Good afternoon everybody.
Our intention eventually is to have 2 log burners installed, but in lieu of this, and getting an enormous electricity bill this year, i have been looking at the new Calor gas heaters. My question is hopefully a simple one, are the UK and French connections the same, or would i be better off buying in France, the heater that is?
Hello Sharon and welcome to the Forum.
Gas safety is very important and buying equipment in France to use in France makes best sense to me.
I have no idea if things are interchangeable between the countries - but anything sold here in France will be covered by whatever France wants/insists on.
Don’t give the Insurance companies any ammunition to use against you should any incident arise in the future.
Just my advice… others will chime in… but the decision will be yours… 
cheers
Thank you Stella,
Very good point re the insurance, and one i hadn’t considered. 
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There is an abundance of offers on gaz heaters in France in the larger supermarkets (like Leclerc etc).
this link you might find helpful.
Personally, I tend to avoid the petrole heaters but that’s just my choice but we have used bottled gaz heaters for some time just to take the edge of a cold morning/evening without lighting the log fire.
I’d go for the new style light weight bottles with the “snap-on” détendeurs - saves all the faffing about when you need to change a bottle over.
I’m not sure the English variety have the same fittings as the NF French (Normes Françaises) - the French Mark of compliance.
Essential also to make sure you get the correct pipe (tuyau) which you will find is time limited (the date of expiry is printed on the pipe). The pre-formed ones are best but more expensive but at least have the correct ends already fitted as opposed to using circlips or push-fits, which are less secure.
The replacement bottles are readily available in your local shop or garage. You pay a one-off fee for the “hire” of the bottle and exchange it for a full one when empty (so many people tend to get two - one in stock as it were).
This link shows the options for the Butagaz bottles.
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Thank you Graham, I haven’t managed to get to an Leclerc as yet, but I hear good things about them. One other option I am considering is a Bio ethanol fire. Hmmm decisions decisions…
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There is a difference, the regulator (bottle end connection) is male or female and the UK is opposite to French versions. If the heater price is much better in the UK, then buy the correct regulator (butane, propane, mixed) in France and fit that after lopping off the UK one. That’s if you feel confident doing this kind of job.
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Bio Ethanol Fires… anyone experience here in France… and where do we buy them… ???
Loads here, some quite contemporary
Fine… so they are sold in France…but surely they are static rather than the calor gas ones which can be moved about???
I think some of these are free standing/don’t need extraction (chimney) so are portable - ish
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This one is very stylish and 100% mobile but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages although I like the idea of no dust, soot or ash.
A fireplace with ethanol does not only have advantages. To avoid the possible inconvenience with this type of fireplace, it is advisable to buy it from certified professionals.
Inefficient
Unlike a conventional fireplace, the ethanol fireplace heats little or not at all. It is not intended to replace another heating mode.
Dear to use
The fuel of an ethanol chimney represents a substantial budget: it costs up to six times more expensive (on average two euros per liter) than the wood used for a conventional chimney. Knowing that it takes about 25 cl of ethanol per hour of use, the bill can quickly climb.
Not very green
Bioethanol fireplaces produce carbon dioxide like all types of wood burning. But the difference lies in the fact that this carbon dioxide, harmful to the environment, is released into the ambient air without being filtered unlike stoves or other inserts.
In addition, this agrofuel is not particularly ecological, because its transformation requires a lot of chemicals and energy, which gives it a bad energy balance. It would present risks in terms of public health and pollution as important as gasoline. In addition, the intensive farming it induces, especially in southern countries, has an impact on deforestation and the exclusion of food crops.
Risky use
If an ethanol chimney is placed in a small room or a poorly ventilated room, the combustion is bad and leads to the production of carbon monoxide, toxic to health, even fatal.
On our bbq I switched over the regulator then had success with a French gas cylinder (the pink Claire gas cylinders at Leclerc petrol station are cheap).
Whilst I was changing the regulator I also changed the hose to a new one - unknown to me that the hose should be replaced every couple of years - it was 12 years old!
Possibly the number of years depends on the appliance. It is essential to buy the correct hose for whatever appliance. The one for our little gas cooker needs renewing every 5 years or 10 years (I forget) - the tube is clearly marked with the date.
This is a useful link…
https://conseil.manomano.fr/comment-raccorder-une-cuisiniere-ou-autre-appareil-a-gaz-458
The answer is, No. They ain’t.
Camper van fora are stiff with pages of how to adapt UK Calor cylinders and gas appliances to FR/SP/DE et al bottle gas systems. I have to equip with suitable adapters myself.
Best go with local hardware.
Do not buy the dated connecting tubes, spend the extra and buy a “sans date” version. You will never need to change it, unless you are really stupid and attack it with a hacksaw or similar.
While I understand what you are advocating… having a date on the pipe and ensuring it is changed before expiry makes any claim (heaven forbid) much more straight forward.
Giving the Insurers nothing to latch on to - is the best way in my opinion…
but each to their own…
I do not understand your reticence in using an insurance approved “sans date” tube. But if you want to purchase a “dated pipe”, which are good for 10 years from manufacture, so be it. I have no idea how old you are, but I am sure that you will remember to change the tube that is hidden behind your cooker or hob in ten years time!
The tube is easily accessible. It is attached to the gas bottle, which empties every 6-8 months. Thus the tube is seen quite regularly.
When one is used to ensuring that things are kept to a routine - like having the chimneys swept and the boiler serviced - this is just another of those essentials. 
It would be useful if the pipe you mention was actually printed with the assertion that it was guaranteed for life (whose life?) and that it was accepted as being such by all Insurance companies.
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