Propane vs. Butane

[jeffryscott]

The single burner stove thread made me curious about butane. I have seen butane stoves used by chefs at demos and have often wondered if they would be a viable option for the overland traveler.

So, are they?

How is performance compared to propane? What are the downsides (altitude, burn time, etc...)? Positives?

 

[Ray Hyland]

I have a butane stove (Iwatani type) that I brought with me from Singapore. It is awesome, has a nice even heat, easy ignition, idiot proof operation, and you can turn the flame down very low without it going out.

It is not designed for really rugged offroad use, the canisters don't last very long, and it doesn't like altitude or cold.

So, if I was cooking something needing a lower, more even heat (like boiling rice in a thin pot without burning it), at a camp below 2500 ft in the summertime, it is the stove I would bring.

In the winter, or on a more "hardcore" trip, or if I just needed to boil water, I would take one of my other stoves.

Cheers

Ray

 

[Christophe Noel]

Propane requires a canister that can withstand greater pressures. As such, all propane canisters will be pretty heavy units. With the exception of larger refillable canisters, smaller canisters (like the evil Coleman 1 pounder) can't easily be refilled and end up in your nearest trash bin.

Butane and Isobutane/propane blends can be stored with less pressure in lighter, recyclable cans. These blends burn better in cold temps, and/or at altitude as Ray mentioned above.

Those small stoves used by chefs for demos are butane stoves that use "bayonet" style cans. They're like hairspray cans, for lack of a better descriptor. Those cans are less popular than the, now standard, threaded isobutane/propane canisters sold by MSR, Jetboil, Primus, CampingGaz, Optimus and many others at your nearest camping store.

Ideally, any cartridge stove is best when fuel storage and weight is a big concern. They're usually lightweight alternatives to liquid stoves. They also require no priming.

 

[ssssnake529]

Propane burns hotter and is less affected by cold than butane. The only downside of propane is the canisters are heavier. For backpacking, butane is superior because of the lighter weight. For car camping, I don't see any advantage for butane. The added weight/bulk of a propane canister is negligible, and the performance is superior.

 

[Ray Hyland]

I love the Primus grasshopper. A friend has one, that he got from his dad. It rocks.

 

[Hafwit]

I have both varieties and use the butane stoves when I need something light and compact (such as when backpacking). The propane IMO makes more sense when you are doing vehicle-based camping where you can have a large amount of fuel to run several items such as a stove/bbq/lanterns/heaters/water heaters/etc. Butane does not have that kind of adaptability.

Cheers,
Greg

 

[ObGobOobaleeney]

I had a CampingGaz propane/butane single burner about 20 years ago. I still have it and several of its no-longer-made canisters, full. I won't likely ever use them. One cold morning on a camping trip was all it took for me to never use propane or butane ever again. I've been a liquid fuel fan ever since, MSR Whisperlite Internationale and XGK, and a beautiful, giant 1977 Coleman three-burner liquid fuel stove. All are good to the last drop at any altitude, or temperature. I can cook a real meal on the three burner, and my Whisperlite Internationale is 18 years old and problem free.

 

[cnynrat]

One issue in evaluating propane vs. butane is the boiling point of the fuel. Recall that the boiling point of of a liquid is defined as the temperature at which it will begin to turn in to a gas.

Gas canister stoves such as these don't burn the liquid fuel, they burn the fuel that is in the gaseous state in the canister. Think of it as the fuel that has boiled and turned into a gas above the liquid fuel level in the canister. An indication of how much gas pressure you will develop in the canister is the boiling point of the fuel relative to the ambient temperature. Propane has a boiling point of -42* C, whereas butane has a boiling point of -0.5* C. Isobutane is a little lower at -11.7* C.

From these figures you see why butane stoves don't always work very well at low temperatures. It's not too uncommon, particularly at higher elevations, to find ambient temperatures that are near the boiling point of butane (or even isobutane), which will affect the pressure of the gas that develops in the canister.