What’s The Difference Between Butane And Propane Gas (A Camper’s Guide)

Which One Is Higher?

In the long run, the correct of tenting gas to make use of goes to depend upon a couple of issues, together with your finances and the form of tenting circumstances you will be in. You also needs to contemplate how you are going to be storing your gas, as sure varieties of gas fare higher in sure storage circumstances.

This is what it is best to bear in mind when deciding whether or not to convey alongside butane or propane in your tenting journey:


If what you are most involved about is having the ability to use your gas in any climate circumstances, you are in all probability going to need to go together with propane. As a result of propane has a a lot decrease boiling level than butane, it would stay in its gaseous kind even at very low temperatures. 

Gasoline in a gaseous kind burns much more simply than gas in a liquid kind, so sustaining the gaseous state of your gas is fairly important if you need it to burn reliably.

Effectivity and Temperature

Then again, butane is a bit higher than propane with regards to gas effectivity. In the event you have been to burn the identical quantity of butane and propane gas in the identical temperature circumstances, you’ll get about 12% extra power from the butane than you’ll from the propane.

Which means that when utilizing a propane range, you will need to refuel just a little extra typically than should you have been utilizing a butane range. Due to this, should you’re making an attempt to journey gentle, butane may be the higher alternative as you can get the identical quantity of power from a smaller quantity of gas.

Whereas propane is not as environment friendly and butane, it does have a tendency to supply extra warmth; butane burns at a most temperature of 2400 levels Fahrenheit, whereas propane burns at round 3600 levels.

That being stated, most tenting stoves solely produce temperatures of round 400 levels Fahrenheit, so the utmost temperature at which these fuels can burn does not actually matter an excessive amount of in both case.   

Price and Availability

Clearly, the price of every form of gas issues, particularly should you’re intending to purchase a considerable amount of it. Butane is the cheaper gas generally; by quantity, it prices much less to purchase than propane, and since it burns extra effectively it lasts longer too.

Butane tenting stoves are additionally typically cheaper than propane tenting stoves. As well as, they’re often lighter and smaller than propane stoves as properly, which after all makes them extra transportable.

The draw back of utilizing butane, nonetheless, is that it isn’t fairly as simple to accumulate as propane. Likelihood is you in all probability reside close to someplace that may take your empty propane tanks and refill them, however discovering a spot that does the identical with butane just isn’t almost as simple.

In the event you want extra butane, your finest wager might be simply going to be to search for some extra pre-filled butane canisters. 


Lastly, the very last thing it is best to contemplate earlier than deciding what sort of gas you need to purchase is how you plan to retailer it. Relying on the storage circumstances which might be out there to you, it may be extra possible to make use of one sort of gas than the opposite.

Mainly, what you should know is that butane is finest saved inside, whereas propane is finest saved exterior. You probably have each indoor and outside cupboard space out there, then you will get no matter form of gas you favor; in any other case, it is best to perhaps simply get the form of gas that is appropriate for the cupboard space you could have entry to.


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