Bottled gas problem

[bixy]

For the second time we have had a problem with a new cylinder of gas. The gas will only come out at very low pressure. It's not the reduction valve as the previous bottle was fine. Does anyone know the cause or the cure for this?

Patrick

[Chancer]

Butane?

Bottle outside or in an unheated room?

If so find a place or a way to raise the temp of the bottle or switch to propane which will gas off at a lower temp than butane..

[bixy]

Yes, butane, and yes, kept in a cold room. Now working ok after a night in the kitchen, so thanks for the tip. Curious though, because all the other bottles have been kept in the same cold place without any problem.

Patrick

[andyh4]

Butane boils at +.5C.  As it evaporates in the bottle it cools down, so if the storage temperatures drop below around 5-10C you are likely to suffer from restricted flow of gas.

[bixy]

Just a follow up to this. I noticed that our cooker gas rings were not burning evenly, and with less force than when new. I took off the spreaders and inserted a very fine wire into the single central jet. I needed different sized wires for the different jets. It's made a big difference. Clearly over the years some kind of gunge gets deposited which partially blocks the jet. A word of caution, don't force wire into the jets if it won't go. All it needs is  gentle up and down movement. And, as with all gas appliances, leave it alone if you're not sure.

Patrick

[fisherman]

I had this problem last year when it was very cold. Our bottles are kept in the garage below the house. I have since bought a reptile cage heating tape and an immersion heater cover. Not used it yet but it should give an improvement if the temperature drops too low.

[PaulT]

All year round caravanners know all about this and butane in the winter is a definite NO hence a bottle of butane and a bottle of propane in the gas locker so that the change can be made in winter.

If I remember correctly propane has a lower calorific value than butane but if the butane is no longer a gas then it is academic.

[vette]

When we first moved to France we lived in a mobile home for 2 years whilst renovating the house. The gas bottle was outside in the cold air so I solved the low pressure problem by putting a heating pad under an old oven grille shelf. The bottle sat on the grille. I surrounded that with multi foil insulation and an old large metal tube that was lying around the place. The electric cable ran from that to the caravan. It worked a treat.

The heating pad was from one of those shops that sell wine and beer making products.