Using propane with canister stoves spec’d to use Butane/isobutane/Propane

[Bruce Tolley]

The last two winters I have used propane canisters with my Kovea Spider stove for snow camping.  Yes I carried a bit more steel, but the sputtering of the liquid feed bothered me and the propane seemed to heat water more quickly.  Is there any reason I cannot use propane with stoves that do not have the fuel reheat tube.

SOTO says to only use butane/propane mixes.  I am looking to switch to either the SOTO Fusion or the MSR Windburner both of which don’t have the pre-heat tube so they won’t support liquid feed.  But will they work fine with 100% propane?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I can’t think of any negatives. to this approach.   My 2 cents.

[Rex Sanders]

Never, ever use the MSR Windburner or Reactor stoves inside a shelter or vestibule, even on 100% propane. The designs create way too much carbon monoxide.

In this case, over-the-top manual warnings are correct.

— Rex

[Jerry Adams]

the pre heat tube is to support liquid feed on inverted canister stove – it causes the fuel to evaporate so it burns properly

100% propane boiling temp is -43 F.  As long as you’re more than 10 F above that, if you’re above -33 F, you don’t need liquid feed.

maybe the orifice or air hole should be slightly different.  If the flame is a normal color it should be good.  If not you could have slightly more carbon monoxide or worse efficiency.

[DAN-Y]

I am looking to switch to either the SOTO Fusion or the MSR

I would go with the Soto. It will work just fine with 100% propane. No preheat tube necessary. Mine has worked just great.

[Brian G]

I’ve used pure propane (Coleman green 1 lb cylinders) with no-name canister-top stoves (using good quality propane-type to Lindahl (sp?)-type adapter) for many years without any issue.

More commonly I (carefully) blend N-Butane and propane inside a spent 1 lb propane tank in a 60B/40P mix and use that to (carefully) refill a Coleman IsoButane/Lindahl valve canister that came retail filled with such a 60/40 blend.  Have also done this (carefully) for years without issue.  The blend works for me as, although I am no stranger to sub freezing (F) hiking/camping, I rarely hike/camp in sub zero (F) temps such that I have stove problems.

[Roger Caffin]

Propane boils at -42 C
Butane boils at 0 C
Petrol/auto-fuel boils over a wide range, up to (say) 150 C (but this is very vague)
Kerosene boils at over 200 C

This is a wide range. You can see why a stove running petrol or kerosene needs a preheat tube to turn the fuel into a vapour. (And you have to vaporise the fuel before it can burn.) But equally obviously, you do NOT need a preheat tube to use propane at at reasonable ambient temperature. Butane is borderline: in the snow (ie sub-zero) it needs a bit of help.

The inverted canister winter stoves I sell do not have a preheat tube over the top. They do have a Heat Shunt to take some energy from the flame down to help boil the incoming fuel, be it straight butane or a B/P mix.

That said, the stove needs to have the right balance between fuel and air. The problem for kerosene stoves has always been getting enough air (oxygen) into the fuel stream. That is why most kero and many petrol stoves are less powerful than a canister stove: you just can’t get the air in. On the other hand, going from butane to propane rarely requires anything to be done to the fuel/air mix. Adjustments via the needle valve are usually sufficient.

HTH
Cheers

[David Thomas]

I’ve never had a problem running backpacking stoves marketed for butane/propane mixes on 100% propane.  The flame color and stability always look fine to me.

Going to a slightly, on average, lower MW fuel mix would result in a slightly leaner flame which, in my mind, is nice at elevation since lower atmospheric pressure tends to make the flame richer, more yellow and produce more CO.

[Jerry Adams]

-42 C, -42 F, whatever…

oh, wait, that’s the point where C and F are the same

actually, that’s -40 C/F

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