Butane stove and cold weather

[Stargazer]

Okay, here goes.

Propane doesn't burn efficiently at high altitudes.

Butane doesn't burn well in cold temps.

This is standard knowledge, right?

I have always used propane in vans with camping gear, in RV's with furnaces and their stoves and fridges.  The only time I had a problem was at very high altitudes (11,000 ft) with the Buddy heater.  I am certain it was the oxygen sensor doing its job.  Then why did my Coleman two burner propane stove work just fine?  Why did the stoves, fridges, furnaces in RV's work just fine at high altitudes?  No O2 sensor. I lived to tell this tale.  I have some common sense. No big deal. And yes, I have always had a CO/gas detector.

I have never used butane.  Those little one burners look perfect, IMO, but fuel is not as readily available, I already carry propane for the Buddy, and ... does the butane really in your real world experience not work in cold weather?  Or is that just the "science" behind it?  What has been your experience with them?

Please don't preach about gas safety.  I know all that, have done this for many years in every situation you can name.  I just want to know "will that butane stove run well in cold climate?"  Because if propane does indeed work, perhaps not as efficiently, at high altitudes, I call bull on that.  Do you call Bull on butane in cold weather (say 20's to 30's F)?

Thanks for your input to this mountain lover.

 

[highdesertranger]

from my experience,

Butane does not work well below 32° or above 10,000ft.

Propane works fine.

where you are getting confused is the Buddy heaters don't work well at higher elevation. this has nothing to do with fuel but the design of the heater and like you said the O2 sensor.

many of those small stoves are dual fuel so you can use both fuels. frankly I don't see the advantage of Butane unless you are close to somewhere that is warmer, lower elevation, and higher population. I very rarely have seen Butane at small stores in the sticks.

highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

If you are just wanting a low profile 1 burner stove, I would suggest this Coleman model:  Coleman 1 burner stove.  You can also run it off a bigger tank with a high pressure hose.

 

[Stargazer]

HDR: warm climate, low elevation, high population...just the thought gives me goose bumps. You've said what I have thought. Thank you.

Brian: Stuck in Houston? ^^^ I'm so sorry for you. I lived there some years back. *shiver* I am considering that very stove. What has held me back so far is the 7500 BTU. I cook on two heats -- off and full blast. And 10,000+ is fuller blast, lol. Thanks for your input, too.

Great minds and all of that.

For me, The Perfect Stove would be a one burner version of the Coleman Classic (propane). I have actually considered hiring somebody to cut down the two burner. Doable?

 

[MrNoodly]

I had a Mr. Heater Buddy. It gave me fits in Flagstaff, at 7,000 feet. I eventually got rid of it when I realized I could use my 1-burner propane stove for heat. Then I was given a butane stove. I really like using it because of the piezo starter and much more responsive temperature control. But at about 50°F/10°C the flame slowly dies down to almost nothing. The canister cools as gas is released. It's more of a problem the colder the ambient temperature gets. So I'm thinking of getting a dual fuel version but running it primarily on propane.

 

[regis101]

I picked this up a few months ago after experiencing cold weather butane issues. I keep the first Gas One as a spare or a second stove.
https://www.amazon.com/GS-3400P-Por...ocphy=1013950&hvtargid=pla-403695467007&psc=1

 

[waldenbound]

I have a stove fetish. I had Coleman two burner propane stoves, single burner propane stove, isobutane canister stoves, integrated canister stoves, and liquid fuel stoves.
I just bought a MSR Whisperlite. I got real tired of tracking down isobutane cartridges. The Whisperlite can burn kerosene, white gas, and unleaded gas. Many people don’t like futzing with gas, o rings, or taking things apart and putting them back together, but at least you can find fuel near about anywhere.
If you need a real monster of a stove, the MSR XGK EX is a fire breathing monster. It can burn jet fuel!

Anyway, that’s some thoughts from one with a stove fetish.

 

[MrNoodly]

It can burn jet fuel!

"Jet fuel" sounds like some sort of super high-level petroleum product, but it's mostly kerosene or a kerosene-naphtha blend, with aviation-friendly additives, like anti-icing chemicals.

 

[Stargazer]

Mr Noodly:  thank you.  That's just what I was afraid of with Butane.  Now that I'm living in Western Colorado, 50 degrees seems almost downright balmy.  I am also thinking of a dual fuel.  I like the small size and they look pretty stable.

Regis101:  That one looks good.  It will run on the 1# propane bottles.  I wonder if one could hook it up to a 20# tank?  Will definitely check it out.  Thank you!

Waldenbound:  Jet fuel?  Woah Nellie!  Lol!  Back in the Olden Days, I had the Coleman that ran on white gas.  I have fond memories of taking my girls camping with one of those.  That was in the days of tents and no heaters, sleeping bags on the ground.  The gas stove was a step up from cooking over a camp fire.  We thought we were high tech with that stove.  I'm almost embarrassed to have become such a sissy in my older age.  Both daughters now out and very successful and would consider a hotel with only four stars as roughing it.  Sigh.  I failed as a parent.  ROFL!  One lives near San Francisco and has RV's parked on the streets in her neighborhood.  When we take her two little ones for a walk, she points out different ones, and think it's a cool lifestyle so I didn't fail completely.

Thanks all for your input.  I value real life experience.

 

[MrNoodly]

<a href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/wNYQ9HG/chart-crude-oil-petroleum-products.png" alt="chart-crude-oil-petroleum-products" border="0" /></a>

 

[Almost There]

I use my butane stove inside my van year round. When it gets too cold, I'm using the buddy heater anyways to warm up the inside of the van. I've been known to CAREFULLY take the butane canister and warm in a good foot away from the buddy heater, just to take the chill off the can.

I buy my butane in bulk at K&Bs in Quartzite every fall and each spring but then I have the storage space for a case of butane at a time. You can generally find butane at sporting goods stores but it tends to be expensive. Last year I paid $35.00 a case for 28 cans at K&B so it's worth it to  me to stockpile.

Since I cook usually twice a day I get 4 to 5 days worth of cooking and heating water for tea and dishes out of a can.

I do carry the 2 burner propane stove but I use it outside for when I'm cooking batches like spaghetti sauce and chili and when I'm cooking for a crowd. The 2 burner takes up too much space on my counter and I found that the 1 burner propane stoves were too tippy for my liking. I just unhook the buddy heater from the 20 lb tank and hook it up to the stove to use it.

 

[regis101]

I'm a thinnin dat if you look at the , Frequently Bought Together, items on that Amazon link , you'll see a hose that adapts to the stove hose.
The green bottles have the same pressure as the 20# tanks. Oh yes, it's true.
So, you'd use the adapter hose from the 20# tank to the stove hose that has the regulator that attaches to the stove itself.
Just an option is all.

 

[Stargazer]

Hey Almost There!  Your oh so familiar moniker, good to see ya.  I considered exactly what you're doing until I realized I no longer have that Coleman two burner.  I've been S&B for a while now and have decided to trick out my daily driver minivan and get back out there.  I think it's withdrawal.  Therefore, gotta get a stove and in a minivan? A small stove.

As for cooking, my idea of making spaghetti sauce is opening a jar, dump it in a pot, heat on HIGH, serve.  Voila!  Bisketti!  You cook, I'll do the dishes.  Everybody will be happier, trust me.

Regis:  you make me laugh!  And what a thought about hooking the hose up that way.  Ya think that'd work?  Hmmmm...

 

[Stargazer]

Jet fuel is kerosene??  Oh sheesh!  Just one more reason not to fly.  I recently took a plane trip through Denver to Vegas for a little vacation.  Sat there and watched them fuel the plane and remembered years and years ago, a jet took off from the San Antonio airport and crashed.  They had put in the wrong fuel.  Very few survivors.  I love the flying part, it's all that getting there entails.  Yuck.  Back to driving.  So there.

I think I'm having van withdrawal.  Have seen three in the past week in this oh so small mountain community where I now live.  One was an old econoline that someone had very lovingly restored, added solar and other RV amenities.  I so wanted to see it but it was in the parking lot of the liquor store and it didn't seem very seemly to jump out and rush the guy to ask about his rig.  My brother was with me; he jokes about my van "fetish"  and keeps telling me I should just go out and buy another one.  He lived in a skoolie for years.  I think it's genetic.  My sister lived in her sailboat.  My youngest brother out of his pickup.

So, a stove.  Back to the stove.  Look!  There's a squirrel!

 

[highdesertranger]

LOL Stargazer you are derailing your own thread. it's cool, at least it wasn't me this time. highdesertranger

 

[Stargazer]

Oh yeah?  It's my friend's fault!  I've been helping her build her off the grid tiny house this week.  Two old ladies with power tools run by a propane fueled generator (her solar isn't all together yet) on ladders in 37 degree weather, moving slow but cutting those angles on the wood trim inside was fun.  A little putty will fill up that nasty crack.

Earlier this week, the posts for the solar panels were set and I arrived as the concrete was drying.  I looked at the posts and said, "Didn't you say you were mounting at 30 degrees?"  Yep, she replied.  I said that sure isn't thirty degrees.  We discussed it, went inside and she looked at her calculations and realized it was the wrong angle.  It was sixty degrees.  Which would be great on the winter solstice...

Anyway, the building part has been really fun and she appreciates the help and we complain about the political situation and the state of the world and how much better it would all be if we ran things and heated up tortillas on her ancient Coleman stove and had pulled pork I had made and taken over for lunch and what a great day.  Notice how I got the stove part in there?  Ha!

And no, I have not been drinking nor smoking weed, even if this is Colorado.  It was just a fun day and got me all excited.  Omg!  I feel like I'm sixty again!