How do I turn my LPG tank off?

[Morat]

This is probably a stupid questions but I'll soon be on my first trip on a Ferry since fitting LPG and:

(v) Lock your car and leave in gear with the handbrake on. All car alarms must be switched off and disabled when parked on the vehicle deck. Cars powered by LPG should have tanks switched off when on vehicle decks. Do not carry fuel cans on board - full or empty. Do not overfill your tank.

Is this taken care of by simply switching off the ignition or is there a manual valve that needs to be shut as well?

Cheers!
Morat

[rossko]

There should be a electric valve on the tank, which sounds to me like it'll meet their requirements.
Note 'should', very elderly installs may not have it.

There may or may not be a thumbwheel or lever manual stop in addition to any electric stop.

[Gilbertd]

What ferry company is that? I regularly use P&O, SeaFrance (or whatever they call themselves these days) and Norfolk Line (now DFDS) and I've never seen that. I've seen reference to shutting off the valves on gas cylinders on caravans but never any mention of switching off gas on a gas powered vehicle. I know LPG vehicles aren't allowed on the Tunnel but as it's grossly overpriced I've never wanted to use it.

[mat_fenwick]

I know LPG vehicles aren't allowed on the Tunnel but as it's grossly overpriced I've never wanted to use it.

Digressing a bit but I used it for the first time in September, and paid £24 each way for unsociable hours crossings. Was pleasantly surprise at the crossing, very quick and trouble free.

I go over a few times a year and neither the fixed tank on the van, or the LPG tanks on the Discovery have ever been checked to make sure they're isolated. But as Rossko says, the electrical shut off would be justifiable if anyone asks.

[Gilbertd]

I've never turned the alarm off either but as the only way to do that is not lock the car, it'll stay on! I've used the Tunnel a couple of times in the past when it was profitable to do the odd day trip booze cruise but not recently. It's reasonably cheap for a day trip but usually around twice the price of the ferries if you are going over for 4 or 5 days as I tend to do. I prefer the ferry as I find it is actually quicker in the long run. When I've got 800 miles to do the other side of the Channel, I need to eat at some point. Getting out of the car, having a wander around the boat, a meal and half an hours shut-eye (as long as I'm not sharing the ferry with coachloads of screaming teenagers going on their school trip to wherever) sets me up for the journey and means I don't have to stop to eat until much later into the journey. Much more leisurely than spending 45 minutes sitting in the car.

A few years ago a friend tried to use the tunnel in an LPG Grand Cherokee and was turned away when he went to check in. Apparently, as well as the cameras that examine the underside of your car as you drive in, there are sniffers to detect the LPG in the exhaust fumes.

[sportston]

A few years ago a friend tried to use the tunnel in an LPG Grand Cherokee and was turned away when he went to check in. Apparently, as well as the cameras that examine the underside of your car as you drive in, there are sniffers to detect the LPG in the exhaust fumes.

Wow. Now that really is a bit anal! Do they inspect for petrol leaks and turn petrol motors away if they run too rich also? Because lets face it, LPG is basically made from petrol fumes.

[Gilbertd]

There is a specific ban on LPG fuelled vehicles on the Tunnel. When this policy was questioned some time ago the response was that LPG fuelled vehicles were not common at the time the Tunnel was opened. Consequently, while there is for petrol and diesel powered vehicles, there is no risk assessment and method statement for dealing with a fire involving an LPG fuelled vehicle. Hence, they aren't allowed at all. LPG fuelled vehicles are also banned from some Continental road tunnels for exactly the same reason. Blame it on H&S legislation.

[sportston]

Stoopid policy. You'd think they'd have updated it by now wouldn't you?

[Gilbertd]

Why? As a percentage of the total number of vehicles that use the Tunnel, turning away the odd LPG fuelled one is insignificant.

[sportston]

Yeah I suppose so. They won't be losing megabucks, but I wonder if they turn away cars running on bio-diesel, or ethanol too. If you add up the numbers of cars run on those fuels in addition to lpg the numbers would be a bit higher.
Having thought about it though. A majority of vehicles converted to lpg are big thirsty vehicles, Jaguars, Omegas other high mid range to executive vehicles. Just the type of person that is more likely to travel abroad and exactly the type of person that may not shie at the extra few quid it costs to use the tunnel.
They must be losing out on a reasonable amount of customers. Seems silly to alienate part of their target demographic really.

[rossko]

They were going to review this and other policies a couple years back, then had a train fire mid-tunnel which put the kybosh on all of that.

[sportston]

I wonder what caused the fire?

[Martec]

I've always shut the manual valve on the tank as it says in the bump when going onto the ferry.

Brian

[Gilbertd]

I'd be really popular if I tried that. To shut the manual valve off would require emptying the boot and taking the boot floor panel out. When I'm going on the ferry the boot will contain the spare wheel, toolbox, my bag and usually a large quantity of car spares and the obligatory large box of PG Tips I'm always asked to take down.

[sportston]

I'd be really popular if I tried that. To shut the manual valve off would require emptying the boot and taking the boot floor panel out. When I'm going on the ferry the boot will contain the spare wheel, toolbox, my bag and usually a large quantity of car spares and the obligatory large box of PG Tips I'm always asked to take down.

To avoid holding everyone up just turn it to petrol and close the cock before you enter the harbour area. Drive onto and off of the ferry using petrol. Once you'ce got off the ferry find a convenient spot and turn it all back on.

[Gilbertd]

If it was that simple I might consider it but it isn't. I've got a toroidal tank in the spare wheel well with the original carpet covered plywood boot floor over it. So not only would I have to empty the boot, lift the cover out, I'd then have to take the gastight centre cover off to get to the manual shut off. A P38 Range Rover has a very big boot, which when I am going on a ferry, is invariably full. By full I mean as much as can conceivably fitted in it and quite often with the back seats folded so the luggage area is the entire back of the car. The last time I went on the ferry I had a set of tyres for a Suzuki Vitara, a replacement gearbox for an Austin Healey 100/6, a clutch assembly for a Land Rover Discovery, assorted boxes of odds and sods that had arrived in the post the preceding week (as a lot of companies in the UK either won't send, or charge stupid money for carriage, to France) as well as my own spare wheel, toolbox, tow rope, etc. It had taken the best part of 3 hours to fit it all in so I could still see out the back window and keep an eye on the car that was on a trailer on the back! No way would I consider unloading that lot at the side of the road.

But, as Ross said at the beginning of this thread, the electrical shut off solenoid meets the requirements of the ferry companies anyway.

[sportston]

I can see how that would be a more than a bit inconvenient.