Propane Gas Cooker

Tugw

Tugw

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I have a German made gas cooker on the boat,The bottles are also German(Propane),The local gas supplier has told me that it would be impossible to get refilled in the UK and i would probably have to change my system,Then i would have to pay for the hire of the replacement bottles as well as filling and delivery,This to me is a bit of a rip-off.Anyway.does anybody know if i can convert the existing cooker to run off ,say,Camping gas,or something i can buy outright without hire contracts or the like? Any ideas ?
 
As far as I know apart from the small camping gaz stuff - calor and such is by contract. They own the cylinders - you pay deposit on first one and then exchange empty for full. I believe that's why you see empty cylinders for sale in local papers etc. - so instead of signing and paying full contract - you can just take an empty to local depot and swap over for cost of gas.

Now as a LPG quantity and quality lab in Latvia - I can tell you that refilling your cylinder if at least 2kg size or more is no problem for any full facility LPG station whether it be Butane or Propane. Trouble is most stations are just handlers to exchange and that is why you now have trouble.

I would suggest you go down the road of getting an empty cylinder and swap it ... make sure you have correct regulator for your gas type ... don't worry about the burner tips in the cooker - I've changed gas on my UK summer Mobile home and also my boat many times Butane to Propane back to Butane etc. But yes if you want - you should be able to get specific gas tips for your cooker for whatever gas you use.

But note that often Butane is a mix of xx% Butane and x% Propane anyway ...
 
Thanks for the info,It was if fact the local Air-Products company i went to,They took one look at the valve on the cylinder and said they didnt know of anywhere who could fill them or exchange them,So i think a closer look at the Calor option may be the way to go.
 
You'll often see odd calor cylinders at scrap yards, recycle points etc. Check local free-ads papers etc. Get hold of an empty one ... get a new regulator at local caravan shop while you're exchanging cylinder for full one ! Cooker won't care. But remember that as you go into winter - Butane will be poor gas to use as it doesn't like zero temp. That is why Propane is better. It's also why many so called Butane mixes are with small amount of propane in ...
 
I am amazed as to how many used propane and butane cylinders are down our local tip, because they do not have a deposit on them. If they did they would be back to the suppliers posts haste. So you should be able to get a propane cylinder and a regulator, which are only a few quid new. Whilst doing the job it is worth checking the rubber tubing which has date on it, and I think needs changing every 5 years(?)
 
I recently(while still in Germany) replaced the tubing.I see on Calor website that there are differant regulator outlet pressures so i expect ill have to check which one i need before i go any further but it appears not to be as bad as i thought it would be to change over
 
Tugw said:
I recently(while still in Germany) replaced the tubing.I see on Calor website that there are different regulator outlet pressures so i expect ill have to check which one i need before i go any further but it appears not to be as bad as i thought it would be to change over
Click to expand...

the cooker will work on both gases ( propane & butane ) just change the regulator to suit the gas is being used
 
sailorman said:
butane & propane regs run on differing pressures each has a differing thread so they cant be used on the wrong gas bottles
Click to expand...


What i mean is--on the calor website it show 3 propane regs,each with a differant outlet pressure (unless i read it wrong)
 
Tugw said:
Thats fine,but what about the regulator pressure?does it make a differance?
Click to expand...
Modern practice is to fit a 30 mbar bulkhead regulator that will cope with either butane or propane. Your German propane bottles use the same fittings (I think) as UK calor butane bottles. Have a good browse through http://www.gaslow.co.uk and you will find exactly what you want. Most caravan shops sell the bits and pieces, or you can buy direct from Gaslow.
 
vyv_cox said:
Modern practice is to fit a 30 mbar bulkhead regulator that will cope with either butane or propane. Your German propane bottles use the same fittings (I think) as UK calor butane bottles. Have a good browse through http://www.gaslow.co.uk and you will find exactly what you want. Most caravan shops sell the bits and pieces, or you can buy direct from Gaslow.
Click to expand...


Thats where the problem is,The bottles are a differant fitting,The regulator i have obviously fits theses bottles and wont fit UK type
 
Hate to disagree with Sailorman,, but if you call the BES

http://www.bes.co.uk/

they will send you a pigtail hose with the correct bottle fitting on it for Propane and a UNIVERSAL Propane/Butane regulator. You will need to tell them what size pipe goes down to your cooker so they can include the correct spigot on the regulator.

I have a second pigtail hose to connect to a Butane cylinder and also a converter for Camping Gaz too.

Its all very cheap! Regulator a fiver, hose probably a further tenner.
 
One issue to consider is the relative safety of the different gasses.

LPG (Propane) is heavier than air, so a leak stays inside the boat, sinking to the bilge and other lower parts waiting your unfortunate ignition of it.

Butane is lighter than air, so it escapes out the locker, hatch, etc and goes on upward to dilute beyond the limits of flammability and declines to make your boat a floating bomb.
 
MM5AHO said:
One issue to consider is the relative safety of the different gasses.

LPG (Propane) is heavier than air, so a leak stays inside the boat, sinking to the bilge and other lower parts waiting your unfortunate ignition of it.

Butane is lighter than air, so it escapes out the locker, hatch, etc and goes on upward to dilute beyond the limits of flammability and declines to make your boat a floating bomb.
Click to expand...

Ahem. No, air has a density of 1.225 g/l @ 15°C. and Standard Atmospheric Pressure while butane is 2.52 g/l. Butane is more than twice as heavy as air!
Propane's relative gas density is 1.55 times that of air.

Care to review your Gas policy?
 
Tugw said:
I recently(while still in Germany) replaced the tubing.I see on Calor website that there are differant regulator outlet pressures so i expect ill have to check which one i need before i go any further but it appears not to be as bad as i thought it would be to change over
Click to expand...

The regulator will state clearly whether Propane or Butane. You will also find that like Europe for many years - UK has finally realised that a single regulator can in fact do both gases ... there are NOW Dual gas regulators on UK shelves.
 
Tugw said:
Thats fine,but what about the regulator pressure?does it make a differance?
Click to expand...

The regulator is there to do exactly that - regulate pressure ... once correct regulator is fitted - it works without any further intervention on your part.

In fact - my boat still has it's butane regulator from UK ... but I run whatever gas mix we are shipping out from terminal at that time ... Butane, Butane + Propane blend, Propane etc. It doesn't make any difference to my cooker ! (Of course experts will now come on and tell me it's not possible !! )

BUT - seriously - Get the regulator to suit the gas you get. Keep both regulators on board in case you change again.
 
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