I appear to have left my LPG filler cap sitting on the rear bumper on Friday when i've filled it up and driven off.
I ordered packet of two off ebay for a fiver and they turned up today, but they're shite. The spring inside is far too strong requireing heman effort to install the cap, and then once latched it sits all cockeyed over to one side.
Anyone recommend where i can get a cap that actually fits and works properly?
S'funny, I've got a pair of those too, one on the car and one spare, crap aren't they. I pulled the spring out and chopped a bit off the end which helped but it still sits lopsided unless I give it a really good shove on. Tinley Tech is your best bet for decent quality ones.
I had one too! I got so pissed off it went straight in the bin.
Tinley ones are good, LPG Shop as well
You will find they eventually eject themselves off the car. I'm sure that's why the come in pairs. Exactly same problem spring is too strong and bends the retaining lugs. I've gone off that type of filler housing and use the square ones for that reason now, though not an option if it's on bodywork
At one time there was only one brand of 70mm round housing available in the UK, Then some lesser known suppliers started selling cheaper versions and then mainstream suppliers started offering the other types besides the original type to compete. The other types are not as strong or well made as the original type, especially if fitted on a slightly curved body panel it can be a problem to remove/refit the cap. Also the caps between brands are not interchangeable... I've never bought spare caps because it doesn't seem the original type of cap (just the cap) is available separately to the full 70mm housing that the cap comes with. Moral is probably that if you need a cap buy a full 70mm housing (original type) from a supplier in the know such as TinleyTech, tell them that you need the 'original brand best quality' type, just use it's cap and dump the 70mm housing bit... That is, of course, if you have the original brand high quality 70mm housing, but you should have that type if your install is more than about 6 years old. Some of the cheap types are so poor that even if fitted on a flat body panel the cap may have to be filed to make removal/refitting easily possible. Not worth my time messing like that so when ordering 70mm housings I always stipulate the original brand and if I need a spare cap I buy the full housing. Don't know any of the brand names but TT will know what you mean. ;-)
well i've gone full retard...
fitted the shite one, drove to asda yesterday to fill up the LPG, and drove off without refitting that one either. What a fucking muppet!
I will order a good Autogas branded one from one of the stores, and i guess see about fitting a tether or something!
The chat about the square fillers is interesting. My current ones in the bumper, and the bumpers fecked and needs replaced, so theres a possibility to swap it out. I was considering some sort of bracket on the tow hitch where i could fit the filler? I guess i need to investigate swapping it out for a different one when i do the bumper.
Both my remaining two have a round filler in the space where the second trailer socket would be if they had twin electrics. I've bought caps from eBay in the past and got decent ones, it just depends on which ones you get. Unfortunately price doesn't show good ones from crap.
Aragorn wrote:
well i've gone full retard...
fitted the shite one, drove to asda yesterday to fill up the LPG, and drove off without refitting that one either. What a fucking muppet!
I will order a good Autogas branded one from one of the stores, and i guess see about fitting a tether or something!
The chat about the square fillers is interesting. My current ones in the bumper, and the bumpers fecked and needs replaced, so theres a possibility to swap it out. I was considering some sort of bracket on the tow hitch where i could fit the filler? I guess i need to investigate swapping it out for a different one when i do the bumper.
The typical way to anchor them onto the towbar (which is the case with the ones I've got, though none of them are a p38) is to use one of the kits like this https://tinleytech.co.uk/shop/lpg-parts/uk-bayonet-filler-90-complete-square-cover/ , and drill two holes for the towbar retaining bolts to go though into the plate. If the Towbar is like the one fitted to the Disco 2 (Which I don't know if it is or isn't the case) then it needs a longer plate than the one supplied in that sort of kit (mine was made out of a spare bit of metal using the plate as a template, but its easy enough to make one without the plate anyway, if your current one will undo from whereever its in place then you would just need the two bits of the plastic cap).
Having lost the cap off mine I tend to put it in my pocket when filling now, as leaving it on top of the bumper is a surefire way to forget it. A tether would be better still, but one of those things I keep meaning to do, but never get round to it.
Other advantage of putting it in the middle is you can fill from either side which is handy, though can be a pain if the hose is particularly short.
Avoid the All ride caps (blue and black packet) those are the first ones I brought to replace the already missing one on the first LPG car I had and are utterly useless.
OK unless you have the factory fit towbar like this
The ones I've got are All Ride although I'm pretty sure a couple I bought previously were in the same packaging and they fitted fine.
I lose the damn things all the time. Well I say "lose"... there's probably a good chance than any LPG cover you buy off ebay is one of mine because I have the memory of a goldfish and by the time the LPG pump has counted all the way up to 73 I've probably forgotten my own name and address let alone the fact that I put a fiver on the roof in the form of a round piece of plastic....
Anyone had one nicked? You can buy locking versions hehe!
They don't last long enough to get them nicked, we all sit them on the back bumper while filling and forget to put them back on.
Lpgc wrote:
Anyone had one nicked? You can buy locking versions hehe!
You then add possible problems of losing the key or the lock jamming! though the locking one I tried lasted the longest. Best one I had came with one of the spare necam systems i brought, that lasted ages till I left it onto of the pump.
Around a fifth of people who ask me about replacement caps reckon they had theirs nicked... hmm have to wonder lol.
Still they don't go for the locking version, more expensive, too much faff, the chance of lost key or seized lock. Don't blame them.
Though more than one person hoped the lock version would both prevent the cap being nicked and prevent LPG being nicked by syphoning...
My towbar does have twin electrics already. Theres a stainless plate between the towbar and swan neck part which has the two towing sockets. I guess i replace that plate with one that has a space for the LPG filler. I suppose i'll get the cardboard out and template something up!
And yes, the shit caps were branded All Ride.
Its funny what people think might get stolen... I leased an electric car for the last two years (its recently gone back) and you would often see new owners on the forum worrying about other people stealing electricity from their home charging point... Yep, beacuse someones going to park on your drive and steal electricity at 30p an hour. And infact even if they DID do that, its likely the parking-on-your-drive part is actually much more of an issue than the theft of the electricity, given that parking spaces in some areas can cost many pounds an hour....
I dont know why people jump to these negative thoughts. Surely "it just fell off" is more likely than "someone else with an LPG car with a missing cap came along, happened to notice my car also has LPG, and nicked the cap"
Potential inconvenience with the filler fitted so close to the towball if you do a lot of towing though?
Can be a good idea to fit the bayonet so bayonet lugs are top and bottom (at 90 degrees to normal) if the filler is fitted at the back - the fill pipe from the gun then points sideways toward the pump which gives a bit more slack on the pipe and prevents the retractable type pulling sideways on the filler. Not supposed to fit them at 90 degrees but can make sense to.
Lpgc wrote:
Potential inconvenience with the filler fitted so close to the towball if you do a lot of towing though?
Bearing in mind that I probably fill up just as often with a trailer on as not, nope, never had a problem with any filler, Dvissier, Gasguard, various continental Italian cup fillers (there's 2 or 3 different ones) and Acme. As long as the trailer is straight or off to the right, access is simple.
Lpgc wrote:
Potential inconvenience with the filler fitted so close to the towball if you do a lot of towing though?
Can be a good idea to fit the bayonet so bayonet lugs are top and bottom (at 90 degrees to normal) if the filler is fitted at the back - the fill pipe from the gun then points sideways toward the pump which gives a bit more slack on the pipe and prevents the retractable type pulling sideways on the filler. Not supposed to fit them at 90 degrees but can make sense to.
Definitely right there - It only matters when the hose is short, but it does help to stop it undoing itself when you need it.
Gilbertd wrote:
Lpgc wrote:
Potential inconvenience with the filler fitted so close to the towball if you do a lot of towing though?
Bearing in mind that I probably fill up just as often with a trailer on as not, nope, never had a problem with any filler, Dvissier, Gasguard, various continental Italian cup fillers (there's 2 or 3 different ones) and Acme. As long as the trailer is straight or off to the right, access is simple.
It does make a difference with Bike Racks though. When I've got a tow ball mounted bike rack on, I'm glad of having the gas connection off centre. The rack (and bikes) make more of a barrier than a typical trailer hitch.
Gilbertd wrote:
Lpgc wrote:
Potential inconvenience with the filler fitted so close to the towball if you do a lot of towing though?
Bearing in mind that I probably fill up just as often with a trailer on as not, nope, never had a problem with any filler, Dvissier, Gasguard, various continental Italian cup fillers (there's 2 or 3 different ones) and Acme. As long as the trailer is straight or off to the right, access is simple.
Well you've certainly got more experience of filling P38's with a trailer on than me!
Dunno if you agree with the 90degree point either.. But if the filler is fitted at 90deg (and fitted where yours is) it looks like the trailer could be in the way for filling from a pump on the driver side?