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Butane & Propane Gas Bottles


Ewa

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We're taking our gas BBQ over to Normandy to use for cooking purposes this summer whilst we renovate, but I wanted to check availability of butane and/or propane gas bottles before doing so. I know that gas can be bought at supermarkets and petrol stations, but which type is most easily bought? Would we have to pay a deposit on the bottle too?

Our BBQ has a 6kg butane bottle on it which we have been told by Homebase in the UK that we need to change to a 5kg propane bottle via Calor Gas as they no longer sell butane (which also means buying a new regulator). But if butane is easily bought in France we won't bother changing it over and will wait until it runs out (eeek!).

Thanks for any advice.

Ewa

27 & Devon
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Both Butane and Propane are easily available in France.

Some supermarkets (Auchan and Leclerc) have recently entered the own brand market with deposits of only 5 Euros per bottle. However it's probably best to use whichever brand is available near to your property. Its a real pest to have to travel 20 miles for a refil.

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Ewa

One of the real problems in France, for UK equipment, is that all the regulators are different!

I don't mean just for propane or butane, either, althought they are different.

I mean the French bottle fittings. In the UK the regulator screws (left-handed thread as all fuel gases), direct onto the bottle. As do some French fittings! Some!

One neat way round this is to go to a good local caravan shop: they should be able to sell you an adapter, which allows you to use UK bottles and/or French bottles. For fixed installations (e.g. caravans, domestic cookers) many regs now are fixed to something other than the bottle and fed by a plastic house, with the required coupler.

One type of French gas bottle for propane, has a weird sort of bayonet fitting for the regulator, which plugs straight into the bottle.

Having modified a UK gas regulator with a French screw-on bottle fitting (which fits both regular propane and butane bottles in France) all I now need is a smaller gas bottle of propane, for my professional UK blowlamp. The French don't seem to believe in gas regulators for torches and I don't fancy lugging one of the big ones around as I plumb!

Bonne Appetite !

 

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Ahh, thank you for this added info Gluestick. Will find our local caravanning shop and see what they've got (just a good excuse to go to Lyme Regis for an hour or two - much rather do a 30 mile round trip in that direction!!). Ewa.
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