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Gas locker & drop-out vent calculator

LPG is heavier than air, so a leak pools in the bottom of the locker. That is why the locker is sealed from the living space and has a vent in its floor that can never be blocked — and why inspectors measure it.

Optional — leave blank to just get the requirement.

Minimum internal locker

370 × 370 × 730 mm

Required drop-out vent

10 000 mm²

…or a round vent of

Ø 113 mm

Full bottles add

26 kg

The 100 cm² minimum governs at this locker size.

The locker must be sealed from the living space, open only to the outside, and contain no electrical fittings. Bottles are strapped top and bottom; a 30 mbar regulator is replaced 10 years after its stamped date.

Planning figures, not certification. Standards are summarised for builders; your inspector, your van's plate and your own measurements always win.

How this is calculated

  1. The box is sized from the bottles: 30 mm clearance around each for straps and hands, plus 150 mm of headroom above for the regulator and pigtail.
  2. The drop-out vent is the greater of 100 cm² and 2 % of the locker floor area. On normal one- or two-bottle lockers the 100 cm² minimum is what governs.
  3. Full bottle weights are included so you can carry them into your payload budget — two 11 kg propane bottles are 52 kg of it.

Sources

  • EN 1949 — LPG installations in leisure accommodation vehicles
  • DVGW G 607 — German gas system inspection (every 2 years)
  • Qualigaz inspection practice (France)

Keep reading

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Who makes this

I'm Vladimir. I'm planning my own conversion, and none of the tools I tried could tell me whether a layout would fit or what it would do to the rear axle, so I made this one. I work on it alone. If something's wrong or missing, write to me — the address goes to my inbox.

Vladimir Šterjoski

support@vanplot.comWhy I made it