Nicholas123
N/A
Anybody know?
Which is cheapest/best buy,Butane or Propane
- Thread starter Nicholas123
- Start date
VicS
Well-known member
Assuming you are comparing refilling 3.9kg propane vs. 4.5 kg butane there is not a vast difference in price on a £ per 10,000 kcals basis
Taking Calor's refill prices and net calorific value figures from Engineering toolbox I have arrived at £3.58 / 10,000 kcals for propane and £3.30 / 10,000 kcals for butane, but please check my arithmetic.
However Calor propane I believe contains some butane. Perhaps you can find the net c.v for Calor propane and rework the cost using that.
Tranona
Well-known member
Even allowing for the fact that Nicholas is a a self confessed cheapskate, difficult to see what difference it would make on the small volume he is likely to use in a year on his little two burner stove!
waynes world
Well-known member
For one not Calor, i worked for them for many years and i could get it cheaper than cost price from another dealer. there are many more about if you shop around.
sarabande
Well-known member
If you buy a 47kg propane bottle from Calor, it costs £69.
If you buy a 3.9 kg propane bottle from Calor, it costs £15.49
If you buy a POL to POL connector from Calor it costs £10.
Using the connector, you can refill a 3.9 kg bottle no less than TWELVE times, at a cost of £5.75 each.
It takes about 40 minutes to connect the bottles, let the gases drain from the big one to the little one, and disconnect.
If you bought 12 x 3.9kg bottles outright, it would cost you £185.88. DIY you save £106.
If you buy a 3.9 kg propane bottle from Calor, it costs £15.49
If you buy a POL to POL connector from Calor it costs £10.
Using the connector, you can refill a 3.9 kg bottle no less than TWELVE times, at a cost of £5.75 each.
It takes about 40 minutes to connect the bottles, let the gases drain from the big one to the little one, and disconnect.
If you bought 12 x 3.9kg bottles outright, it would cost you £185.88. DIY you save £106.
superheat6k
Well-known member
Tim
Just a word of caution that if you are transferring liquified petroleum gas that you must leave a small gas space in the cylinder. If you completely fill the cylinder with liquid there is a risk of bursting the cylinder and explosion.
sarabande
Well-known member
That's a good point T, which bears repeating for anyone thinking of doing transfers. I keep a set of scales under the receiving bottle and stop the transfer at about 90% of theoretical normal load.
I gather that the risk of explosion is to do with expansion of the LPG after the end of the transfer, as the contents and tank reach equilibrium temp (there's probably a techy word that you can supply
)
Anyway, a good reminder, thanks.
I gather that the risk of explosion is to do with expansion of the LPG after the end of the transfer, as the contents and tank reach equilibrium temp (there's probably a techy word that you can supply
)Anyway, a good reminder, thanks.
Jabs
Member
Surely there is another consideration here?
Butane doesn't vaporise well in cold weather so if you sail all year, bear that in mind.
If filling bottles, remember propane stores at a higher pressure.
Tony
Butane doesn't vaporise well in cold weather so if you sail all year, bear that in mind.
If filling bottles, remember propane stores at a higher pressure.
Tony
Nicholas123
N/A
I thought this might make a simple comparison but I had not banked on different weight bottles & then of course I guess they are used at different rates due to heat transfer & so on.What now seems more important is usage rate as then if say propane is used far more quickly then I would have to lug the refill on & off my boat more often & time spent making the connections is a consideration :ambivalence:
So,a more important measure would be if you had a 3.9kg Propane connected to the cooker & a 4.5kg Butane connected to the cooker which would expend first given the same amount of cooking?
(Propane would obviously be a better consideration given that it would'nt grind to a halt in Winter temperatures & the small bottle would be easier to transfer).
Nicholas123
N/A
I refute that accusation "self confessed cheapskate." I am careful with my money & require good value for money,besides.I may one day add a new cooker with oven so that I can take advantage of those wonderful Fray Bentos steak & kidney pies
Nicholas123
N/A
I shall take that tip onboard & keep my eye open BUT I already have some type of foreign bottle in my back garden that came with the boat & I don't think can used.I could see two more bottles becoming redundant & adding to my collection.
My hovel is already becoming overwhelmed with stuff that might come in handy one day. :ambivalence:
Nicholas123
N/A
That's a good point T, which bears repeating for anyone thinking of doing transfers. I keep a set of scales under the receiving bottle and stop the transfer at about 90% of theoretical normal load.
I gather that the risk of explosion is to do with expansion of the LPG after the end of the transfer, as the contents and tank reach equilibrium temp (there's probably a techy word that you can supply
Anyway, a good reminder, thanks.
That sounds a remarkable price saving BUT I only use about one bottle of 4.5 kg Butane every two years & I can't bank on more than 5/10 more years of boating life left in me so unless there is a dooms day end of the world scenario come into play (& I don't count that out what with Global warming & Brexit) I don't think I can justify it.
Nicholas123
N/A
I'm lucky if I sail at any time of the year these days though I do drink a lot of cups of coffee onboard & have the occasional meal (I managed two two day trips away this year & one overnighter removing the barnacles & tackling the bottom in order to make that possible).But still one lives in hope........The higher pressure is a consideration because it would intensify any leaks but I checked my system via the regulator gauge a couple of days ago & a soundness test & was gratified to see no decrease in a pressure over a five minute period. :encouragement:
Having a gauge on your regulator by the way I think is very valuable for this reason & I constantly keep an eye on it.
Last edited:
