This weekend I bought a 20 lb propane cylinder and an 8 foot hose that will connect it to my Coleman 2-burner propane stove. This should give me plenty of cook time if we lose electricity after a hurricane. My question is, do I need a regulator or can I just run the stove straight off the big cylinder? Anyone done this?

you need a regulator or else you will go through fuel way to fast and you will have a problemofblowing out yur flame with over pressure.

I've done this for years without a regulator and never had a problem. I didn't even know it was recommended to have a regulator. In fact, I bought the manifold pipe that may actually be a Coleman unit, hooked both my lantern and stove to the 20# tank with it, and have lived off it for weeks at a time. This is just a pipe with fittings.

YMMV,

Dave

Interesting question!

I have an adaptor (not a Coleman product) and it has the standard BBQ regulator on it. Works fine, though the stove runs a fair bit hotter on max. than it will from a 1-lb. bottle -- enough to turn the burner supports glowing red. The solution of course is to throttle back using the stove's control valves.

Looking at the Coleman website, it seems they sell a 5-foot bulk adaptor with attached hose or a separate bulk adaptor plus assorted splitters and hoses. There's no evidence of a standard-type regulator. I suspect there's an orifice built right into the bulk adaptor, designed to control flow and pressure to appropriate levels. So, if you're using all-Coleman components, you should be good to go. (Being wise, of course, you will test this before relying on it.)

Let us know how it works out. I may want to upgrade.

This tip is not about the regulator, but
something I learned from a fireman about propane appliances.

The stove will work just as well with the gas valve opened a crack as it will with the gas valve opened 1/4 turn or opened several turns.

If you open the valve just a crack, and there is a problem, it is easy to quickly turn off the gas.

I've never bothered with a regulator but I do use one of those mast thingies with the three connections that allow you to hook up multiple items. It works great and I don't mess with the small disposable tanks at all any more. I personally wouldn't worry about it but you could always contact Coleman and ask them.

My thermos grill works the same wa, I bought the thermos brand hose/adapter to connect to the #20 tank and it didn't have any kind of regulator. I assume the regulator is biult into the valve.

A "christmas tree"(the green stick thing that has multiple outlets) is all you need. They self regulate and allow mounting of a propane lantern on top.

I haven't heard anything back from Coleman yet but I'll try out my new setup this weekend to see how things work. I have a healthy amount of respect for propane having worked in the safety department of a propane trucking company a few years back. Nothing goes BOOM like propane...well, except for Blast that is...

Hey, even I have a healthy fear of propane, though mainly because when I was little my dad used to paint clown faces on the tanks and chase me with them while screaming gibberish...

-Blast










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