47kg Gas bottles?

LisaB85

My parents have just been given gas central heating by the housing association, it is used to heat the home and for hot water (shower is electric)

They supplied 4 x 47kg gas bottles......it is using 2 then when those 2 are empty it will swap to the other 2 bottles.

I have put the heating to come on at 15c between 6am - 8am then 5pm-9pm, 3 bed house with 4 adults.

I have advised my mother to be aware that it is not affordable to switch the heating on if it gets a bit chilly and use jumpers etc but they aren't the type to listen.

How long does a 47kg gas bottle last?

crazyguy

You wont get a lot of life out of one bottle maybe 12-15 hours from a lit fire

LisaB85

crazyguy wrote: »

You wont get a lot of life out of one bottle maybe 12-15 hours from a lit fire

They are radiators not fires, does that make a difference?

If it is that bad my parents are screwed, why would they put in gas bottles knowing they are on benefits if it is going to cost £200 a month.

Bob_the_Saver

Central heating for a 3 bed cottage, a couple of hours in the morning and all evening at a sensible temperature plus all hot water I got 11-18 days IN THE WINTER depending on the temperature outside per 47kg bottle.

Just a rough guide.

missminx

LisaB85 wrote: »

They are radiators not fires, does that make a difference?

If it is that bad my parents are screwed, why would they put in gas bottles knowing they are on benefits if it is going to cost £200 a month.

Must be a big fire..... We had these bottles for our static caravan. Slightly different, obviously! But, the caravans have less insulation etc, so swings and roundabouts. We were averaging 3 weeks to a bottle, which ran our central heating and hot water for 3 people when we were living in it in winter. We had the heating on a lot more than you have mentioned.
There are several ways to reduce the usage - thermal curtains make a massive difference to keeping the heat in. Rugs on cold floors, and halogen heaters can be a very economical way to heat the room you are occupying. They often mean you do not need the main light on in the room as well if you want to economise a little more. HTH

LisaB85

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

Central heating for a 3 bed cottage, a couple of hours in the morning and all evening at a sensible temperature plus all hot water I got 11-18 days IN THE WINTER depending on the temperature outside per 47kg bottle.

Just a rough guide.

It is on a 4 cylinder auto change over valve, how do we know when 2 of the bottles are empty? stupid question sorry

squelch41

roughly how much is a 47kg bottle of gas?

Bob_the_Saver

squelch41 wrote: »

roughly how much is a 47kg bottle of gas?

£50-60......ish

mc33033

LisaB85 wrote: »

My parents have just been given gas central heating by the housing association, it is used to heat the home and for hot water (shower is electric)

They supplied 4 x 47kg gas bottles......it is using 2 then when those 2 are empty it will swap to the other 2 bottles.

I have put the heating to come on at 15c between 6am - 8am then 5pm-9pm, 3 bed house with 4 adults.

I have advised my mother to be aware that it is not affordable to switch the heating on if it gets a bit chilly and use jumpers etc but they aren't the type to listen.

How long does a 47kg gas bottle last?

As it is using pairs then I would expect in the depths of winter they will go through a pair a month for a few months when it gets proper cold or if they turn up the thermostat(which they probably will do)/have lots of baths - in the summer they will probably get 3-4 months out of a pair.

They will know they have run out as the selector switch will have moved from the initial position (check it now) to point to the secondary pair. Wish I could get 47Kg gas bottles for £50! That's not bad.

mysterons

The selector switch will not move as has been suggested. That is only there so the delivery man can isolate the side he is going to disconnect to swap the empty bottles for full ones. End users shouldn't touch this (unless they're fetching their own bottles and are capable of changing the cylinders safely themselves)
There will be a small glass window in the middle of the changeover which is normally clear. When cylinders on one side become empty then a red 'flag' pops up behind the glass to warn you that the side the selector switch is pointing to has run out.
This should be seen only as a warning that you need to order new cylinders for that side. You do not need to move the switch as the changeover has already happened automatically internally. Remember it's called an automatic changeover for a reason