Having a bit of a blonde moments! Have just bought a gas cooker and need to get the regulator and hose but am unsure whether to go for butane or propane. Could do with your help and advice as to the difference between the both.
Most gas is supplied in cylinders that can be refilled from a gas supplier, while lightweight cartridges are disposable. They contain a pressurised liquid that evaporates to form a gas - liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
Gas delivered in this way is either propane, butane or a mixture of both. The difference between these gases is that propane does not freeze until about -43°C, and butane is a cleaner fuel. The price difference between the two is minimal. Unfortunately, there is no standard colour coding for containers of different LPGs.
All cylinders need a regulator to control the pressure of the gas as it is released from the cylinder. This differs according to the gas mixture used, which means that regulators are not transferable between cylinders of different sizes or those made by different manufacturers.
If you don't camp when its freezing it won't make that much difference so long as the gas and the regulator match. Propane is better in cold weather, my experience is that butane is easier to come by.
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Seeing as you will be "under canvas" so to speak it is unlikeley that you will be out when there is frost on the ground. Butane will be fine for your needs. Propane will appear to boil kettles quicker because it is using the gas at a higher presure. Not sure the exact numbers but the mbar rating on propane regulators is higher than that on butane.
Camping gas and calor gas both do a Butane gas. Not sure that camping gas has a mix of Propane in it though. I can tell you that Calor gas is cheaper per kg than Camping gas. Camping gas is avail in France, and other parts of europe, but Calor is not. If you are planning a trip to France take enough gas to last or get Camping gas.
I hope this helps
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Butane will start to freeze at temperatures below 4 degrees celcius, so unless you are going somewhere cold I'd recommend you use butanes as it tends to be cheaper.
As for Rooster, the chemical difference is that propane has one less carbon atom to its molecules and 2 less hydrogen atoms to its molecules. It is a member of the alkane family (hydrocarbons), all derived from crude oil but their molecules are all of certain lengths. Butane's molecules are thus longer than propane's molecules.
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Topic: Propane or butane?
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