Spaceheater

[David2005]

I bought a propane spaceheater recently and just want to know if i can use it with butane. I don't know the difference between the two but i connected it up this evening and seemed to work fine. Is there any danger to using butane instead of propane? Thanks

 

[Paul.]

Should be ok Ive done it as well, butane regs are set at 11" water gauge, propane at 14", also propane has a higher calorific value, so it probably wont produce as much heat, but I never had any problem, apart from the rate that they get through gas.

 

[David2005]

Should be ok Ive done it as well, butane regs are set at 11" water gauge, propane at 14", also propane has a higher calorific value, so it probably wont produce as much heat, but I never had any problem, apart from the rate that they get through gas.

Nice one cheers mate, didn't really want to shell out for propane when i don't have to and i'll only be using it every now and then anyway

 

[JayRS4]

Isn`t it the other way round Fluffy?

I`ve got one for the `shop too, running on propane, but says its suitbale for butane or mix too so you should be fine.

 

[MrFluffy]

"Butane cylinders (blue) should be used in the
spring / summer months and propane (red) for the winter months - as it has a lower freezing temperature”

Jay, I just deleted that post when I thought id got it aot again myself. But that quotes straight from the butane gas people.

The reason its important is there will be days you *really* want the heat, but when using butane find the cylinders have froze and wont produce gas. Whereas the propane cylinders would be ok to a much lower temp.

Click on the difference between butane and propane link on this site :-
http://www.butane.com/faq/caravan.htm

 

[JayRS4]

Make sense now how it`s written there, in the last post is read as if propane froze at a lower temp.

Off topic, does Butane has any specific purpose, there doesnt seem much point to it when for most users propane all year round is fine.

 

[andypocock]

And it's all going to change soon as both regulators will soon have to be set to a common EU level which is somewhere in the middle. I'm assuming that this will apply to new sales only but it won't be long before somebody (HSE) decides that all regulators on site need to conform to the new specification.

Andy

 

[rtbcomp]

......Off topic, does Butane has any specific purpose, there doesnt seem much point to it when for most users propane all year round is fine.

I think it's ro ro with the refining process. You get both gasses whether you want them or not. Propane tends to be sold into the commercial market (tar burners, forklifts) and butane into the deomestic (camping gas, cabinet heaters &c) I think butane burns cleaner too.

LPG for vehicles is a mixture of the two.

 

[rtbcomp]

And it's all going to change soon as both regulators will soon have to be set to a common EU level which is somewhere in the middle. I'm assuming that this will apply to new sales only but it won't be long before somebody (HSE) decides that all regulators on site need to conform to the new specification.

Andy

Does that mean variable propane regs will disappear?

 

[MrFluffy]

Butane burns cleaner (hotter too. They recommend switching to butane in summer for caravanners because propane adds a bit of time for the time taken for a kettle to boil, and causes pan blackening for eg...

 

[Pete.]

If you use an adjustable propane reg for supplying your fire you need to make sure it's burning all the gas and not throwing out un-burnt vapour because propane vapour makes you very ill indeed. We had a new machine that was chucking out un-burnt vapour and after two hours the three of us in the vicinity were suffering the worst headaches imaginable. Took hours and a lot of painkillers to subside. I'm told that propane vapours are also cancer-causing, though I haven't checked that.

 

[Paul.]

One of the main dangers with LPG is carbon monoxide poisoning, unburnt gas is pretty unpleasant and should be smelled before it does you much harm, the smell is put into the gas as a safety feature, make sure your heater is burning a blue flame, if it has yellow tips on the flame that is a sign of incomplete combustion (thats what makes your pans black), adequate ventilation is vital, also remember LPG is heavier than air, it also produces water vapour as a by product of combustion, which will make your tools and materials rusty,

 

[matt1978]

LPG for vehicles is a mixture of the two.

I didn't know that!