Looking for propane tank adapters

Last night while I was brooding over the fact that none of my camp stoves are particularly good in the cold, I wished there was a way to run propane through my canister stove from 1lb. disposable propane bottles. I have tons of these around anyhow for car camping.

I know full well this would work if an adapter existed with the right fittings and the right regulator.

Then I got to thinking about all of the survival applications which could be enhanced. My big camp stove is too big to 'bug out' with and my canister stove won't run on the propane cylinders I already have a half dozen of (or more) at home all the time anyhow. There would be applications for a 'big bottle' to 'little bottle' adapter (and vice versa) but these are already readily available everywhere.

I don't trust myself to build one from parts but I guess I could if I had to. All it needs to do is screw onto a 1lb. disposable propane cylinder, have an appropriate regulator, and a Lindal valve on the other side. The applications for such a thing for both winter and urban survival are many.

Do any of you folks know of such a creature? The alternative is to buy yet another stove. Which isn't the end of the world but I'd rather have the multitasking solution.

Hi Hacksaw,

Propane bottles aren't especially that great as a stove fuel because the cannisters are quite heavy and have much higher working pressures.

There are a number of ways in using conventional Butane/propane canisters such as the ones shown below to work in below freezing conditions.



The following link gives an excellent description of how to operate gas stoves at low temperatures. The trick is to invert the canister and let the liquid butane fill the hose to the gas stove either by gravity feed or pushed out by the pressure provided by the propane. This sort of stove can be run down to below -20 C (the limit is about -26 C). The only proviso is the stove has to have a preheat tube.

http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_GasStoves.htm#Cartridge


Example - Home made Aluminium stand to invert the standard 70/30 butnae/propane cannister.

This solution works well with a Primus Himalaya Omnifuel liquid fuel stove. (it will also burn white gas/petrol/diesel/paraffin/Jet fuel/Vodka etc)

Thanks for the info. I already got a ton of information about canister stoves from http://zenstoves.net/canister.htm . In fact this is where I first heard mention of it being possible to do such a thing...unfortunately no links to specific products.

My canister stove is an Optimus Crux so there will be no inverting of the canister in my case.

Also, this isn't specifically for backpacking...that would be a stretch but isn't completely out of the question. Just trying to make maximum use of what I have on hand or what might be available. For example I always carry the stove (it's tiny and light) but not always the fuel. But I might be in a situation where small propane cylinders are readily available (camping, bugging in, etc).

Unfortunately a big liquid fuel stove with LP gas capability is out of my price range.

Do you still have the neoprene carry case which was designed to fit the Optimus Crux stove into the base of the fuel cannister? You can fit an activated chemical hand warmer (or two depending on the size of the gas cannister in question) into the neoprene carry case and then attach it to the base of the cannister then put the cannister in an insulated bag (i.e. your sleeping bag) to warm up the cannister in very cold conditions just prior to using the gas stove.

That's what I'm doing now...and putting it in my jacket sometimes.

I've yet to have a cold weather problem with the Crux...I hear it's one of the better stoves of that style when it comes to cold.

You could just go to Wallyworld, or any sporting goods store, and get a small, less than $20 stove that screws right on top of a propane cylinder. But they do not work all that well when the cylinder is really cold...

The gas mixture in the cartridge is also quite important as there are cold weather mixtures now available using a mixture of isobutane and propane. The MRS Isopro Fuel cartridges can be used about 10C colder than standard 70/30 butane/propane cartridges because the isobutane gas has a boiling point temperature at -12C rather than the butane boiling point of -0.5C

http://www.msrcorp.com/stoves/fuel_blend.asp

If liquid gas feed i.e inverted gas cartridge techniques are not suitable then using the MSR Isopro Fuel together with the heat pad technique would probably be just as effective as using just pure propane in very cold temperatures.

http://store.oceanriver.com/store/product.php?productid=16706&cat=0&page=3

I'd pick propane over just about anything in the cold if I had a choice. It boils at -40 C and performance won't be effected much up to that temperature.

Even butane is just as bad as isobutane in these parts if you're comparing the two. Most of winter is sub -12.

The heating pad trick does work though.