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The butane I have been using to fuel my fride, oven/ grill and hob is freezing up, so am looking at getting one of teh new BP Propane cylinders. It seems they run at 37 bar and the butane ones at about 28 bar is this an issue and is it going to effect / damage my appliances?
cheers
Is propane and butane interchangeable? Different fuels different burners I would have thought - but I don't know for sure
I wouldn't have thought the cylinder pressure (which is just the vapour pressure of the fuel at amb. temperature) would make any difference, as long as the regulator is letting it down tot he correct pressure. The pressure in the pipe going to your cooker etc is nowhere near 28/37bar, its more like a particularly powerful fart in comparison.
Wont affect your appliances but you might need a new regulator.
And I think you mean mbar (millibar)...
I'd stand well back if you intend burning LPG at 536 psi. 🙂
If you have modern appliances you should get away with a new regulator, but older stuff is often 'jetted' to suit either Butane or Propane. Best to check as it might not burn properly.
If you have a few quid spare, consider Gaslow cylinders. They are a little bigger than standard cylinders so check the size, but they are refillable. You install one (or two) in your gas locker, then the filling point is installed into the locker door or wall of the van (or on a bracket under the sill) and you fill up with LPG at the petrol pumps at 50 or 60p per litre...much cheaper than exchange bottles but will take a long time to pay for the bottles. But the beauty is you can refill a part used bottle so can get away with just one cylinder. With exchanges you need two unless you are happy exchanging a part filled cylinder or just wait til you run out halfway through making your dinner.
You can also go for a fixed tank underneath the van like I have, works out about the same as Gaslow but you don't lose any space inside the van 🙂
+1 here for the gaslow set
not only is the gas cheap as chips but you dont have to worry about disconnecting the bottles to change and also you can top up before you head out on a long trip so you can have two full bottles in stead of maybe half a bottle ( if you get what i mean)
Where is the gas tank situated, inside or outside? Back in the dark ages when caravan sites didn't have elec hook ups even for statics we used to have gas mantles to light our old static caravan in the lakes. We'd get the same problem with the bottle freezing in winter and the pressure dropping. Our solution was to piss on the tank, the heat from the piss was enough for the lights to burn brighter and we'd get enough pressure to run the stove and boil a kettle, so we'd spend the evening chugging gallons of tea and taking turns to piss on the gas tank.
Its normal to stick them underneath, but if you have space such as a coachbuilt motorhome with a garage they can go inside.
Mine is 'amidships' strapped along the inside of a chassis rail, alongside the driveshaft. But I had plenty of options as my van is built onto a ladder chassis.
Painted mine with Plastidip clear primer and clear softcoat to prevent chips to the paint, they can rust after a few years under the van otherwise.
LPG in this country is roughly 85:15 Propane:Butane so you shouldn't get any issues in the cold. Only problem I had was moisture freezing in the regulator, but it was -5 and a hot wet rag round the reg was an instant fix and the gas flowed for several hours after that with no further attention. In Europe it can be a much higher percentage of Butane so try and use it up before winter.