Switching from butane to Propane

Good morning, I'm sure this has been covered in depth already, but is changing from butane to Propane just a matter of a pigtail being fitted please? Thanks in advance.

Thank you for the information, that's good news!

Thank you. That's good news, as I have a full small butane cylinder. It would be great to be able to use both.

Same here propane all year.

I’ve just had a read of that information leaflet Baguette. I was not aware that post 2003 campers are now required to run gas at 30mbar for propane and butane. That means I’m runner nag at the wrong pressure, i.e 37mbar. Do I need to be concerned? This does not apply to older Motorhomes.

Well I fitted the regulator myself when I switched to propane. I used a 37mbar reg.

The van is post 03 but I the appliances may well be older. The previous owner converted the van and used appliances from an old caravan, 4-way gas hob, gas oven, Carver water heater and Propex gas heater. Everything appears to be working since I switched over to propane on the higher pressure so I’m inclined not to tinker with anything.

I did have these concerns myself. I tried to search the specs on the appliances to see if the gas type and regulator pressure was specified. I couldn't find anything. I was under the impression that propane just uses 37mbar. I didn’t know it could run on 30mbar just fine. I could try switching to a lower pressure and see if the appliances work ok but I have to wonder about the pre 03 Motorhomes and appliances running at 37mbar. There is no issue there right?

Anyway, regardless of whether my gas lines are pressurized at 37 or 30, the actual gas consumption of each appliance is set to the appropriate level via the appliance dial. So surely it is not like I need to burn gas at a higher rate than what I did on butane, is it?

Well I have been taking a closer look at my appliance specifications and did find relevant information.

(1) Carver Cascade 2 water heater - Butane @ 28mbar or Propane @ 37mbar

(2) Propex HS2000 - Butane @ 28mbar or Propane @ 37mbar.
Manual does say you may run propane at 30mbar but maximum power will be reduced.

(3) Electrolux RM4236 fridge - Can't find manual specific to this model but all Electrolux RM series manuals all seem to say same thing:

“The Refrigerator is designed for operation on LP gas of Butane type the pressure of which must be 28 mbar for Butane and 37 mbar for Propane.”

I had to read the above a few times to see if I understood clearly what they mean. I think it is just poor translation but I interpret it to mean - Butane @ 28mbar or Propane @ 37mbar.

I haven't been able to find any info on my oven or hob. To be honest I am not concerned and am happy to keep the propane at 37 mbar and think that running it on lower pressure is not optimal for that kind of gas and possible resulting in incorrect combustion. I am not sure how post 03 Motorhomes deal with this, or how higher pressures (50 mbar) systems on the continent do. But I am no expert and am open to expert advice.

We have one of those valves on our motorhome and it is called a Truma Mono Control ,just as you said it will cut off supply if there is a sudden drop in pressure.

I'm not over familiar with all the possible fittings but when I switched to butane I had a clip-on regulator, but when I switched to propane I attached a screw-on regulator. The propane cylinder I bought dictated that the regulator be a screw type. The piece of flexible hosing that attaches to the regulator is fixed with a jubilee clip which is quite straight forward.

Clip-on regs are more convenient for sure. If that is an option for you then it makes like easier when you need to change out an empty when on the road and you might not have the appropriate spanner with you. But I would think you may might need to acquire the propane first and work back from there to suit it’s fitting.

I thought all red propane bottles were screw thread fittings, the grey patio gas is also propane with a clip on connector but not sold as propane. Is there another type of clip on fitting?

I stand corrected. Worth noting that UK and ROI use different threaded fittings too, you might not notice until you take off the plastic seal.