Which gas type to use in the Med?

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changeman

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I understand that it is Butane in the UK and Camping Gas in France. But what about the rest of Med. I don't want to change to Camping Gas for France, only to find that Italy, Greece or Turkey only have stocks of butane. Anyone know for definite what the standards are in each country?
 
Take a look at
http://www.calormarineshop.co.uk/marine_safety/gas_supplies_abroad.htm

They advise . . . . "The easiest solution is to carry the Camping Gaz cylinders, as they are readily available. They may be small and they may be expensive, but they will be easier to get refilled and will save a lot of running around. If you carry Calor Gas Butane or Propane cylinders as your standard cylinders, then adapters are available to convert to UK cylinder fitting so you can use a Camping Gaz cylinder."

The chap at Calor Southampton, whose name I forget (Peter ??) knows the subject backwards.
 
Grehan is right in theory but you will find Camping Gaz hard to find in Italy and Greece the locals prefering their own product, still butane. They will accept Camping Gaz cylinders but I think I will find the French will not like the Greek or Italian cylinders. They don't like Calor gas cylinders.

I think you only need Propane in the UK in winter or colder countries.
 
I'd stick with Camping Gaz for the Med. We had no problems there whilst cruising (but haven't been to Greece/Turkey yet) though we do carry 5 bottles to allow for those long periods we spend anchoring in quiet(er) places.

It's a lot to cart about, but does give us a big cushion, especially on the Pond trips.
 
Not really ansering your question (others have covered it well), I would add that you can get Calor gas refils from Holland Yachting in Estepona, which is a very convenient (and extremely pleasant) marina just along the Costa del Sol, from Gib. You can anchor off Estepona if you don't want to use the marina and tender in to the furtherst part of the harbour, or tie up on the non-secure side of the pantalons for a brief period. This was enough to replace all the gas we had used getting from the UK to that time, so we started out with a couple of months of gas before having to find a cheap source of Camping Gaz. Don't buy new Camping Gaz cartridges in the UK but make sure that you get a Calor to Gaz convertor before you leave the UK (or a Gaz regulator if you prefer).

As others have said, almost all the gas is butane though I think that some of the Italian gas is a mix - propane/butane mix is quite common and AFAIK reduces the boiling point, allowing you to use the gas in colder weather. I don't know if the same regulator (28mB) is used - maybe one of the CORGI members will jump in?
 
[ QUOTE ]
make sure that you get a Calor to Gaz convertor before you leave the UK (or a Gaz regulator if you prefer).



[/ QUOTE ]

Very useful post. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

What is the converter used for please?
 
It is a tap with a male thread to screw into a Gaz cylinder, and a male Calor thread to connect to a standard Calor butane regulator. I bought mine from the CORGI fitter who did my gas safety certificate but I have seen them in several chandleries in the UK. Mine is still in its packaging and is called 'Camping Gas (sic) Adaptor' and branded Grade (UK) Ltd. in Nottingham.

I think that if you were going to relocate permanently you'd change the regulator as they are quite cheap but I wanted an instant way to change over - I will have a Gaz regulator fitted when I get the Spanish equivalent of a gas safety test carried out, which I shall if only for insurance purposes.
 
We found camping gas readily available in France, Spain, Portugal, Corsica and Sardinia. Plenty of supermarkets stock gas cylinders on the shelves!
Prices ranged from €7 to €15 for the type202(?) cylinders. Found that 2 cylinders were enough.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I understand that it is Butane in the UK and Camping Gas in France. But what about the rest of Med.

[/ QUOTE ] Camping Gaz is Butane. It is a French company that has built up a network of distributers all over Europe, but the gas is just plain old butane, just the same as in your blue Calor bottles.

Leave your Calor bottles at home and set off with three Camping Gaz bottles. I took two Calor bottles with me when I left the UK and ended up giving them away to a South African boat on their way to the UK - they were of no use to me. You can exchange Camping Gaz bottles everywhere in the Western Med for varying amounts of cash, France being overwhelmingly the most expensive. You can also exchange them in most marinas in Croatia and get them re-filled in quite a few other places there. That may stop when Croatia gets into the EU. You can exchange them in Greece but you are likely to get back a Greek look-alike bottle painted in a darker blue but otherwise identical. Try to end up with genuine Camping Gaz bottles again before heading back west. The only place where it is not so easy to exchange Camping Gaz bottles is Turkey but it is not an issue. The price for an equivalent sized brand new bottle of their local stuff including the gas is about £4 - less than a third of the price of just the gas in France!
 
camping gaz can be found everywhere,in some ports you may have to search for the supplier, It is very expensive.
I carry a large 25kg french butagaz and a smaller Italian bottle which is enough for more than a years use! The Italian bottle is the best size shape the "deposits" not expensive and you can retern the bottle and get it back which you cant with a French bottle.
In a smaller boat with less storage space folkboat for example, i would buy the French "cube" and carry a camping gaz for when it has to be refilled,
If you have a little more space then get an Italian bottle and lots of adapters as you change contries, then when the bottles low (light but still has liquid in it) get a local bottle and refill the Italian one,
Unless your going to Spain Italys very central!
 
Although i have not yet reached Greece or Turkey i have found the french Le cube to be by far the cheapest and most convenient to use in france. When you buy the first cube they give you a free regulator it holds 3 times more gas than camping gas bottles and costs the same to refill however it is only available in France but they will give you 25 euros for your old cube to refill camping gas in france is about 19 euros in spain it is under 7 euros ! having spent this year talking to liveaboards there doesnt seem to be a problem in greece or turkey but ask me again next year and i will tell you for certain.
 
Basically there are 2 types of LPG - butane and propane.
Propane freezes at lower temperatures than butane and has a higher calorific value and a far higher working pressure. Blue = butane, red+ propane.

Most Europeans use butane, in the US it's propane and both are readily available in continental Europe.

Camping GAZ (butane) is the most widely available, and about x3 the price of local brands. In most countries you can have your own bottle (providing it has a convetional valve) refilled within a week at the going rate.

I use the Shell Butagaz reinforced polypropylene Cube - it's only available in France and Portugal but contains 6kg of gas in a non rusting conatiner which stores in a similar volume to the GAZ 907 whilst costing the less for a refill of 6kg as the Gaz does for 2.75.

The most cost-effective thing to do is to use the local LPG cylinders and regulator in each country you visit and cash them in when you leave.

A Dutch acquiantance of mine had a set of nozzles which allowed him to go to the local LPG car filling station and fill his bottles - now that really is economical... as one would expect of a Nederlander.
 
I had wonderd if LPG was simular to butain or propane!! i wonder what if any the difference is? is it more like propane or butain?
The only thing about buying local cylinders each time is the space! If you begin in France then Italy later Greace either there would be a space question or give away the old bottles.
Thats why i go for refilling the chosen bottle from a local retenable one I hand mine up with the topping lift and after venting the air a couple of times seem to get the bottle 80% full-
What about the LPG pressure? and how should you vent the air?

Sounds a really good solution!!
 
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