Butane won't stay lit?

[DangerousPirate]

I just got new gas from a supplier for my butane cooker, and I can clearly hear the butane coming out with no issue and can light it, no issue there, but it won't stay lit? It looks like it's blowing itself out or something but even on small flame it won't work. I can ignite it, watch it a few seconds dance around, sometimes it makes full circles, then it goes out and I can light it again right away. Gas is definitely coming out. I can smell it and I can hear it.

What is that? Too much pressure on the bottle or something? Very mysterious issue.

I just noticed, if you turn itdown too much the flame dies completely, which normally not an issue as the small flame is on the opposite site of the turn off position, and it's still ingnitable.


I suspect either bad gas (somehow) or too high pressure. Should I return it or will it solve itself?

 

[Hermit]

Water in the hob burners preventing the flame failure from warming up?

Does the grill/oven do the same (if you have them)

 

[DangerousPirate]

Water in the hob burners preventing the flame failure from warming up?

Does the grill/oven do the same (if you have them)

No water there, didn't have an issue with the (now) empty bottle before, which I used just an hour before still. And as I say: It dances around and there is no blockage, the gas comes out. It just looks like the gas coming out has so much pressure it just blows the flame out.

Not sure, never seen that before.I cannot test it with a grill, but it's the same for both stoves.

 

[DangerousPirate]

https://imgur.com/HtcILAY

Here a video.

 

[philwebb]

There could be a problem with your regulator, you have flame liftoff. Borrow a regulator and swap it for yours, should resolve the problem.

 

[philwebb]

The regulator that you have installed may not be able to cope with the gas pressure in your new bottle. You could check with the gas supplier what regulator they recommend.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Remove the cap and burner. They should just lift off. Give a really good clean, all the small holes and then reassemble. I had a similar issue and a clean sorted it out. Mine also looked clean but crud had built up.

 

[Whaup367]

Do you have another regulator you can try?

 

[DangerousPirate]

The regulator that you have installed may not be able to cope with the gas pressure in your new bottle. You could check with the gas supplier what regulator they recommend.

Asking very naively: Shouldn't the butane regulators all the same? I only swapped an old bottle for a new, same brand and size and type otherwise.

 

[Refueler]

No-one has asked what is the ambient and gas bottle temperature ............ Butane is not suited to winter use and is why Propane is blended to create a But - Prop mix .... in many countries such as where I am in Latvia - its Propane with only a touch of butane if any ...

Here's a generalised summary :

What's the difference between Butane and Propane? - Classic Motorhome Owner

Butane for Summer ... Propane for Winter.

 

[Whaup367]

No-one has asked what is the ambient and gas bottle temperature ............ Butane is not suited to winter use and is why Propane is blended to create a But - Prop mix .... in many countries such as where I am in Latvia - its Propane with only a touch of butane if any ...

Here's a generalised summary :

What's the difference between Butane and Propane? - Classic Motorhome Owner

Butane for Summer ... Propane for Winter.

That's because the video shows plenty of flow. If the video showed a weak flame, potentially due to lack of pressure resulting from low temperature, then contributors would be asking about that.

 

[pyrojames]

Mine does that occasionally if the cap on the burner has moved and is allowing excess air to be drawn into the butane. The flame goes a bit lean, and the the flame speed drops and the flame wont stabilise.

 

[Richard10002]

Could it be that the flame failure gizmo has "failed"?

 

[penfold]

Carp in the bottle; if it's possible to remove the regulator and vent the bottle directly to atmosphere over the side of the boat and downwind for 10 seconds or so to get rid of whatever is causing the problem. If a couple of vents don't clear it I'd take it back for a refill/swap.

 

[Deleted member 478]

Just a cautionary suggestion: I have a distant memory of someone in Haslar Marina having a similar challenge with boiling the kettle for a quick cuppa. Next thing we know, his pride and joy had burnt to the waterline and all he had to show for it was a pair of wide eyes and burnt eyebrows.
May I humbly suggest getting a qualified gas engineer in?

 

[Momac]

Give the gas cylinder a good shake to stir up the liquid gas inside and try again.

 

[DangerousPirate]

Just a cautionary suggestion: I have a distant memory of someone in Haslar Marina having a similar challenge with boiling the kettle for a quick cuppa. Next thing we know, his pride and joy had burnt to the waterline and all he had to show for it was a pair of wide eyes and burnt eyebrows.
May I humbly suggest getting a qualified gas engineer in?

Don't scare me now :O

 

[DangerousPirate]

So I disconnected the hose, shook the bottle, vented it for a few seconds, put it back, reattached the hose and when I tried it again, nothing has changed. So I let the gas open and just kept relighting the gas and then turned it down a little, that's when i noticed it sort of works on low flame now, and left it burning. It flickered less and less until it was normalized, but as soon as I turned the gas up, it would do the same but not on the lower flame any more. So I gradually opened more and more gas, each time watingin until it stabilised until I was at full flame. Now it seems to work. Beats me why. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So if anyone has the same issue in the future: You need to play with the flame, relight it over and over until it keeps the flame on the lowest heat, and then gradually give more gas and wait for it to settle. Do that until you're at full gas. (All statements without guarantee. If your boat explodes tomorrow, it's your own fault for not paying a qualified gas engineer to look at it)

 

[Minerva]

Could you just throttle the valve on the bottle back to only being open by a tiny fraction to reduce gas flow?

I had a similar-ish issue with my Ooni gas oven, opening the valve quickly can (apparently) cause a bubble in the regulator which disturbs gasflow. Felt like nonsense after using gas bottles all my days on the boat, but seems to work on the pizza oven.

 

[Momac]

There could have been some moisture in with the liquid gas which hopefully has now worked its way out.