Gas regulators (forgive, but non-boaty)

Amulet

Amulet

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Forgive the non-boaty post, but this is the kind of question forumites can answer.

I have a gas barbie powered by "patio gas", which says on the bottle it is propane.
It has a clip on regulator which is marked 30 mb.

I have two "Calor" cylinders of propane bought for a now-defunct workshop heater.
It has a screw on LH thread regulator which is marked 37 mb.

I'd like to use up the gas in the Calor cylinders, and in any case it is cheaper to buy that way.

I have established by experiment that the barbie will not burn properly connected via the 37mb regulator on the Calor cylinder. The results were "interesting".

Can I buy a 30mb regulator to screw on to the calor cylinder? I cannot find one.
If I do so will it work?
 
goboatingnow said:
Hamiliton Gas Products, Great company, huge range, you should be able to get a 30mb butane regulator with that thread from them,


www.gasproducts.co.uk
Click to expand...

Thanks, I expected you were right when I went to the site, but I couldn't find it.

I have posed the question with them. Maybe there's a safety reason of some sort. The results of sending gas at too high pressure to my barbie were spectacular!
 
Take care !!!

I believe Butane and Propane require different pressures for efficient burning therefore different regulators.

Also not all Butane burners will run on Propane and vise versa. Check which gas you have and the compatibility of the burner.
 
Butane regulators are generally around 30mbar, whereas propane regulators are generally around 37mbar (for domestic use). If your propane patio gas bbq really runs at 30mbar, then your best bet is probably to buy an adjustable propane regulator and gently increase the pressure until it burns properly.
 
theoldsalt said:
.... Check which gas you have and the compatibility of the burner.
Click to expand...
Both are propane according to what it says on the bottle.

pvb said:
Butane regulators are generally around 30mbar, whereas propane regulators are generally around 37mbar (for domestic use). If your propane patio gas bbq really runs at 30mbar, then your best bet is probably to buy an adjustable propane regulator and gently increase the pressure until it burns properly.
Click to expand...
It says 30 mb on the regulator quite clearly and it was bought with the gas bottle from Homebase (and it works fine). Didn't know there was such a thing as an adjustable regulator. Might try that.

ostell said:
I think I spotted what you want amongst these here.
Click to expand...
Found things tantalisingly close, but not right - however there's a lot to look at. Will search further.
 
Found things tantalisingly close, but not right - however there's a lot to look at. Will search further.
Click to expand...
I think what you may have to do is use a wall mounted 30mb regulator ( perhaps you can fix that to the barbecue) with a high pressure hose and connector to the Calor propane bottle and a low pressure hose to the barbecue.

This regulator

This HP pigtail to connect the calor propane cylinder. The armoured hose shown on the RH side of the page if you wish.

You would have the option of a solid copper pipe to the barbecue if the regulator is mounted on it or a nozzle and an LP hose if not.
 
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VicS said:
I think what you may have to do is use a wall mounted 30mb regulator ( perhaps you can fix that to the barbecue) with a high pressure hose and connector to the Calor propane bottle and a low pressure hose to the barbecue.

This regulator

This HP pigtail to connect the calor propane cylinder. The armoured hose shown on the RH side of the page if you wish.

You would have the option of a solid copper pipe to the barbecue if the regulator is mounted on it or a nozzle and an LP hose if not.
Click to expand...
Yes, I saw that. I was hoping for a simpler solution. However I might have to follow your suggestion up.

Of course there might be an adaptor to the clip on I already have.
 
Of course you would not have this problem if you had proper barbecue that burned charcoal. ;)
 
I'm quite surprised that you found such a big difference between propane at 37 and 30 mbar. When you say the result was spectacular, what do you mean? Are you sure there was no liquid in the hose? This would certainly be spectacular but I would have thought the difference between 30 and 37 mbar would be controllable by the control knob on the barbecue. My Cadac runs perfectly on butane at 28 mbar and propane at 30 mbar, never tried on 37 mbar but many people on caravan forums seem to have done so.

I found this on a caravan forum at http://www.caravantalk.org.uk/topic/19323-cadac-bbq/:

Hi

I assume the big Cadac is the same as the Safari which will operate on normal Butane (28 mbar) or Propane regulators (37 mbar) as well as the fitted BBQ take offs fitted to caravans (30 mbar for propane or butane)

Lunar
 
Amulet said:
I have established by experiment that the barbie will not burn properly connected via the 37mb regulator on the Calor cylinder. The results were "interesting".

If I do so will it work?
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. I once connected a mains gas Bunsen to a propane supply and lit it. The class loved it.
 
As Vyv says I can't imagine a lot of difference which regulator you use. You get Propane, Butane and a mixture of both. It's normal to run butane at 28mbar and propane at 37mbar. However, europe decided to fit 30mbar to caravans as a happy medium. Although not strictly correct you can get away with running either gas at either pressure. What you can't do is run a Natural(mains) gas appliance on propane/butane and visa versa.
 
daveyw said:
As Vyv says I can't imagine a lot of difference which regulator you use. You get Propane, Butane and a mixture of both. It's normal to run butane at 28mbar and propane at 37mbar. However, europe decided to fit 30mbar to caravans as a happy medium. Although not strictly correct you can get away with running either gas at either pressure. What you can't do is run a Natural(mains) gas appliance on propane/butane and visa versa.
Click to expand...
I didn't think it would make much difference, but it sure as hell did - the burners on the bbq were roaring even when turned right down. The gas came out so fast that it was actually hard for them to burn it - the flames started about 30mm from the jets.

I suppose it's possible that the 37 regulator is faulty. The alarming symptom with my workshop heater was: I noticed I was feeling ropey after working with the heater on. I decided to check it out by buying a CO alarm. The alarm screeched it's head off - loads of carbon monoxide in my workshop. Junked the heater, but not the regulator. Local gas shop man told me that regulators never fail in his experience, so assumed it was OK.
 
I find it amazing that progress seems to take us back into the dark ages. Many years ago, it was found that if you designed a burner for butane at 28mb, it would again have the correct gas/air ration to work with propane at 37mb. How does the current euro standard of 30mb for both work properly on anything? When the "patio gas" was first introduced, I believe it was a mix.

In the USA, gas bottle regulators can be fitted with an assortment of connectors as individual suppliers use different configurations. I'm glad we don't have to deal with such non-standardisation as that, but you'd think it would be simple enough to find what the OP wants.

Rob.

P.S. Your gas man seems to have little experience. The symptoms are similar to what happened to an aquaintance who coupled up with no regulator at all. The stand off indicates insufficient aeration which equates in this case to excess gas. I suspect you threw out the wrong bit!
 
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Amulet said:
Local gas shop man told me that regulators never fail in his experience, so assumed it was OK.
Click to expand...

I have a 'Jumbo' regulator for a Spanish propane bottle. It failed after very little use, only had about 1.5 13 kg bottles through it. It has gone the other way though - nothing comes through now.

OTOH the Camping Gaz one on the boat that I replaced recently was about 12 years old, and looked it, but was working fine.
 
OTOH the Camping Gaz one on the boat that I replaced recently was about 12 years old, and looked it, but was working fine
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I think mine was 30 years old, or nearly so, when I replaced it.

It was still working fine but I broke the outlet nozzle ...... I had not realised it was plastic!
 
Amulet said:
I didn't think it would make much difference, but it sure as hell did - the burners on the bbq were roaring even when turned right down. The gas came out so fast that it was actually hard for them to burn it - the flames started about 30mm from the jets.

I suppose it's possible that the 37 regulator is faulty. The alarming symptom with my workshop heater was: I noticed I was feeling ropey after working with the heater on. I decided to check it out by buying a CO alarm. The alarm screeched it's head off - loads of carbon monoxide in my workshop. Junked the heater, but not the regulator. Local gas shop man told me that regulators never fail in his experience, so assumed it was OK.
Click to expand...

Umm, what sort of workshop heater were you using? A superser type or one with a fan like a jet engine? This type are often fitted with a high pressure regulator.
 
OK, I admit it, I'm a dope

It works fine with a 37mb clip on the "patio gas" which states unequivocally that it's propane.

My 37 mb regulator on the other bottle must be duff, and replacements are readily available.

Thanks for all the erudite input, and apologies for wasting your time!
 
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