# Can I use Butane



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

Hi

Phone call from a pal to say he has two x 15kg butane Calor cylinders, unused, full of gas and I can have them. 

Can I use them in the motorhome? I use propane at present. Does the regulator need to change? 

Russell


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I'll stand to be corrected, but I think all you need to do is swap the regulator for a blue one, apart from making sure they'll fit in the gas locker, that's it.

Kev.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

You'll need to change your pigtail hoses and get a couple of butane bottle adaptors, probably cost you about £25 per bottle (just get one set and use one bottle at once?)

May seem a lot but a full 15kg butane bottle costs about £25 so it's still half price gas isn't it? :wink: 

PS: If you don't want em, give him my address. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

Russell, I believe your van is a new one so will have the new standard 30mb regulator. As gaspode said, you just need new connectors (pigtails).

Propane will work fine in the summer but unlike Butane will not work so well at low winter temperatures.

Trevor


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

trevorf said:


> Propane will work fine in the summer but unlike Butane will not work so well at low winter temperatures.
> 
> Trevor


Hi Trev

Err that's the wrong way around :lol: a slip of the keyboard :wink: .... Propane for the winter ( or year round) ...Butane OK in warmer temps.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Pigtails*

Sorry to sound Tim nice but Dim, what are these piigtail things.

The regulator is a 30mb version.

Russell


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

The flexible bit that goes from the regulator to the cylinder Tim


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi Russell

You'll need one THESE
and one of THESE

(or two of each if you need to fit both cylinders at once)


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Butane*

Well you leanr something new every day. I had wrongly assumed that a Calor cylinder is a Calor cylinder.

Our of interest, why are the connectors different, propane/butane?

Russell


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Butane*



Rapide561 said:


> Our of interest, why are the connectors different, propane/butane?
> 
> Russell


So colour blind tuggers can tell the difference? :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Butane and propane*

Now I KNOW that is not the reason.

Interestingly though, we sell butane and propane on site, and the majority of butane sold goes to caravanners.

Russell


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

> Hi Trev
> 
> Err that's the wrong way around Laughing a slip of the keyboard Wink .... Propane for the winter ( or year round) ...Butane OK in warmer temps.


OOOPS, yes a bit of a slip up there, you are quite correct, my mistake   

Trevor


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Propane bottles have a reverse thread.
Butane bottles have a convential thread.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Butane and propane*



Rapide561 said:


> Now I KNOW that is not the reason.
> 
> Interestingly though, we sell butane and propane on site, and the majority of butane sold goes to caravanners.
> 
> Russell


Well there you are then Russell, it's a tugger problem. :wink:

Seriously, there are significant differences between Propane and Butane so the connections are made different to prevent the wrong gas being inadvertently connected to a system not designed for it.

All motorhomers know that propane has a much lower operating temperature than butane (but not tuggers of course). But how many know that Butane is much denser (and therefore heavier) than propane? Also butane has a substantially higher calorific value than propane (so you get more heat output from it). The most significant fact though is that propane is stored at a much higher pressure than butane so if propane is used in some systems designed specifically for butane it may present a significant hazard.


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## thePassants (Feb 9, 2009)

Right, so higher cal value gives butane more "bang for buck"?
- so a bottle would last longer heating air or water presumably?
- would it help the fridge get colder in hot weather, do you suppose?


...also I've noticed some butane bottles (>10kg ?) have a clip-top rather than a threaded connection IIRC.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

thePassants said:


> Right, so higher cal value gives butane more "bang for buck"?


Correct.


thePassants said:


> - so a bottle would last longer heating air or water presumably?


Yes


thePassants said:


> - would it help the fridge get colder in hot weather, do you suppose?


Possibly, but not to any significant degree. Best way to help fridges cool in hot weather is to fit a small fan to circulate air around the heat exchanger at the back. Parking in the shade helps too - or winding out the awning if it's on the fridge side.


thePassants said:


> ...also I've noticed some butane bottles (>10kg ?) have a clip-top rather than a threaded connection IIRC.


Yes, all Calor butane bottles over 4kg have a clip-on connector. An adaptor to a threaded connection is in one of the links I provided earlier.


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

The calorific values of butane and propane per kg are much the same. You just get more kg in the cylinder (7 Butane to 6 propane) because butane is denser. So butane wins per litre.
If you want high power you need to go for propane. (You also need a differently designed system and regulator.) This is because you can get a higher pressure and the gas will boil off more quickly.
With your current system you will probably find that differences in the gas viscosity are also significant and just changing fuels will not necessarily give better performance.

The same is true of petrol and diesel. You pay about 10% more for diesel per litre but it is about the same as petrol per kg. This accounts for about 10% of the increase in mpg with a diesel engine.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

safariboy said:


> The calorific values of butane and propane per kg are much the same


You're quite right safariboy, almost the same from memory. The resultant effect is the same though, more heat from butane per litre. If we're making a comparison though I suppose we also have to take into account the fact that butane refills are more expensive for the same size bottle so there's probably little or no cost advantage either way.


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