Get your bottled gas orders in early...

[JamezF]

We have a gas hob in our kitchen that's fed from a pair of 47kg propane bottles, one of which has run out. I ordered a replacement on 21st March and was told it would be delivered on the 31st which was a little later than I expected, but no big deal. The 31st came and went with no delivery, so I phoned Calor Gas to find out what was going on and was told that they had no stock, so our delivery had been put back to 8th April. Well, the 8th April has come and gone with no delivery and this afternoon they weren't even answering their phone.

I've also heard rumours that someone who has a large propane tank in their garden to provide gas for cooking/heating has been unable to get it refilled recently.

So, if you use bottled gas in volumes that don't easily fit in the boot of a car (perhaps they're also hard to get hold of, I don't know), it looks like it may be sensible to keep on top of orders for replacements and allow a fair bit longer for delivery than is usually the case.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've already heard from local farmers and others that they can't get prices for red diesel or heating oil ("We can deliver, but you'll just have to pay the price on the day") so it's perhaps logical that problems would eventually follow with gas deliveries. Just as well we're getting into Spring. Perhaps I'll go and turn the thermostat down another couple of degrees.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think the shortage of gas receivers (milk comes in bottles - soldiers in tanks, although sometimes farmers as well) has been looming its head for a while, there's been a roaring trade and demand on various facebook market places for them for ages.

 

[JamezF]

As luck would have it, the gas arrived unannounced today. We even managed to get a spare 47kg that my father-in-law tried to order yesterday transferred to us as well. There were only eight "bottles" on the truck altogether and the driver told us his first delivery had been in Barnstaple, with his last going to Lyme Regis. That seems like a crazy distance to go to deliver so little gas. It's hard not to think that something odd is going on.

An acquaintance who is familiar with the caravanning community tells me that owners are really struggling to get exchanges at the moment, and if you want a new one then you can just forget it.

James

 

[Antipodes]

As luck would have it, the gas arrived unannounced today. We even managed to get a spare 47kg that my father-in-law tried to order yesterday transferred to us as well. There were only eight "bottles" on the truck altogether and the driver told us his first delivery had been in Barnstaple, with his last going to Lyme Regis. That seems like a crazy distance to go to deliver so little gas. It's hard not to think that something odd is going on.

An acquaintance who is familiar with the caravanning community tells me that owners are really struggling to get exchanges at the moment, and if you want a new one then you can just forget it.

James

Might have just wanted to go to the pearl of the Dorset coast