Galp - Gas Tank

[shanagarry]

Can anybody give me the contact details for GALP (the domestic gas tank providers and installers) please?

I have been waiting 4 months for BP to come and install our tank and when checking progress this afternoon was told that the person at BP handling my case had been fired and as of now there is nobody dealing with my requirement. I saw a GALP advert in the paper recently but did not think to keep it - didn't think I'd need it!

Any contact details will be much appreciated

[Polli62]

Will this link be of any use to you
http://www.galpenergia.com/EN/products- ... s/lpg.aspx

[shanagarry]

Thanks P - but I can't find anything that suggests they have a Gas Tank solution. I have seen one recently in a property but can't for the life of me remember where - I'll keep looking. I'm grateful for your efforts

[widge]

Shanagarry, please can you share your thoughts on the economic argument for investing in a tank?

Bottled gas is now costing €90 for a large bottle how quickly do you anticipate recovering the cost of the tank?

[carolyn]

Dont know if this is any help, but there is a Galp shop in Lagoa, on the same road as the market. Rather bizarrely it's actually in a lighting shop - there is a Galp sign outside. We had some 'inherited' empty gas cylinders without any paperwork when we bought our villa, and the lady in the shop was able to arrange for them to be taken away.

[shanagarry]

Widge

Firstly - we live here and a standard bottle of gas lasts 2-3 weeks - in the summer - when we are on our own. When we had the family here - a bottle lasted about 8 days.

Our pool is heated by gas and a trial I ran shortly after getting here, we used one bottle in just over 2 days to heat the pool and even then it wasn't very warm then. So that luxury is no longer available - for the time being at least.

The equivalent cost for bottle of gas through the bulk buy is €31 and the tank costs €2,500 - so 44 bottles or 4 years to get my money back. Given that we have not had a winter here yet and we have radiators throughout as well as a log burner - I am not sure what our gas consumption is going to be from October/November onwards.

Of course that all assumes I get a tank in the first place

[shanagarry]

Carolyn

Thank you - I know the one you mean. They are a distributor only - I asked in there when I bought a new regulator for our BBQ tank recently.

[widge]

Shanagarry,

Many thanks for the calculation.

We spend about a €1000,00 a year on bottled gas even though we only live in the villa for about 8 weeks a year and rent it for about 20. The pool heating is electric & we use solar during the summer for domestic hot water.

I'm hoping that we can connect to the new mains sewer shortly and that we can then remove the cesspit and put a gas tank in it's place. Sounds like a 4 year payback for us too!

[shanagarry]

Widge

The greater detail is in the commitment to buy a minimum of 2,000 litres/1 tonne of Gas per annum. My neighbour has just filled up and paid €1,400 - or €1.42 per litre. If you don't consume that quantity there is a further charge levied to cover the cost of the tank. The price of €2,500 is a subsidised price (it should be €6,000) and is a bit like the mobile phone arrangement - they get it back through usage and if you don't use it they charge more.

I don't know how much one of the large bottles hold but my previous calculation was based on what BP told me. I would have preferred electric heating for our pool (we had it at our previous property) but what we have was here when we bought the place.

[steve]

Friends of mine use about €1200 worth of gas from their tank to heat their house over the winter and for the hob and cooker. The central heating system is supplemented by a fogo montanha in the lounge and so is not on all the time.Their water heating is solar/electric and their pool heating is electric. Since with a heat pump you get more energy out in terms of heat than you put in terms of electricity I do not see how a gas system for pool heating could really be competitive unless when it is really cold and the heat pumps are less efficient or unless of course the price of gas fell dramatically. It would be interesting to hear of other people's experiences with gas.

[shanagarry]

I do not see how a gas system for pool heating could really be competitive

You are pushing on an open door - I cannot for the life of me understand why this method of pool heating was installed - but it was. What's more - it is an infinity pool and as yet I cannot see how I can cost-effectively heat it - only to watch the water cascading over the ends and cooling down to be heated all over again? Getting a cover for it is an even bigger challenge.

Converting to more apparently efficient energy methods are not options open to us at this time - but will be at some point in the medium term

[loonytoon]

Widge

Firstly - we live here and a standard bottle of gas lasts 2-3 weeks - in the summer - when we are on our own. When we had the family here - a bottle lasted about 8 days.

Our pool is heated by gas and a trial I ran shortly after getting here, we used one bottle in just over 2 days to heat the pool and even then it wasn't very warm then. So that luxury is no longer available - for the time being at least.

The equivalent cost for bottle of gas through the bulk buy is €31 and the tank costs €2,500 - so 44 bottles or 4 years to get my money back. Given that we have not had a winter here yet and we have radiators throughout as well as a log burner - I am not sure what our gas consumption is going to be from October/November onwards.

Of course that all assumes I get a tank in the first place

so at 2000L per year at today's prices of E1.42 plus the tank it will be E13860.00 over 4 years (maths never was my strong point but i think this is right on your figures). you then have ongoing gas bills of E2840.00 per annum presuming no increase in prices (a forlorn hope if ever i've seen one!) and no inclusion of any installation work for the tank (or is that included?). WOW - that is one heck of an expense for you. have you talked to Simon at Raiz Verde (http://www.raizverde.pt/english.html) to see if he can do anything for you with heat exchangers? i notice you said you would look at more efficient methods in the medium term but it may well pay to have a look now before you start spending money (or installing tanks).

jeff

[widge]

Widge

Firstly - we live here and a standard bottle of gas lasts 2-3 weeks - in the summer - when we are on our own. When we had the family here - a bottle lasted about 8 days.

Our pool is heated by gas and a trial I ran shortly after getting here, we used one bottle in just over 2 days to heat the pool and even then it wasn't very warm then. So that luxury is no longer available - for the time being at least.

The equivalent cost for bottle of gas through the bulk buy is €31 and the tank costs €2,500 - so 44 bottles or 4 years to get my money back. Given that we have not had a winter here yet and we have radiators throughout as well as a log burner - I am not sure what our gas consumption is going to be from October/November onwards.

Of course that all assumes I get a tank in the first place

so at 2000L per year at today's prices of E1.42 plus the tank it will be E13860.00 over 4 years (maths never was my strong point but i think this is right on your figures). you then have ongoing gas bills of E2840.00 per annum presuming no increase in prices (a forlorn hope if ever i've seen one!) and no inclusion of any installation work for the tank (or is that included?). WOW - that is one heck of an expense for you. have you talked to Simon at Raiz Verde (http://www.raizverde.pt/english.html) to see if he can do anything for you with heat exchangers? i notice you said you would look at more efficient methods in the medium term but it may well pay to have a look now before you start spending money (or installing tanks).

jeff

As you say " maths never was my strong point" but thanks for the link !

[shanagarry]

I'm confused:

The tank is installed at a cost of €2,500 (compares favourably with heat exchangers and diesel systems) + the cost to fill it at €1,400 (which is almost identical to the cost we endured in the UK). I have no idea how long the €1,400 will last but friends with the same facility have made theirs last just over a year and also have a log-burner.

Apart from the capital outlay for the 'hardware' - I don't see how this can be deemed to be expensive when compared to other methods of heating. The pool heating is a separate issue and that would, I suspect, consume the €1,400 on its own over a short period of time.

My maths suggest that €1,400 per annum for bulk gas equates to 15.5 bottles (to heat the house and the water) is not a balanced comparison. I would imagine that 25 bottles per annum is likely to be the number we would consume - while costing €2,250 is less expensive than the combined cost of the tank and one fill - but over time would pay back handsomely - especially at +/- €1.40 a litre.

It would be interesting to hear from anybody who is a permanent resident and has a bulk supply arrangement via a tank. I am still no further forward with my enquiries so am still using bottles - which for now is not a problem.

[biffa]

I have a bulk tank but it is REPSOL. BP are a joke. Be careful of ALL gas contracts as if you do not use a certain volume, and an unlet holiday home will not, they will rescind the contract, tell you to buy the tank and put you on another deal, or charge you to take it out!!