Gas Cartridges in Winter

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Gas Cartridges in Winter

Submitted by An Outdoor Idiots Team Member.

"Beware the Evils of Gas Cartridges"

Some words from the tipster:

I think gas cartridges for gas stoves need a special mention in cold weather. Here's why:

Frostbite

Touching any metal object with bare fingers in freezing weather can lead to instantaneous frostbite. Normally this isn't a problem, because you are wearing gloves when it is cold. But of all the things that catch me out when in the tent (and not wearing gloves), gas cartridges are the worst. Now I'm in the habit of putting a strip of Duck Tape around cartridges in cold weather - this makes handling cartridges much easier.

Rapid Cooling

Even if a gas cartridge seems bearable to touch initially, once it's been used for cooking, it is usually MUCH colder, as the gas inside has expanded. This can give a nasty surprise when you move it out of the way straight after cooking.

Flaring

In very cold weather, it is much more likely that your stove will "flare up." This happens because the gas comes out of the stove in liquid form rather than vapour. If cooking in a tent in sub-zero temperatures, you need to stay especially vigilant, and make sure there is lots of room between the stove and the walls of the tent. I always leave the outer tent open so that I can throw the stove outside if it gets too dangerous. If the weather is good enough, I don't cook inside the tent.

Flaring occurs when the "gas" that comes out of the nozzle of the stove is not vaporized. There are 3 types of gas commonly found in cartridges for camping stoves, and they all vaporize at different temperatures:

Gas Name	Boiling Point (°C)	Boiling Point (°F)
Butane	-1	31
Propane	-42	-43
Isobutane	-12	11

While butane is normally the main gas in a cartridge, it is clearly not much use in freezing temperatures. That is why companies mix it with other gases. Propane is the most common gas that is added to the butane, and propane gives much better cold-weather performance. However, it is possible that the butane and propane don't "mix" very well. So, in freezing weather, it is quite possible that a stove burns off the propane first, leaving mainly butane in the cartridge. This possibly explains why a gas cartridge with plenty of gas left in it can suddenly become unreliable. It can also explain why a gas stove can suddenly flare up in the middle of cooking (though this is also explained by the fact that the expanding gas cools inside the cartridge). That is perhaps why some manufacturers also add isobutane to the mix, maybe in an attempt to overcome this problem.

The principle still remains, however: Watch out for flaring gas stoves in freezing weather! It could happen at any point during cooking.

Here are some ideas to help counteract this problem:

Some gas stoves have "pre-heat" tubes, whereby the gas flows through a tube that is in contact with the flame, in the hope that this will heat the gas up enough to ensure it is vaporized by the time it reaches the nozzle of the stove.
Keep the gas canister warm. This might mean sleeping with it, for example, so that you can cook with it in the morning. Beware that it will cool rapidly during cooking, though. Insulating it will at least ensure it is not further cooled by the cold environment.
Some gas stoves are not joined directly to the canister, but rather have a length of flexible tubing that separates the canister from the stove. If you are simply boiling water, then it is possible, with this arrangement, to place the cartridge into the pan of water, so that the cartridge is heated up as the water heats up. While plenty of people do this, care is of course needed, particularly regarding (1) Hygiene, (2) Overheating the cartridge, (3) Drying the cartridge to prevent it from rusting.

If you want to talk about this, you can have a gas here.

If you have been alarmed by the thought of your gas stove flaring up, speak to this man.

If you can't be bothered to enter the forums, then shame on you! But you can still leave a comment below. Please try to avoid the profane ramblings of a madman. That's our job.

Your Comments

On 14 December 2006, Basemetal said:
Mounting canisters upside down on remote stoves (so the evaporating gas pressurises liquid gas to the burner) helps solve the differential evaporation problem with isopropane (pro/but mix). Your pot etc should, of course, be the right way up.

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