Which gas to change to for oven

Keith-i

Keith-i

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I have a slight dilemma on my hands. My existing 4.5kg butane cylinder needs replacing but Calor no longer operate in Jersey. My local gas distributor has kindly offered to exchange it for either a 907 Camping Gaz bottle or a 3.9kg Propane. Assuming my cooker can operate on either gas, is there any preference in a normal setup, I realise each would need a different regulator. I am only a light user and am not 'cruising the world' where availability might be an issue.
 
Not much to choose technically unless you sail in winter-time, when propane is more suitable. For me, the deciding factor would be cost. Camping Gaz is very much more expensive than Calor butane or propane, but you don't say who supplies the propane that you are offered.
Gaz cylinders are fairly small of course, and you would be changing more often.
 
How often do you bring the boat to the UK?

Might be worth picking the stuff up when here. I have three bottles of gas usually, empty, in use and full. When we go off on a longer trip, or I spot a bargain, that gets changed to in use, full and full. Perhaps such a scheme might suit you if you come to the UK once a season.
 
propane every time.

Buy a big bottle, a connector, and decant to the small canisters. Easy, low risk. Saves your capital cost after two refills. :)

You may need to check that the regulator is suitable for butane and propane. And soemtimes on older cookers, the burners may need changing - something to do with flame profile, IIRC.
 
Thanks all for the comments and advice.

I very rarely get to the South Coast so that pretty much rules out that idea, although obviously the French coast is more frequented where I think Gaz is popular.

I need to replace the regulator and some pipework so changing to propane would not be an issue. Also, according to the cooker manual I only need to invert a collar under the burner heads to swap from Butane so that should be simple. It looks like propane is the way to go then.
 
sarabande said:
this POL to POL pipe is all you need to refill from a big (cheapish contents) tank to a small (expensive contents) tank.

https://www.calor.co.uk/shop/calor-essentials/essentials-pol-pol-standard-hose.html


It really is very simple and quite quick.
Click to expand...

Unless you know what you're doing I really wouldn't recommend transfilling cylinders.
I'm sure you do, but it's not wise to recommend it to others who may not.
There are complexities involved so that the cylinders are correctly filled (by weight, using tare weight of empty cyl) to ensure they are not overfilled and a suitable ullage is left in the top to allow for thermal expansion. Very serious consequences otherwise.

Also need to ensure the filling hose is suitably purged of air before filling.
As I said, it's not as simple as you make out and the consequences of an error could be life threatening.
 
Also, realistically, what would you actually save when say refilling a 3.9kg Propane cylinder this way compared with just exchanging it as normal? You would need to factor in the initial full cost of buying a large cylinder to refill from plus the filling pipe. I would doubt that it would amount to much over the course of a year, unless of course you are a live aboard who cooks mainly on board and uses the oven a lot, plus perhaps gas heaters.
 
Keith-i said:
I have a slight dilemma on my hands. My existing 4.5kg butane cylinder needs replacing but Calor no longer operate in Jersey. My local gas distributor has kindly offered to exchange it for either a 907 Camping Gaz bottle or a 3.9kg Propane. Assuming my cooker can operate on either gas, is there any preference in a normal setup, I realise each would need a different regulator. I am only a light user and am not 'cruising the world' where availability might be an issue.
Click to expand...
Go for Propane, its a no brainer & it will work in the winter too
 
chrishscorp said:
Propane, higher calorific value IIRC , swapped over our camping stove to propane, the time taken to boil a kettle was much reduced.
Click to expand...

On a weight basis there is not a great difference. On a volume basis propane has a significantly lower calorific value
 
As VicS says.
The practical difference between the two as a fuel gas is the considerably higher cylinder pressure of propane This makes possible a much fiercer flame, a propane blow-torch for example can readily operate at 2 to 3 bar, much higher than butane provides at room temperature, so much greater gas/air mixture flow.
 
Propane is by far the most convenient option for all year round as it will carry on "flowing" at low temperatures during colder days. Calorific value is lower than that of butane but you may not notice the difference.
 
earlybird said:
As VicS says.
The practical difference between the two as a fuel gas is the considerably higher cylinder pressure of propane This makes possible a much fiercer flame, a propane blow-torch for example can readily operate at 2 to 3 bar, much higher than butane provides at room temperature, so much greater gas/air mixture flow.
Click to expand...

The pressure in a propane cylinder is higher but for the boat stove it is the regulator pressure that is relevant. Normally 37mb for propane and 29mb for butane
 
VicS said:
The pressure in a propane cylinder is higher but for the boat stove it is the regulator pressure that is relevant. Normally 37mb for propane and 29mb for butane
Click to expand...
Granted, but I wonder if post 11 was referring to a camping stove with a throw-away cylinder with no regulator. Some of those cylinders are propane or propane/butane mixtures AFAIK.
Otherwise, I don't think there would be any real difference between the two gases on a regulated stove.
 
VicS said:
The pressure in a propane cylinder is higher but for the boat stove it is the regulator pressure that is relevant. Normally 37mb for propane and 29mb for butane
Click to expand...
And there was me thinking I'd solved my dilemma. I want to refit the gas pipework etc 'by the book' which involves using a marine regulator to meet Annex M. These devices are now all 30mb regardless of fuel type. So the question now is, if I swap to propane using a 30mb regulator do I leave my Plastimo Neptune 2000 cooker on the 28mb butane setting or do I change it to the 37mb propane setting? I presume I am best leaving it at 28mb and accepting the lower calorific content of the gas will extend cooking times.
 
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