How Much Propane Do You Use ?

[SV Liberty]

Full time cruising Bahamas/US East Coast, family of four, cook a lot on board/rarely eat out, bake a couple times a week: we carry two 10 lb propane bottles, and go thru one every 3 to 4 weeks, occasionally a bit faster.

[Ram]

Ive been switching back and forth with propane and GAZ for years , I switch the regulators, I prefer propane, its hotter and you do notice it! - I use a bottle every 6 -7 months I think its about 20 kilos-

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

My other guess is that I am wrong in my assumption (which are backed by 8 years' worth of pretty meticulous note taking by my first mate). Possible, but unlikely explanation.

I agree. I defer to your records. My description of my experience is based on perception over time. Note taking trumps that! If you can see the difference based on measured consumption I fully believe you.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Edit: I'm not sure if a butane regulator is the same as a propane version...

There may be two versions but the ones we use are labeled propane / butane.

Except the Camping gaz one which I believe is butane.

b.

[clsailor]

My wife and I live aboard. We cook every day. One meal, at-least, cooked on the stove or in the oven every day. Some cooking can last several hours. We have two ten pound tanks and refill one about every 3 months. Cost about 7 dollars to fill the tank. Grill uses small propane tanks.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It also means that you need different orifices.

True. Sad, but true.

Same thing could probably be said about our stoves.

[atoll]

i stand corrected on pounds and ounces,remembering back in those days on a 36ft boat with 4 adults a bottle would last 4-6 weeks the bottle being 16 kg.

running the sailing school on our 63 ft yacht we carry 3 x 35kg botteles,catering for between 8-12 and normally this would last about 6-7 months.

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Is that a family of 4 or 14????????? Time for those kids to flee the nest, they're too expensive

Its interesting to read this as my gas usage has been up and down dramatically across the world as we changed different gas types, different filling stations, 3 different regulators.

I have just bought a new regulator for the original system (USA/Aus) and am hoping there was a leak in the old regulator.

10 pounds = 4.5KG
Europe Camping Gaz 2.7KG Butane seems to last a bit longer than it should weight for weight.
Turkey: 2kg Well, they are Turkish and you are not. A half-full gas bottle is probably a generous favour to you, but as they are swap bottles you could pull out your trusty portable fish scale and check the weight of the cylinder! Keep that scale for the rest of the world too!

I think the most important thing is to over budget for gas. As soon as one bottle is empty get it filled as your other one may run out early.

Remember gas bottles ONLY run out when you are using them!

Baking can use an extraordinary amount of gas and I wonder if it when the gas is turned right up - preheating etc - if it blows out more than what is effectively heated? Is it like an engine where the economical cruise is vastly lower than top speed? Maybe some people who have a oven thermometer have studied this?

Most important is not to worry about the cost of the gas. Who wants to be sitting around saying "Lets stay within the budget" after someone has sugested baking a double chocolate cake with cream filling, icing and knobly bits on top?


Mark


Or a roast dinner!!!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[savoir]

While we're talking gas some of you might be interested in the new Magma gas BBQ. It's too small for families but should be ideal for solo sailors or those short of space.

TrailMate

[Hudson Force]

OK, I'll admit it. I only use ten pounds of propane a year. I have two ten pound tanks. I refill one tank each year. Mostly we fire up the 7KW generator and do electric cooking or heating while we are charging the batteries. It's best to use all the power and keep the diesel generator under load after it warms up, so....that's it! Ten pounds a year.

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

One of the tricks for longer lasting propane is to switch to a breadmaker instead of using the propane oven for this. A typical bread maker will use 0.5kWh for a bread start to finish.

cheers,
Nick.

And usually you get better bread. Our breadmaker operates off the inverter and I love the fact that it doesn't heat up the boat as would the oven.

Seeing a common message in this thread. Basically a 20-lb tank lasts 4 months for most people.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[Bash]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Seeing a common message in this thread. Basically a 20-lb tank lasts 4 months for most people.

Hmmm. I'm hearing 3 months. Except for the vegetarians. And those who use their ovens to store potato chips.

Compromise position: most of us use between 12 and 16 gallons per year.

(20 lb tank = 4 gallons + change.)

[daddle]

BTW - Factoids - One is usually buying LPG, not propane. LPG is a mix of propane, butane and whatever else they can get away with. More propane in the winter in the frozen areas. More butane in the comfy tropics. Butane is a bit cheaper, I think.

When using the gas slowly like cruisers tend to do the more volatile propane burns first, it seems, leaving the butane for later. If you then make a big demand on an almost empty tank, like a raging BBQ or oven, the pressure will drop resulting in a 'frozen' bottle.

Also, the mercaptans get left behind. That's the garlic seasoned rotten cabbage smelly stuff added for safety. It accumulates in the bottle. After many refills the smell can get quite strong. Leaving the 'empty' bottle open in the sun for a day can boil the mercaptan out.

Some countries do not add mercaptans, or very little.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

. Means high in the mountains no butane cooking.

It Nick.

I'll remember that when I take Sea Life up the mountains.



Noah would have noticed.

[SV Demeter]

Im considering horizontal tank(s) are these any more challenging to have filled in the caribbean?

Also probably not going to bother trying to tie the grill into the house LPG system. Seems like a lot of work on my boat and im not sure how the Magma would convert from the bottles since the valve is part of the regulator now. Are the smaller screw on bottles hard to come by in the caribbean?

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by SV Escape Plan

Are the smaller screw on bottles hard to come by in the caribbean?

1# bottles are available but really expensive.