A subsequent update from Dez Hosted, 1 March 2019

Just to complete the story…  I went back to DISA this morning to get our 3rd bottle filled.  But they refused, claiming that it had the ‘wrong valve’ even though it was exactly the same as the two bottles that they filled yesterday.  The crew from another boat has also had some pretty random experiences with them this week.  It seems your mileage depends very much on who you see when you get there.  Yesterday’s chap was super pleasant (although dead slow) and spoke really good English.  Today’s didn’t seem in any way interested without a word of English.

The below comment re 6kg colour is absolutely correct (or was at 30/8/16). We paid Euro 20.33 for 2 x 6kg refills. (They did look at the test disc round the top of the cylinder.) NB, they only accept cash!

CURRENT SITUATION RE. LPG/GAS IN THE CANARIES – May 2016

In Gran Canaria, propane bottles can be re-filled with propane.

On the remainder of the islands only butane is available – therefore any propane bottles will be re-filled with butane.

The following range of bottles can be filled in the Canaries.

Bringing a kit of adaptors with you will unfortunately not help; bottles in the Canaries have to be filled directly from the plant’s authorized taps.

• All Spanish bottles;
• Calor Gas bottles with a blue butane or orange propane fitting;
• A number of US and Scandinavian bottles with a left-hand feminine fitting;
• French Jumbo bottles;
• Any other bottle that coincides with the Spanish fittings.

Bottles that cannot be filled: 

• Some Calor propane bottles that have an escape valve that is slightly raised. This creates a problem since the filling head cannot fit over it.
• Some black, plastic American bottles, with a central slightly interior valve.

The filling is done in Lanzarote at the Arrecife DISA plant (ask in marinas for the availability of delivery service) from 9 am – 3 pm weekdays and in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the DISA Salinetas plant from 9 am – 11 am weekdays. Maximum 3 bottles per person.

Where a safety date stamp shows, this cannot have expired or it won’t be filled.

Camping Gaz canisters can be exchanged at the local fuel station.

LATEST SITUATION NOVEMBER 2014

The DISA plants in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura can fill most European propane bottles, but not the 3.9kg model – propane or butane – (because their machine won’t fit over the pressure release valve).

The DISA plant in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, however, can refill 3.9 kg gas containers (propane or butane). The DISA plant is only open Monday-Friday 0930-1130 and there is a maximum of 3 containers per person. Best to get there early.

ORIGINAL REPORT

Update November 2013

From the ARC office, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Gas adaptors have not been fitted to enable propane bottles to be fitted in Las Palmas. DISA Gran Canaria denies that it’s been done in Lanzarote, although it obviously has. At the moment our advice continues to be that yachts should refill all propane tanks before arriving in Gran Canaria.

Butane is available as normal.

18 September 2013

This is just to remind cruisers that it is not possible to fill New Zealand or Australian propane cylinders in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. This might apply to US cylinders also as I believe they have the same fittings. The cylinders even with an adapter are it seems not approved for refilling at the gas depot. It is possible to fill German cylinders.

The depot at Calle Labrador, Las Palmas, does open between 10 am and 12 am Monday to Friday and it does sell both propane and butane. If you have a European cylinder that needs refilling the only way to find out is to take it to the depot and wait for their decision. There is no bus that goes close to the depot so it’s either a long walk from the nearest bus stop or a 25-minute taxi ride from the marina in Las Palmas.

It seems that the only option for yachts carrying non-approved propane cylinders is to purchase Spanish containers or switch to Camping Gaz butane. Both are available in Las Palmas.

(Editor’s Note: The gas company only have fittings for approved bottles. They will sell newly approved gas bottles however at a huge discount).

Gas before leaving for the Canary Islands

For yachts visiting either Estepona or La Linea, Spain,  Dirk in Estepona (January 2013) will fill all types of propane gas bottles from around the world and can be reached at either: 616-96-94-96 or 644-135-071

Alison Williams

SV Saraoni

Canary Islands – Refilling Gas Bottles – Butane now no problem

Progress with the Gas Bottle Situation – Update 23 May 2012 from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote

Yachts arriving in the Canaries are now able to fill most butane canisters thanks to new adaptors being fitted throughout the islands.

Obliged in recent years to reassess safety measures in their gas plants, DISA imposed filling restrictions meaning that a variety of adaptors previously available to fill gas bottles were removed as they posed an increased risk to operators. With over a thousand yachts passing through the Canaries each year, a number of visitors were faced with serious concerns when they suddenly found that empty gas bottles could not be filled prior to what might amount to a three-week Atlantic crossing.

With the help of obliging yachtsmen and advice from gas specialist Will Hayward and Atlantic Islands editor Anne Hammick, Puerto Calero were able to identify some of the most predominantly used fittings and DISA consequently started to install the necessary adaptors for each island’s plant.

Since December of last year, DISA plants in both Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are now able to fill bottles such as the blue Calor gas 21.8mm male screw fitting, “Jumbo” fittings, and the left-hand female fittings such as those found commonly on many propane bottles e.g. the orange Calor gas canisters and some Scandinavian and US bottles.

It should be noted that currently the plants are only set up to fill bottles with butane – propane is not yet available for these specifications. All islands are expected to be able to offer this new service by the end of the year.

Puerto Calero Marina invites feedback from sailors passing through the Canaries with a view to learning more about services required in the islands by yachtsmen and women: reservas@puertocalero.com.

Further Update 10 October 2011 – from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote

We are still on target for the Calor propane, Jumbo connection and American/Scandinavian fittings to be fillable by mid-November in all Canary Islands.

Currently, in Lanzarote & Fuerteventura the blue Calor butane bottles can now be filled, but this service will not be available in Tenerife this year. For Gran Canaria, El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera, we are still standing by for confirmation of whether Calor butane bottles can be filled.

Update 24 August 2011

World Cruising Club is working in conjunction with Puerto Calero and DISA, with support from Calor Gas in the UK to ensure a satisfactory solution is reached. DISA has confirmed they are currently awaiting the arrival of new propane adaptors, which will be installed as soon as possible. It is still unconfirmed whether the system will be operative in time for the arrival of the ARC in Las Palmas, but ARC Skippers will be kept updated on progress by World Cruising.

Refilling your Gas Bottles in the Canary Islands

From SY Serendipity at Sea

Basically, it can’t be done … not unless you have one of DISA’s (the Spanish distributor) own gas bottles. So before you get to the Canary Islands you need to have enough gas to get you to the Caribbean.

Alternatively, you will have to buy a proprietary Spanish gas bottle to tide you over – and the appropriate fittings and perhaps regulator. These bottles are bulky (we purchased a 5.1 Kg DISA bottle which comes with a protective plastic outer skin which is 10% bigger and 10% taller overall than a UK 6.9Kg Calor Gas bottle) and are unlikely to easily fit many gas lockers.

There is a solution coming – promised by October 2011 for Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife – but it has been two years in the coming.

Melanie Symes at Puerto Calero (see below) was very helpful to us in finding a solution and I recommend visiting yachts needing to refill in the Canaries stop by and ask her for an update on the current situation. (It’s quite a nice marina – with helpful staff – too!)

By way of background, the following text is copied from the Corrections to Ann Hammick’s Atlantic Islands Pilot published by Imray:

“In late 2009, it was reported that 4.5kg Calor Gas and other cylinders could no longer be filled at DISA plants throughout the Canaries – effectively the only company offering this service – although Camping Gaz bottles could still be exchanged. I would particularly like to thank Mel Symes of Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, for investigating the problem, which had already affected yachts passing through her marina.

It seems that on 1 August 2009 DISA introduced major restrictions on refilling bottles, for safety reasons. The unwieldy local 13kg bottles were phased out and replaced by lightweight 6kg Nu-B butane canisters, which are readily available throughout the islands.

Any yacht contemplating a long stay in the Canaries might consider adapting to these bottles, which can be obtained from fuel stations for a 35 euro deposit and returned at any other island. Regulators can be bought from local hardware stores for about 8 euros. This is clearly of no help to yachts in transit, though a few (who carried their own adapters) reported getting Calor Gas bottles filled on Gran Canaria and possibly other islands.

On following up the problem a year later, a spokesman for DISA said that by October 2010 the company planned to have sets of adapters able to fit most major brands of foreign bottles – including Calor Gas – available at their plants in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Similar kits would be supplied to the other islands in due course.”

Further information about LPG Gas Cylinders can be found here