Gas bottles blue/red whats the difference
Just a question I have red currently being used in my caravan if needed to be can I use and swap for blue as well it's just that I have a few spare full bottle's of blue 7kg
Sat doing nothing .from previous caravan's that I have owned over the years .
Comments
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Red Calor bottles are Propane, Blue are Butane.. Both will work in a modern caravan with a bulkhead regulator,but you need the appropriate pigtail connector for the different bottles like
<These>That said, Butane, blue bottles don''t gas off ( work ) very well in cold weather, i.e. below 5C, so most people that use the van all year use red propane, if you wait till warmer weather, the blue butane will work just fine.
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The pigtail with the handwheel is a great step forward in my book. I gradually switched to red bottles after "freezing" one weekend in early November - you can swap an empty blue for a full red (for a price of course). Since you have a supply you may still
have a Butane pigtail to use while you finish up the blue bottles? It seems there is a slight difference in efficiency but not anything significant enough to make sense to use a mixture of bottles if you use the caravan in winter - it is really snug in a
caravan and much less crowded time of year to tour - I love it! (I have now switched to the much lighter and refillable Safefill cylinders but that is another story!)0 -
In times gone by (when there were kids at home) I used to stop caravanning after half term until end of march. Never had a problem for some 5 or 6 years until one lovely weekend, blue skies and low night time temperatures. Tried to light the stove for a
morning brew. No gas, I had to put a coat on and cuddle the bottle against me under the coat to warm it with my body heat for 10 mins. Kettke on OK. Changed to red propane on subsequent refills0 -
I use the red calorlite bottles. They are lighter than the standard red bottles, which helps with the caravan payload, and they are easier to handle. We too use the handwheel connection - much better in my opinion.
It might be worth asking if you can swap the blue canisters for red when you come to change. Just a thought, if you want to go over to red.
David
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6KG calorlite 10.52kg full
Just for comparison steel propane 15-17kgs Full dependant upon age
Figures off the calor web site
As are mine. I prefer the smaller bottle size, height as it is easier for me with arthritis in the spine to manouvre them into position. The calorlite are no lighter than the bottles that I use and I do not need the extra gas given our usage
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The other consideration is weight. The Propane (Red) has been available for some time in the new light weight cylinders. As far as I am aware Butane (blue) in not yet available in the lightweight bottle. Don't understand why.
TF
I am sure that Calor understand their market and Propane is at least a universal gas in that it can be used all year round so they probably see no advantage in the massive investment needed to buy and supply Butane cylinders in a light weight bottle. We
switched to Propane years ago. Not quite sure there is enough advantage in Butane to use it or swap for the summer?David
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I had to put a coat on and cuddle the bottle against me under the coat to warm it with my body heat
There is an alternative time-honoured method also using body waste heat
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The original question is worrying. If you have had previous van and used blue -did it mot occur to you then that others were using red and there was probably a difference.
Caravan Club this need to be emphasisied in training and communications.
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Pippah that is what I did. I actually purchased my old blue bottles on EBay, the two cost £15 and one was full, when empty I just exchanged them for red. I use red all the time. We actually use so little gas as we do not caravan in winter, my last bottle
has now seen us for 4 x 5 weeks holidays plus short trips and is not yet empty but we use site facilities whenever possible and BBQ a lot! (Note to self - must change bottle before next season!)0 -
Yes they charge more for filling the Calor lite - but the OP has blue cylinders from earlier caravanning days - so could use those up in the summer and then swap to red as the blue are finished.
but why do they charge more in the lite cylinder for just the same weight of propane?
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Yes they charge more for filling the Calor lite - but the OP has blue cylinders from earlier caravanning days - so could use those up in the summer and then swap to red as the blue are finished.
but why do they charge more in the lite cylinder for just the same weight of propane?
When the issue of cost difference has been raised before the answer has been that the extra cost of investing in lightweight cylinders requires that cost to be recouped hence the extra charge for a Calorlite compared to the standard cylinder. At least that
is reasonably transparent, it would be so easy to charge the same for either cylinder but no doubt at the higher price
David
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We use the red propane cylinders because of caravanning all the year round.
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for those new to (or considering) refillables like Safefill or Gaslow, be assured that the LPG pumps dispense gas that is (AFAIK) predominantly propane, so no issues with winter use
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What's a pig tail? I've only ever heard of a pigtail as a braid of hair.
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Pipe between bulk head regulator and bottle
Flexible pipe, either rubber or stainless steel...
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