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Hi all,

Newbie question here!  First of all great forum, I have been enjoying reading through it.  Went for our first camping trip weekend just gone (could have chosen a better time for it!!) to Gilestone Farm in Talybont-On-Usk nr Brecon and apart from the weather enjoyed it. 

My question is, I have just bought one of those Campingaz double rings with the grill.  I have been reading on here about the gas etc and I know you have to have the correct regulator etc.  But I am unsure if I can use Calor Propane and Calor Butane or if it is only Butane that you can use on these.  If you can use both, which would you recommend for some camping trips in sunny Wales and Somerset!!?

Thank You,

Lee and Emma.

Hi and welcome to the forums, this question is a subject that has created some very interesting threads about propane or butane and which one is the best to use and which is the right one to use  

As for your stove you can use either type of gas and any make of cylinder just as long as you have the right regulator to fit the bottle that you buy

Did your stove come with a regulator and hose? If it did this will be for the camping gaz 904 or 907 bottles if you want to use calor bottles then you will need to change the regulator

If you want to read the main differences between the two gasses then read this

Which gas should I use, Propane or Butane?

The physical properties of the two gases are very similar, and when regulated to the correct pressure, they will perform almost identically. However there are some important differences.

Of the two gases, Butane has the most advantages.

It is less toxic and so can legally be used and stored indoors. Litre for litre, it contains around 12% more energy than Propane and so you can squeeze more running time into the same sized bottle. (Butane is heavier than Propane though, so weight for weight it's a pretty close call.)

• Butane also burns cleaner than Propane (although this isn't normally a serious issue in caravanning.)
• Finally, while it's not strictly a property of the gas, Butane canisters generally use clip-on type connections. These are far more convenient than the Propane screw type connections, especially if you swap bottles around regularly (as you might if you also use your caravan bottle to run a barbecue.)

Conversely, Propane has only one advantage over Butane - but it's a big one!

• In order to be usable, the liquid in the bottle must be able to boil into a gas. In the case of Butane, this will happen at any temperature above -2C, whereas with Propane, this figure is much lower, at -42C. In the real world, it's not so clear cut. Whenever some of the liquid boils into gas, the remaining liquid cools. It is therefore possible for the temperature of the liquid to drop to several degrees below ambient. This can easily prevent a Butane canister from producing a useful gas supply, even when the outside temperature is several degrees above 0C. A compromise can be reached by mixing Propane with Butane, but as far as I'm aware, none of the UK 'big bottle' suppliers actually do this. The small gas cartridges that are produced for camping stoves and gas lamps are often Propane/Butane mixes. So choosing the right gas pretty much boils down to whether you need to use it in freezing (or near freezing) conditions. If this is likely, then Propane is a must. If not, then Butane has the edge

Hi Force ten,

Thank you for your reply.  Yes it did come with a regulator to connect to the Campingaz bottles.  Someone has one of these bottles for sale close to me for £20 but I think I would prefer the slightly bigger 3.9kg red propane or 4.5kg blue butane Calor gas bottles.  But I have no idea why

Lee and Emma.

the 4.5kg blue butane Calor gas bottle is a good bottle to use on that stove

And if you don’t have one then try your local recycling centre or your local rubbish tip to see if they have any our local recycling centre has a gas cage with a good variety of different bottles and is where I got my 907 bottles from at £5.00 a piece and one of them was over half full of gas

If you go the calor route then you will find it cheaper in the long run as the camping gaz refills are some of the dearest around, but are handy if you plan on camping in Europe  

Quote: Originally posted by 8ballpotiingmachine on 19/6/2007

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Thats what I am going to do tomorrow force ten, infact I have been having a bit of a clear out today so it is not a wasted journey   Are they allowed to give them to you tho?  Or do they sell them?  Or maybe take a crate of Stella out of my boot???

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Well our local recycling centre will let you have them for a small fee, but some local council run centres can be a bit funny but you will never know if you don’t ask     

If all else fails then check with your local calor supplier and see what the deposit is in this type of cylinder I think it is much cheaper than the rip of price that camping gaz charge for a 907