Gas
Gas
More details on the gas system I designed for the camper van. We opted to go for LPG in a locker. This will cover the cooking appliances and heater installed.
SAFETY
Make sure you do your research and if in any doubt ask a professional. Gas will be outside the range of many basic DIY enthusiasts and it can KILL - Be Safe and follow advice.
In the UK the main LEGAL requirement is that you must conform to is:
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 with amendments every year. The section that relates to LPG on vehicles is Section 40. This covers requirements and materials for LPG container, joints, valves and pipework. It has a lot of detail on positioning and installation. This is freely available from the UK GOV site. This doesn't cover the same amount of detail as the EN 1949 standard.
The main standards (still aligned between BS & EN at this moment after Brexit)
BS EN 1646:2018 - Leisure accommodation vehicles. Motor caravans. Habitation requirements relating to health and safety.
BS EN 1949:2011+A1:2013 - Specification for the installation of LPG systems for habitation purposes in leisure accommodation vehicles and accommodation purposes in other vehicles
These standards are mainly aimed at businesses manufacturing motor homes and caravans to provide industry best practise, so technically as a self builder you don't need to follow them. However, there has been a lot of thought and experience gone into generating these standards by people with a lot more knowledgeable than you or I so, it makes sense to follow them. If you intend to rent your camper out at some point in the future then I would advise that you follow as many standards as you can. You will need to get the camper certified and doing it right first time is always the cheapest way.
Greg Virgoe has produced a fantastic video as part of his brilliant camper van series that covers EN 1949 so it is well worth a watch as currently it would cost you £218! So, buy a bit off Greg's site as he has just saved you over £200.
Personal safety seems obvious but I’ve seen enough in my working life and on YouTube to realise many people either don’t understand or choose to ignore basic safety.
LPG System
LPG is cheaper to refill than bottled gas and it can be filled without having to connect and disconnect anything inside the van. As a panel van conversion building a gas locker that is on the side of the vehicle is more complicated too. So, for ease a fixed bottle inside a sealed locker will provide a suitable solution.
I know the LPG systems does have an initial outlay over bottled gas but the simplification of just driving up to a gas pump and adding 20 litres of gas for about £14 was enough to convince us.
We are running a twin gas burner, gas oven and 2kW gas heater off the LPG. Another reason for the LPG was the heater. If we had chosen to use bottled, I would have fitted an Eberspacher diesel heater off the vehicle tank (not a Chinese copy, just watch some of the videos on the temperatures generated by them, it put me off. I also used to work for a German diesel heater company so I'm biased).
