What sort of Gas bottles?

john_morris_uk

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Sorry if this has been asked before but I've had a quick look and can't find any threads.

We are planning on setting off to live on board in a couple of years. At the moment we have the Camping Gaz type gas bottles and I've got a couple of the short squat type Calor gas bottles in the garage. I noticed in France last year that they don't seem to do the latter sort any more. No problem - we can stick to Campling Gaz.

However what happens when we go off to the Carib or further? Last time I was there the boat was on propane I think - but I didn't have to organise the refills. What's the best system? What's the best practice to make sure we can keep "cooking on gas"?
 

john_morris_uk

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I should have said - I'm not worried about whether its propane or butane as the burners on our cooker can be switched to take either. The gas locker is big enough to take either sort of gas cylinder as well. Hence the question as to what's the best sort? We might very well go up the Eastern Seaboard of the US as I've done it before and SWMBO wants to see the Chesapeake etc so what's available in the US is over particular interest as well.
 

snowleopard

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calor's 'best practice' for transatlantic cruising is 2 x 13 kg propane. they stop short of mentioning that they can be re-filled over there of course as all their terms & conditions say you shouldn't.

in practice you can fill most types of propane cylinder over there but you must never put propane in a butane bottle as they aren't strong enough.

a calor propane bottle has a thread which is very similar to the american standard - you can put an american hose onto a clalor bottle but not vice versa.

if you take calor bottles, be sure to get nice shiny new bottles on your last exchange before you leave so there's no question of having to have them pressure tested abroad.

in the caribbean, camping gaz will generally only be found on the french islands.
 

jimboaw

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Fatipa, forget butane and calor. You have to go propane and I would suggest you consider the smaller 10lb aluminium tanks.As to anybody turning a blind eye on a refill, forget it. We could not even get non US dive bottles re-filled! We manage very well with 2 of the smaller tanks and the added advantage is that as most re-fill places will be a walk from your mooring your arms don't stretch too much. Carry a couple of disposable 1lb bottles and the adaptor and you are in the clear.
 

Coppershield

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Possible source for cylinders attention to fatipa

Hi,
if I remember correctly Your boat is located in Tampa Bay. If You are unsuccessful in bringing your own cylinders there is a Selvage yard specializing in marine industry located in Clearwater Florida, his prices were ridiculous. But when I saw him last he was in my shop , soliciting business and when I told him his prices were high, he blamed his previous yard manager who is no longer there and therefore , supposedly his prices came down to earth. You may be able to find what You're looking for. I looked up his telephone number it is 727-576-8577.
I have no connection with him , other than the fact. When I'm desperate for something rare I go there.
If I can be of any assistance , please feel free to PM me. I will call and see if he has a web site.
Good luck.
Muzaffer

PS , by the way it's called , Don's Selvage
 

Sea Devil

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I carried Camping Gaz everywhere until the USA - could not find anyone prepared to refill a bottle -

the easy soulution is to carry a US cylinder on deck - lashed to the pushpit or guard rail - the hard part is to connect the plumbing - they use different size and threads - I made a slightly dodgy bodge with tape and jubliee clips - at least it was outside!

You will have the same problem in Aussie/New Zealand
 
A

Anonymous

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Thanks for the link which is very useful but I am very concerned that they have got all mixed up with their units - they don't know what kW or kWh are and they have introduced a useless unit, the kW/h!! It puts a big question mark over the information. See the page

http://www.socal.co.uk/marinenotes.html

I am not being pedantic - whoever wrote that table obviously didn't know what he was writing about so he might have put the wrong numbers in.
 

mocruising

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We left Plymouth last summer and collected two new (7 Kg) cylinders from the CG depot. We have been unable to get them refilled in France Spain or Portugal as they are the push fit type and not the type with their own valves. So what ever you go for make sure they have their own shut off valves. We had to dispose of them and buy another cylinder in Portugal.
 

snowleopard

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calor butane 7kg & up have push-on valves. the equivalent propane bottles have handwheel valves (and left-hand threads). the smallest butane bottle also has a valve but the fitting is not the same as the propane.
 

Abaker

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Butane, i.e. Camping Gaz, is not generally available in North America because it will not vaporize at temperatures below zero degrees C. If you are planning to live aboard any place where the temperature drops below zero at night, such as inland France where we are at the moment, Camping Gaz useless. Propane is the answer. Howsever, propane liquifies only at a much higher pressure than Butane does. Consequently propane bottles are made stronger, and putting Propane into a weaker Butane bottle creates a totally unacceptable risk.

There is no international standard for propane bottle fittings: UK has its own standard, USA and Canada have their own standard, France has at least two standards. You can patch together your own adapters and buy different bottles in each country if necessary. French Camping Gaz dealers will not buy empty bottles unless you want to exchange for a full one!

Some cookers will work with either propane or butane, but not necessarily well. Our Canadian Force 10 is made for propane. It works also with butane, but produces too much carbon on the pots and pans. We could remedy that by exchanging jets in the burners. Regulators also differ from country to country, and between butane and propane. North American regulators normally have a built-in pressure gauge on the high pressure side, which provides a simple and reliable tool for checking against leaks. UK and French regulators do not have one.

Gas is by far the best fuel for liveaboard cooking. But play it safe if you want to live longer, aboard or elsewhere.
 

Lizzie_B

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Re: Possible source for cylinders attention to fatipa

Was at Don's in November. His prices were ridiculous if you showed him you needed something, but reasonable if you pretended to be only curious. I made the mistake of showing too much interest in an old somewhat worn toe rail snatch block which didn't have a price on it. The price he then asked for as a result of my perceived enthusiasm was about the same as I paid for a pair of new ones at west marine. Fortunately I had checked out West Marine and BoatUS first. He probably thought I was an antiques collecter! However, I did get a very good deal on some cordage, nav lights and hatch position locks (these were clearly priced). I would go just for the experience, but it's the sort of place you could almost set aside a day for. Also, some of the best bargains we found were to be found in the larger of the West Marine stores where they have a 'back room' for discontinued and shop soiled items. The guy that runs it is both very knowledgeable and very helpful.
 
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