Where to fill up propane before Canaries

[Katiusha]

Somebody mentioned in another post that nobody would fill propane tanks in the Canaries any more. If that's indeed so, could somebody suggest where to fill up a tank (not get a new one) between the bay of Gibraltar and the Canaries?

If all else fails, we could try to transfer from a new tank to our existing one, but I am still hoping to avoid that

TiA!


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[barnakiel]

Maroc used to have cheap gas (VERY cheap) and bottles. One can get a deckfull of bottles and then chuck out the empty ones.

Las Palmas Disa out of town facility used to fill up properly tested bottles. But they did not have all the countless types of adapters. It was a ride out of town and they were open only some 2 hours a day. Well worth checking out their status. Call them & ask.

If you happen to be returning via Spain, you can rent Disa Nu-b. They are EUR 35 plus gas. Most boats can easily carry 3 units. They are plastic bottles, very light. Some 6 liters or thereabout. You can return them at any other Disa point.

If you can make it to St Lucia, they will fill everything. Just do not stand close while they do what they do.

Otherwise campingaz that is very dear and twice so on the other side (up to EUR 20 at places).

Hope this helps somewhat.

Cheers,
b.

[monte]

Hi D,K&M, I just asked in marina lanzarote for you. They can fill butane here but not propane. They can fill most tanks. The girl in marina lanzarote has photos of the tank fittings they can fill so if you email her a pic of the fitting she can confirm either way. I think butane and propane are interchangeable anyway. Cheers, enjoy ten sail down, and thanks Barni (nick) for the great weather info and local knowledge, see you soon hopefully!
Ps, lots of yachts arriving for the crossing and lots of kids for M to play with! And a great outlook for the next week or so to sail down..

[Katiusha]

Thanks R!

I'll email the marina. We should do some boat maintenance here before the sail down to the islands, but really itching to go it's foggy, wet, and cold here, but the cheapest we've seen all the way from Turkey


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[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by monte

... They can fill butane here but not propane... I think butane and propane are interchangeable anyway...

Not quite on topic, but in case other people pick up on this thread for other reasons... For the most part propane and butane are interchangeable, and in many (most?) places what you get is a mix. And that mix is adjusted by season, more butane in warmer months (or in the tropics) and more propane in colder months (or northern climes).

One word of caution, butane will not vaporize at all below about 38F/4C, it stays a liquid. And doesn't really produce enough usable pressure until it gets up to mid-60sF/20C. Propane, on the other hand, vaporizes (usefully) down to ~-20F/-30C. The difference between the two is useful in keeping tanks from over-pressure on warm days, but don't tank up on loads of butane before transitioning from the tropics to a cooler climate.

[monte]

Thanks mate. Good info


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[bobnlesley]

A bit more info, though I note your comment about avoiding filling yourselves, it really is quite easy. I don't know what bottles you have, but we predominantly use Camping-Gas, or their bottles at least:

We got stung for over $30 to refill a 3kg C-Gas bottle in Gibraltar, I was not a happy bunny, so decided to leave the others until Rabat in Morocco. There we bought a local 9kg bottle (the left handed thread on it may have matched a US one?) A spring balance, 30' of gas hose, a local regulator and straight-through hose connections for both the local and C-Gas bottles and paid about $25 for the lot. We decanted the gas over to fill two C-Gas bottles, tied the local bottle on the stern rail and used it up when we weren't on passage in the Canaries.

If you can get beyond the Canaries, you could buy filled 3kg Camping-Gas bottles for about (2012) $10 each at the gas station in Mindelo; some where in better condition than others, so pick out good ones.

Re: propane/butane mixtures comments and regulators for same: I believe that propane should be regulated to about 34mb and butane 29mb? Though it could be the other way around? The regulator we got in Rabat was 30mb and marked "propane or butane." since seeing/using that, I've never much bothered what sort of regulator we're using with what sort of gas and to be honest have never noticed any difference.

One final point: Someone mentioned buying a local bottle and when it's done, just dumping it. A fine idea, but please don't do it at sea - even the heavy steel ones float and we once hit one off southern Spain, no major damage, but there may have been if we'd been going faster and it scared the bejasus out of us!