can you refill rothenberger gas bottles/canisters ?

[Billy Bob Bob]

oh no you CAN NOT REFILL THEM,stop being tight rses and buy a new one ,anyone remember the pictures in the corgi mag when one exploded?killed the kitchen,and newly being installed duotec,set the installer on fire and burnt the nosy custard to a crisp,everyone survived but the installer had a mega £££££££££££££££ fine opf the HSE not worth the risk IMHO just buy a new one

 

[cjg]

if they wish to be TAADA then its up to them i only put the link in to be the devils advorcate,

 

[oldplumber]

Yes that is all good and well - if anyone can find me a loss adjuster that can tell if my own refilled gas canister has caused any damage I will eat my youngest son

We experimented with flares well above the 2.5 Kg limit over 15 years ago and the worst that was caused was immediate / close by scorching - Look at a psychometric of Propane and its properties / it needs oxygen to burn , there is is only enough oxy in any house to cause a short flare the rest is burnt by the fuel

ive been and seen what happens when a boatful of propane lights ups, the occupants are ejected (in flames) out of the hatch if they were lucky and those that hit the hatch inhaled the flames causing massive lung injuries, all the windows in the boat that are designed to withstand heavy seas blew out and worst of all, the rottweiller who was set light didnt want anyone onboard to help rescue the injured ,not quite sure if you understand the psychometric properties of propane!!!!

 

[GrahamM]

Just my tuppence worth.
As oldplumber has stated, these cylinders are not designed and certainly not tested to prove they are safe to be refillable.
To do so is potentially dangerous and irresponsible in my opinion.
We, or the gas qualified at least are supposed to be competent individuals.
Refilling disposable gas cylinders is not showing competence.

 

[WHPES]

The empties are of course recyclable.

 

[kirkgas]

thats all ok but remember guys these bottles have been designed for once only use and tested to that effect. if you constantly fill and empty them they are undergoing pressure changes they are not designed or tested for. long term result a van full or gas or worse still customer kitchen filled up and then emptied of propane rather too quickly. because you have used a bottle in the manner it was not designed for then your insurance wont apply. so there you are burnt like an overcooked lobster and all the new kitchen units are now in the garden and your insurance is null and void. All to save a few pence, its not worth it really is it. Remember storage bottles for gas and air etc that are multiple use are subject to annual pressure tests, rothenburger ones arent so you never know if they are safe to use a 2nd, 3rd or 4th time!!!!!!!!!!!!

oldplumber, i thought i was reading one of my own replies there, that is the way i put things across to the students, i call it "Victor Meldrew Syndrome" haha, ie assume if you must that everyone else out there is not as careful/safe/proffessional as you so when you inspect something that "Big Jimmy" did, dont assume it is perfect cause you know him and his work, assume he may have been having a off day or made a simple mistake so when you inspect his work, try to find what he did wrong (a bit pessamistic TBH, but in light of what we are all finding out there on a daily basis, Big Jimmy makes the odd error and tons of guys in our trade are doing mince work) so as in this post OK it MIGHT be ok but cannot be worth the risk of injuring yourself, someone else, your van or their property, HSE and your insurance would have a field day, c'mon guys buy the right stuff to work with, there are enough pitfalls out there

 

[kirkgas]

About 15+ years ago I install a primus filling station in milton keynes or round abouts. the only danger to refilling these canisters as they are know is not to introduce air which contains oxygen which can cause internal corrosion.
These canisters have a shelf life of 10 years which is half of their life expectancy and so long as they are not rusty or full of dents refilling them is no big issue
That rubbish about your insurance being void (it may be fact) but it is the rubbish, most folk have drove the vehicle today above the speed limit - there are police out there to catch you doing this!
There are no rothenburger refilling police

you are kinda contradicting yourself, if you adapt something for a purpose for which it isnt intended (ie refill a cylinder which is marked "DO NOT REFILL" using a built up rig with no certifcation etc for refilling which then is traced to the cause of an explosion which wrecked your van in the middle of the night or injured you at work then there is no way your insurance will pay out, ok there are no rothenberger police but it is IF something happens an investigation will prove you negligent and or criminal and subject to severs censure, as you say like everything else things get risk managed, so a sensibe guy wouldnt refill a canister that is bashed and rusty as it looks dangerous, but what if the seam is a bit dodgy after a few months of use and it refills and fails, i just dont see the risk being worth the saving, in the cheaper gas and labour to fill it, only my opinion obviously and my choice not to do, however i will be less than chuffed to be injured by someone else on the same job as me by his actions being out of my control.
as an aside to this and perhaps should start another conversation: how do you guys store gas bottles in the van? yrs ago one of our plumbers was alerted by a neighbour returing from the pub who could smell gas coming out of the back of his van, it must have been pure luck he was passing the back door of his van and could smell it, it had only been parked for about 5 mins so pure luck, what had happened was the gas bottle was rolling about the back of the van and had loosened the nozzle as it flipped over so it was releasing the gas and was lying right at the back door, dont know it it would have exploded prob wouldnt but still gave him a bit of a fright, and when he spoke about it at work the H&S guy had a fit and we had to get everyone to sort out where to store the bottles, we resolved it by telling the guys to remove the nozzle all the time, put the red dust cap back in the bottle and we screwed 2 bits of 75mm x 300mm pvc pipe to the back rack to stand the 2 bottles up in, about 4 weeks later a spot check was done and a few ofthem had went back to chucking them back into the van again

 

[kirkgas]

Thats ok I agree but we will do what we want when we need if we want
I enjoy this forum as you do I am not trying to argy bargy
but regs are there to comply with and I do comply with all, but these canisters / bottles what ever folk call them are filled and shipped from outside of the EU. So what we do in our union (European) is of no relevance anyway

i agree with what you are saying and i too dont want to argue for the sake of it and hope you dont think im having a dig in any way, i like to debate as we all do, because it is informative and helpful, most of us can talk/argue/discuss/debate as grown ups without abuse/.

 

[Puddle]

I would have thought the main safety issue really is the actual re-filling of the bottle,when you have done it a few times and become complacent and cost with deposit of larger bottle,plus the integrity of the valve on the mini bottle rather than the container it self
And as said,Why bother,usage against cost is nothing really,think if you are obsessed enough to try making these small savings, there would be many more areas better safer savings could be made if you looked about

Think more of a gimmick value,a potentially dangerous one at that

imho

 

[oldplumber]

Kirkgas and I agree, bound to happen sometime lol

 

[stevew451]

it seems a bit silly for people who are registered as GAS SAFE to be even contemplating such a dangerous act as refilling these cylinders
come on guys give your heads a shake

 

[northstar]

On the black rothenberger propane bottles their is a small hole on it does anyone know what it is for ?

 

[Spanner2k7]

Use primus gas bottles, they are refilable just take them to the merchants you got them from, took 2 back for a friend and got refils for half the price of a mapp gas cylinder, im sure you can get a adaptor to fit primus cylinders to rothenberger torches too.

 

[cjg]

On the black rothenberger propane bottles their is a small hole on it does anyone know what it is for ?

yes it has a vavle in it

 

[northstar]

cjg do you know what the valve is for ?

 

[quality]

It is for evacuating (removing) air & moisture before charging (filling)

 

[Dotty]

A good few years ago when I was younger, slimmer and fitter I used to play paintball. I remember there was a bit of excitement one day when one of the hoses on the filling station broke (home made setup!) and slapped the filling marshal around the face a few times, nearly putting his eye out.

Now that was 'only' co2 and that was hairy enough. The same thing occurring with a flammable gas shakes me to the core!

I'm all for money saving but this ain't one of them!

Recycle the old cylinder and don't be daft!

 

[Dannypipe]

Agreed you tight wads!!! 🙂

Chuck it away and buy a new one. They last ages, and if they don't then you're using em fast enough to afford a new can! No offense like!

 

[stevew451]

3 years ago in a village up hear a H&V fitter was blown up in his van popped into the paper shop on the morning for his **** got back in the van lit up and boom
The HSE got this down to a leaking gas cylinder in the van and this was a refillable one one so if it says chuck it do so

 

[Guest123]

If you buy them in bulk, they're a lot cheaper. No way would I even consider the risk in refilling one of these. If you want refills for your Rothenberger, use Calor Gas 2000 bottles, otherwise chuck the empties in your nearest recycling centre.
As tradesmen, we have a duty to ensure that the tools and equipment we use are safe, have not been dangerously modified, not just for our own safety but for the safety of all the other trades and guys we work with.
Jeeze, they say us Scots are tight fisted with our money, this takes the pee! lol