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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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My stove says "butane only" on the underside

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/12/2006 : 20:49:12

While I was working on the propane icing mystery, I noticed that my stove says that I should only be using butane in it. I don't know the history of the boats, but I thought that the 97's used a propane stove? This one is a Seaward model# 1293. How big a deal is it that it's being run on propane instead of butane? I'd guess that propane requires a different orifice than butane, but that's just a guess. Until I bought this boat I'd never owned a single propane appliance except my big grill which is a different animal. Therefore my knowledge on this subject is much more limited than I like.

Can anyone tell me if I need to be looking into either a different stove, or reconfiguring for butane? Or does it really make all that much difference?

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 11/12/2006 : 21:44:20

Hmmm... Propane produces more BTU's. Wonder if there's a heat issue.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/12/2006 : 21:55:20

Do you have a will?

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2006 : 07:22:38

David,

#224 a '96 came with what I affectionately named the rinky dink butane cannister unit to supply butane to the stove.

This unit was disarded and coleman propane cartridges have been used since. The valve used on the coleman cartridges was cannibalized from a cheap giveaway camp stove. It has a very small oriface regulating system and has a three position valve that works well in the first position while positions 2-3 produce too much fire.

The butane stove will work with propane cartridges as long as pressure and flow are limited so as to produce a normal flame pattern. The pressure may be controlled by a flow restrictor only or a restrictor in combination with a pressure regulator.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2006 : 11:35:45

Arlyn,
Thanks for the reply, I spent a couple of hours last night reading up on propane & butane. It looks like butane contains a bit more energy than propane, but since it stops vaporising around 40° it's not overly useful in the winter months up here. Also it's very common for propane to contain up to 40% butane anyway, which can cause problems if you're using refillable tanks, but probably not big concern if you're using disposable cylinders like we are. Our regulator has 4-5 positions to control the amount of flow, I find that at the lowest setting, the flame on the stove is quite controllable, so I think we're ok. Similar to your experiences, at the higher regulator settings, the flames are huge even at the lower settings on the stove.

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oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2006 : 18:27:44

David,

Butane does indeed have a higher BTU rating than propane and therefore, needs more combustion air mixed in with the gas in order for safe combustion.

Incomplete combustion, due to a stove set up for propane being fired with butane, will produce higher levels of carbon monoxide due to insufficient combustion air at the burner.

Conversely, if a stove properly set up for butane is fired with propane, the result will be higher levels of carbon dioxide due to excess combustion air.

Either way, the flame may often appear to look "nice and blue" (rather than yellowish), and the pressure regulator may well appear to be adjusted correctly.

I'd see to it that there is the correct fuel/air ratio before using it below decks.

Better yet, I'd use only the fuel recommended by the manufacturer or chuck the stove into a dumpster.

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Bubba
Admiral

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USA
542 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2006 : 18:39:50

If I understand this right, the cannabalized valve controls the pressure by restricting the flow from the propane canister? What happens if you turn down the burner at the stove? Doesn't pressure build in the line?

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