To operate a Coleman Propane Stove, first connect one end of the regulator to the stove and the other end to a propane canister. To establish a proper seal, use soapy dishwater to all of the connection points. To release propane, place a flame adjacent to the burner and slowly turn on the matching knob.
How do you go about using camping gas?
1. Make sure your gas stove is on a level surface.
2. Remove the top of the stove’s pan support. Turn it over so the support is facing up, ready to support your pan.
3. On the stove, remove the cartridge cover. Remove the lid from the gas canister and place the gas cartridge into the burner gently.
4. Hold the gas canister in place and press the cartridge stop lever down until it slides into place. Before using, double-check that the gas canister is properly seated.
5. Toggle the control knob to the ‘ignition’ position until the stove clicks and lights. If it doesn’t work the first time, try again until it works.
6. Turn the control knob to the desired flame height.
7. Now you can use your stove. Heat will be directed downwards, towards the gas cartridge, if you use pans or kettles that are too large for the stove. If you’re using many stoves, don’t put them too close together, as this can cause them to overheat.
8. When you’re done, turn the knob to ‘off’ and lift the cartridge lever to the unlock position.
9. Make sure the flame is out and let the gas cartridge to cool completely before disconnecting it. When not in use, never leave the gas cartridge inside the cooker. When you’re done, replace the red protective cap on the gas cartridge.
What is the difference between Coleman camp fuel and propane?
You may have a fantastic camp stove, but it will be useless without fuel!
When you’re camping, your camping stove may be your sole method of heating your food, so it’s crucial to be able to acquire fuel, especially if you’re going to be camping for several days or weeks.
It’s aggravating to be out on the road and in nature, and your only source of cooking is stifled because the fuel for your camping stove is nowhere to be found.
Listed in order of easiest to locate near you:
Gasoline Availability
Gasoline is without a doubt the easiest camping fuel to come by. While you’re on the road, any gas station will sell gasoline, regardless of whether they sell anything else. You’ll never have to worry about running out of gas while traveling to a remote location. A gas station can be found anywhere in the United States where there are paved roadways.
Furthermore, even if you are going in the middle of the night and the gas station in question is closed, you will most likely be able to get gas because many pumps still accept credit or debit cards.
If your camping stove runs on gasoline, you can get fuel even if it’s after hours.
Propane Availability
Propane comes in second place! While gasoline is unquestionably the most widely available fuel, many gas stations also stock the very common 1 pound Coleman green propane tanks. This means you won’t have to search for fuel at the local sports goods or outdoor recreation store!
Aside from the very ubiquitous 1 pound Coleman green propane tanks, propane is also sold in enormous 15 pound cylinders (the weight is referring to the amount of propane you can put in the tank).
Many campers prefer these to smaller 1 pound tanks since they can use larger cylinders that last longer, which is perfect for extended camping trips.
These 15-20 pound cylinders can be replenished in a variety of places.
Blue Rhino is a popular program accessible at gas stations around the United States in which you purchase a cylinder and then exchange it at a petrol station when you’re done with it for a significantly lower charge than you paid for the original cylinder.
For example, the original cylinder purchase costs $49.99 and a refill costs $19.99.
The disadvantage of Propane availability is that it necessitates the establishment to remain open and manned in order to purchase it and switch tanks (such as for the Blue Rhino program).
This means you’ll have to wait until the morning or find a 24-hour gas station or Walmart if you need camping stove fuel after hours.
Finally, propane tanks can be found in hardware stores such as Home Depot or Lowe’s, as well as your local hardware store and outdoor recreation stores.
White Gas Availability
This is where we get to the fuels, where you may or may not be able to find the type of fuel your camp stove requires. White gas, commonly known as Camp Fuel, Naphtha (not to be confused with paint varnish Naphtha), or Coleman Fuel, is not as widely available as propane. While many gas stations will sell propane, white gas will be available in a far smaller proportion.
Many Walmart locations, as well as sports goods and outdoor recreation stores, carry white gas.
You don’t need to select a specific container for white gas because it’s a fluid (you can pour it). You may use any brand of white gas for your white gas camping stove if you can find it, which makes white gas more accessible than other types of camping stove fuel.
What is the purpose of Coleman fuel?
Coleman fuel is mostly used to power lanterns and camp stoves. In the United States, it’s normally sold in one-gallon cans, but in Europe, it’s usually offered in one-litre bottles.
It’s also a popular source of heat for fire dancers. It was originally just casing-head gas or drip gas, which have comparable qualities. Until the early 1950s, drip gas was marketed commercially in North America at gas stations and hardware stores. Today’s white gas is a comparable substance, but it’s made in refineries and contains very little benzene, which is a human carcinogen.
Despite having an octane rating of 50 to 55 and a flammability close to gasoline, Coleman fuel contains none of the additives found in modern gasoline. However, most burners can easily burn unleaded gasoline (or white gas).
Is propane and camp fuel the same thing?
Let’s start with the white 15- or 20-pound tanks you’ve probably seen on the front hitch of a travel trailer or hooked up to your deck’s barbecue grill. In certain locations, these tanks are referred to as “camping gas.” To add to the confusion, depending on where you reside, they’re also known as LPG, BBQ gas, patio gas, bottled gas, propane, LP gas, or a variety of other names.
In addition, different localities and businesses will have their own specific gas compositions in their bottles. The quality of each gas will also be determined by the location where it is bottled.
The following is a breakdown of the gases frequently found in a 20-pound propane tank:
Ethyl mercaptan is added since the majority of the gas in these tanks is propane, which is odorless, and the other gases added are either odorless or have a slight odor. The rotten egg smell you get when you have a gas leak is ethyl mercaptan, which is added as a safety precaution.
Energy Content
For this question, the physics are a little fascinating. Propane is less dense than White Gas (it’s an LPG, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas, so that makes sense), but it has more energy per pound than White Gas.
White gas, on the other hand, has more energy per gallon than propane when comparing energy content per volume.
(All information is taken from the engineering toolbox.)
The irony is that because LPGs are pressured, they are generally measured in weight, whereas liquid fuels like white gas are measured in volume.
Does this imply that there isn’t a valid comparison?
Because white gas and propane have similar energy content, how “hot” a fuel burns ultimately depends on the burner being used.
If two stoves burn the same quantity of fuel per minute (white gas or propane), white gas will burn hotter at any given time.
Propane will burn hotter than white gas if the propane burner burns a large enough volume of fuel per minute.
To compare apples to oranges, Coleman’s 2-burner liquid fuel camp stove has a maximum BTU capacity of 7,500, whereas Coleman’s 2-burner propane camp stove has a maximum BTU capacity of 10,000. In this scenario, propane comes out on top, at least according to Coleman’s marketing.
Using the Boil Test to Compare Stove Heat
The boil test is a standard heat benchmark that is slightly more approachable. A boil test entails turning up the heat on the stove to its maximum setting, allowing as much fuel to burn as feasible, and observing how quickly it can boil water.
During my investigation, I discovered that the stove design has a lot more to do with how rapidly water boils than I had previously assumed.
Some benchmarks indicated that with the exact same type of fuel, the variances could be as much as a minute!
Another factor to consider with liquid stoves that affects the boil test is that they must be primed, which entails heating the stove to the point when the fuel vaporizes instantaneously, resulting in a beautiful blue flame.
Priming takes time, and whether it should be included in a boil test is disputed… but keep in mind that it may take a few minutes to prime before you can use it.
Propane is pitted against a camping stove mix and a liquid fuel in this YouTube video.
Liquid fuel stoves work similarly to gas stoves.
The propane stove boiled water in half the time of the other two stoves, demonstrating the importance of the stove and the flow of fuel.
The propane boiled 2 cups of water in 3 minutes and 30 seconds in another test using backpacking stoves.
2 cups of water boiled in 4 minutes and 20 seconds on an MSR White gas stove in another test.
The pots are different for each of these studies, and no one knows what heights they’re at, so the research is a little muddled.
Even if the pots were identical in all of the tests, the data clearly suggests that stove design is critical.
Finally, in terms of heat output, whether you choose white gas or propane makes little difference, so this should not be a factor in your decision. It won’t make a difference if you boil water for one minute less or one minute longer.
How long does a 1 pound propane tank from Coleman last?
The Coleman propane tank is the most often used.
When used with a tiny 75,00 BTU stove and both burners on high flame, the 16.4oz or 1lb small tank will last for two hours.
22,000 BTUs are contained in a 16.4 oz propane tank. To figure out how long it will last with certain equipment, divide 22,000 by the BTU consumption per hour of the equipment, and you’ll have the number of hours your 16.4Oz propane tank will last (this is a very rough calculation and the actual burn time greatly depends on the efficiency of the equipment.)
When a camping propane tank is empty, how do you know?
We’re in the midst of outdoor living season in Connecticut, which means it’s time to fire up your propane BBQ grill! Simply ensure that you have extra gas for your next summer BBQ.
However, as any veteran propane griller knows, most 20-pound propane barbecue cylinders lack a gauge, which means you’ll need to figure out how much fuel is left in your tank in another method.
Here are three easy ideas to get you started:
1. Make use of warm water. This safe and straightforward method for determining how much propane is left in your tank was given by the FiX IT Home Improvement Channel. To accomplish this,
- Fill a small bucket halfway with warm to hot tap water and set aside.
- Pour the water down the tank’s side.
- Feel for a cool location around the tank’s side using your hand.
The fill level of the tank is at the top of the cold spot (it’s cool because liquid propane inside the tank absorbs heat from the water, making the tank’s metal wall cool to the touch).
2. Check the tank’s weight. On the handle of most propane grill tanks are two numbers: the water capacity (“WC”) and the tare weight (TW), which is the weight of the tank when it is empty. When empty, most grilling tanks weigh around 17 pounds and store around 20 pounds of gas.
Simply weigh your tank on a scale and subtract the TW number to find out how much propane is left in it. If a 27-pound tank has a TW of 17 pounds, there’s about 10 pounds of gas left, or little more than half a tank.
3. Install a gauge on the outside of the building. Options for external propane tank gauges include:
- Installed between the gas line from the grill and the tank’s cut-off valve, inline pressure gauges measure pressures to determine how full the tank is.
- Analog propane scales resemble luggage scales and are pre-programmed to account for your tank’s TW.
- A digital display of remaining cook time and gas fill percentage is provided by digital propane tank scales. Some even have apps for smart phones.
Choose a gauge that you like (they’re available at your local hardware shop and on Amazon) and try it out!
Don’t let your propane cylinder burn you.
Before your next summer party, use these ways to figure out how much gas is left in your tank. Don’t panic if you run out of propane; simply visit one of our Connecticut showrooms for a propane cylinder refill!