Switching from Butane to Propane Q's

[sailon46]

I went through this root canal sailing the Carribe and Martinique/Guadeloupe St Barts and North end of St Martin have the blue tanks while the rest of the islands have the US standard fittings and Propane. Soooo depending where you go you have to do as the Romans do in Rome. Good luck
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[captmikecoin]

Originally Posted by Bill Seal

As I remember, that's "methravio" which usually translates to a few months.

And then there's "isos methavrio" which means "forget it" or "you'll never see it again!"

Mike

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by newhaul

From propane to butane and back no you don't need to change the jets. The stove doesn't care however propane or butane changed to CNG would require a change of regulator and jets. But we are not talking change to CNG from butane we are discussing change from butane to propane the main difference is propane will burn at a much lower ambient temperature than butane will .

My bad, you are correct. Confusing my gasses.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

My bad, you are correct. Confusing my gasses.

No prob. Spent a few years coin HVAC and restaurant kitchen rehabs

[barnakiel]

We have a EU burner / oven combo and we used both butane and propane. I never noticed any big difference (Sweden, WI, Panama, NZ, AUS, RSA, Brazil, Azores, EU).

I think maybe if you have a US specs stove there may be some differences.

b.

[hellosailor]

The Pardeys often referred to their "gas" stove as both propane and butane, because the two gasses are often mixed in what is called "camping gaz" both in the US and UE. While using the wrong gas may work, it will not work efficiently. Best shot it to contact the stove manufacturer and see if they have any conversion kits, which usually will just be new jets for the burners but may include more.
In the US, stove and clothes drier companies usually have conversion kits to change from propane to "natural gas" when people move from rural propane deliveries to "piped" city gas supplies.

[donradcliffe]

I just refilled my US (actually Australian) tanks from the local exchange cylinders. Get a hose with the US fitting on one end, and hose clamp the other end to the local fittingyou get at the local hardware store. As I recall, there was a nice fitting for the camping gaz cylinder that had a valve on it, and it took 3 of them to refill one 20 lb tank.

Two things you need to be aware of:

1. Butane cylinders may not be safe if you fill them with propane, which is at a lot higher pressure.

2. If you refilling are cylinders with butane/mix which originally were filled with propane, it will be at a higher pressure than the butane/mix. You will need to bleed off ALL the liquid propane inside, or the flow will go the wrong way at first.

[bluewaterbill]

Originally Posted by sailing_gal

I am reading this thread with interest, however, I am looking at the reverse situation. I have a US boat with propane tanks which I intend to sail to Europe this spring. I have heard of cruisers using the European tanks and keeping their propane tanks as a back-up. Are you saying I would have to then also swap out a converter? Or perhaps my more modern regulator will work fine. Same size fittings? Also, if I think I might need a new regulator, am I better off getting one in the US or waiting until I get to Spain?

Having just spent 10 years in th Med, it is very rare to find any place to refill a US propane tank. It is illegal in most countries. I bought an adapter to use my regulator but connect to Camp Gaz tanks. You should be able buy the required adapter in most European ports/chandleries, but why not get it in US and make sure everything works? Depending upon where you are located, I have 2 Camp Gaz tanks ... One full And one empty. They can't be shipped. I'm in Annapolis MD.

[sailingfarmer]

I have a CNG tank which I would change for propane... CNG is hard to get in a marine tank these days...

[conachair]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

The Pardeys often referred to their "gas" stove as both propane and butane, because the two gasses are often mixed in what is called "camping gaz" both in the US and UE. While using the wrong gas may work, it will not work efficiently.

It's commonplace in Europe, plus the regulations for seagoing boats call for a single regulator for both gasses. Plus there's ample people saying they can't tell the difference when swapping over.
From memory camp gaz is 80/20 butane/propane.

[Copprhead]

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out yet that propane's vapor pressure is about four times that of butane at room temperature. In warmer temperatures the pressure difference increases even more. So a bottle designed for butane might not be strong enough for propane.

You should not refill a Campingaz bottle with propane!

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by Copprhead

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out yet that propane's vapor pressure is about four times that of butane at room temperature. In warmer temperatures the pressure difference increases even more. So a bottle designed for butane might not be strong enough for propane.

You should not refill a Campingaz bottle with propane!

EXACTLY ! -- some dangerous info being exchanged here. Mods ??

[captmikecoin]

Originally Posted by Copprhead

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out yet that propane's vapor pressure is about four times that of butane at room temperature. In warmer temperatures the pressure difference increases even more. So a bottle designed for butane might not be strong enough for propane.

You should not refill a Campingaz bottle with propane!

Although this has been pointed out already it is normally irrelevant to most cruisers in European waters because you exchange your empty cylinder for a new, full one. Re-filling is rare and almost always of US propane tanks refilled with the butane/propane mix available in Med countries. In the north I suspect refilling legally is impossible but have no personal knowledge. Stick to Camping Gaz for simplicity.


I omitted to say in post #14 about refilling US gas cylinders that the refilling should always be done by a recognised gas filling station and I don't mean gasoline.

Cheers,

Mike

[akprb]

I just switched from Butane to propane with no modifications and all worked fine. (Did switch to propane tanks as well to be clear)


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Copprhead

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out yet that propane's vapor pressure is about four times that of butane at room temperature. In warmer temperatures the pressure difference increases even more. So a bottle designed for butane might not be strong enough for propane.

What part of my post #22 did you not read??