offering, potentially cheaper - it just needs to be properly marketed and actually sort out a proper, reliable supply network.
Peter Hill explained on 26/05/2018 :
Thanks, I had not come across those before.
That again is identicle to my BP /Macgas Gaslight bottle, except the blue top is green on on my bottles. I very much doubt they are 'non refillable' the bottles are too expensive for single use.
I will make some enquiries with Macgas/Flogas.
Their incompetence is remarkable. I looked at fence posts, a good half of t hem were too bent & twisted for it to be possible to use them for fencing, never mind look acceptable. Yet they still wanted £6 for a very small post. I wouldn't pay £1 for them. A retailer with basic sense would sk ip them without hesitation, not even worth dumping at the auction.
And the reduced to clear section, which is always rather large, mostly has stock that's overpriced despite being a fraction of the price. Their steel shelving units OTOH are fairly good value. Some of the paint is so cheap I daren't even try it, the rest is overpriced.
If Bunnings is succeeding in Oz, they must have sent the halfwit brother ov er to run the UK chain.
NT
My impression from my last visit to Oz 5 years ago was that the Aussies must have too much money in their pockets, with retailers making it their mission to extract it. I am familiar with the supermarket situation there that clearly results in much higher grocery prices, but it seemed to stretch to pretty much everything else as well.
I can still recall driving in Queensland for 2/3 days with nothing but pineapple fields on either side of the road, clearly just about ready for harvesting, and stretching as far as the eye could see. We went into a Coles during one of our stops and were amazed to see that they were selling them at £3 each...
None "user" refillable like a steel calor bottle. Calor refill them. Flogas refill these.
As they are translucent you may be able to see the level. LPG needs 20% ulage space.
Pol to LPG autogas adapters are under £30 on E-bay.
Lived in Oz for a few years, a company rented newbuild property with maintenance contract for everything, so no need to even consider any DIY, and from what I understood lots of what we do in the UK home either legally or not such as structural work, plumbing and electrics are well off limits with the protected trades they have over there.
Can't understand how an outsider like Bunnings knew anything about the UK market, the current incumbents like B&Q, Wickes and Homebase struggle as to what they are and what market they are aiming for.
I went in yesterday (a bit closer than B&Q) to see what storage crates they had, I needn't have bothered ... loads of smashed stock, items with no prices on them or on the shelves, no staff around to ask questions ... bit of a shambles really.
Can only speak for round here, but generally no matter when I visit, Wicks looks busy enough to be making a profit. Unlike B&Q (which is much larger) and Homebase. My local Wicks also has Toolstation inside, so must have reduced the proportion of the fixed costs attributed to Wicks alone dramatically.
Judging by the number of sign written "white vans" that use Wickes car parks I get the impression that it is used by many small jobbing builders whereas B&Q less so. I doubt that anyone in building business uses Homebase.
My local B&Q has a trade only checkout situated the other end of the warehouse to that for the general public. I have no idea what the price differential may be.
BH Monday, I realised there's another - more subtle - creeping disease of the internet which will have an increasingly significant effect on the remaining shops. Certainly the ones that have a decent online offering.
The simple fact that using t'internet - either directly via a website, or in communication with customer services - it's possible to decide *in advance* if a shopping expedition is worthwhile. If it's not, then even more reduced footfall is the result.
This struck me when SWMBO suggested we popped into a chain store to see if we could get something, before remembering that I'd already been told they no longer stocked it.
I have just returned from our local Homebase store. I wanted a litre of brilliant white emulsion. Nobody stocks such a small amount so I took a 2.5 litre can. My overall impression though is that it looks dowdier with each visit.
You could usually rely on the carewash crew stationed in a corner of their car park. They and their hut were gone and a returned trolley catcher occupied its space. I guess they are for the chop too.
After thet go it is a choice of B&Q about 6 miles away or B&Q 8 miles away. Bad news all round.
Is it ?
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