refilling butane from cartridge to canister

[Jerry Adams]

I got from Amazon one of these:

Xinnyuan Outdoor Copper Quick Inflation Butane Tank Connector Cylinder Coupler Gas Refill Adapter Pneumatic Valve – $3.85

that brand will probably be out of business but there are other brands.  This must be from China so with the trade war, maybe they’ll raise the price or they’ll quit selling them totally.

That worked pretty good, I was surprised.  It’s one piece of metal and one o-ring.  Nothing to fail.

In order to get all the fuel out of the cartridge, don’t hold it vertical like in that picture, hold the cartridge almost horizontal, slightly downhill, with the slot on the cartridge down.  Put canister in freezer first, and cartridge in 110F water.  Know the gross weight of the canister (7 ounces for 4 ounce size, 13 ounces for 8 ounce size).  Weigh the canister after you fill it and don’t let it weigh more than that limit or it can self destruct.

8 ounces of butane from Korean grocer costs $1.25.  Package of 4 cartridges for $5.  What does an 8 ounce canister cost, $6?  This device pays for itself with the first cartridge.

By refilling, you can put just the right amount of fuel in for a trip.  You don’t have to take a full canister if you don’t need that much.  If you have a mostly empty canister you don’t have to take a second spare canister.

The cheap butane is good when the air temperature is above 32 F or so.  Below that you have to use something like a Moulder strip.  Good butane works at about 11 F colder.

[Elliott Wolin]

On Ebay I found adapters from every type of canister to every other, allowing me to run any type of gas stove or lamp on standard propane and butane canisters, and on backpacking models (Lindahl valves, I believe).

Warning:  do not refill backpacking canisters with propane, as the canisters could explode (exception if you have the right equipment to ensure the mix is correct and understand the dangers…most people probably don’t).  This has been discussed here previously.

I just stick with refilling with butane and use the canisters in the warmer weather.  I also mark them with a big “R” so I know which ones I’ve refilled.

[AK Granola]

I wish REI and other outdoor shops would simply exchange canisters – a full for an empty – they way propane tanks are exchanged. Would be so much easier and no waste.

[Jerry Adams]

refillable propane canisters are much more sturdy (heavy)

if they were designed to be refillable, they would have to make them sturdier?

yeah, I agree, they should allow refilling.  I’ve refilled the same canister at least 10 times and haven’t noticed any problems

 

[David Thomas]

Amazon tends to be US-based resellers who get the stuff from China.

Which you can do yourself if you can wait 2-3 weeks.  Those adapters are available on eBay for $2.20 with free shipping out of China.  When there are several vendors offering something for $2.20, $2.23 and $2.30 – essentially the same price – I checked their satisfaction ratings.  98% is pretty low.  99%+ is good.  When things go wrong it is so frustrating and such a bother, that I’ll happily pay a nickel or dime more to a 99.3% seller than a 98.4% one.

But even at 98% – are you happy with 98% of your purchases from Walmart, Safeway, or even LL Bean / REI?

[Jerry Adams]

For $2.20 or $2.30 how can anything “go wrong”? : )

I guess if it was delayed that could be wrong.  I got the one from amazon for $3.83 in 2 weeks.  I forget, they probably shipped it from China.

 

[Graham F]

I got one from Korea two years ago-talk about saving money after dozens of refills! Yes, agreed, weigh everything. I go with 205 grams maximum weight on a 100 gram canister.

[Jerry Adams]

Did you get one of those little simple ones?

I also got a more complex one with valves and a hose, but it started leaking which I fixed with a generous amount of silicone, but that also siliconed one of the valves permanently open.  Still usable but I couldn’t help myself buying the simple $3.85 or $2.20 one just to see if it worked.  I read somewhere the simple one doesn’t work but it was okay when I used it.

[Graham F]

I have the simple one. The oring is always falling off- I just keep it in a ziploc. Cost about 12 AUD but paid for itself so quickly.

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