Butane or Propane gas for my blow torch

[Paul Narramore]

When I bought my R4GTL back in the summer - oh those long warm evenings - the car needed a little work carried out by Mr Reno, to get her through an MoT. I think the lower rubber bushes on one front damper were perished so he changed just that damper and gave me it's 'mate' for me to replace at a later date. Now the top of the damper is kept in place with a pair of half-nuts which of course had seized on the threaded top mounting. To free these off he used a blowtorch to heat these nuts up before they became loose. Now although the central shaft has flats on the top to hold it in place whilst the nuts were undone, these flats are masked when using a socket with an extension. I seem to remember Paul cutting away the top shroud (from under the wheel arch) so he could grasp the shaft to keep it from turning.

Anyway it's a cold and damp January so what better time is there to remove the old damper? The front wheels were already off as I've replaced the front discs, pads, and painted the calipers.

Now my blowlamp (CampingGaz) only has a broad nozzle and I wanted a concentrated 'needle' of flame to heat the nuts. (Cold chiselling in such a restricted area didn't work) I bought the top of the torch, a Firebird WS-503C, cheaply on eBay but it wouldn't fit on my existing gas cartridges. I needed a special CampingGaz cartridge with a notched lip. This is a CampingGaz CP250 which is filled with an isobutane mix of gas.

Now to my question, the answer of which I have been unable to find on the Net. Propane or Butane? Does one burn any hotter than the other? I believe there is almost nothing in it, and only really matters when mountaineers take their CampinGaz cooking stoves up sub-zero mountains. Discuss.

 

[mojobaby]

Hello Paul, the main difference between butane and propane is the temperature at which the liquid gas becomes a gas, which is called the boiling point.
Butane becomes a gas at 0 degrees Celsius and Propane at something like -40degrees.

Thats why if you use gas for household use, like cooking or heating, your butane gas container can be kept inside. The Propane container can be kept outside as it's unlikely that temperatures will get that low. I have a Butane bottle for indoor heating and a Propane bottle outside for cooking purposes, with just a pipe through the wall.

Butane won't work well in low temperatures as there just isn't enough gas pressure in the container.
On the other hand, Propane by itself has to be kept in a really strong thick-walled round container because of the pressure involved, so you will never find it in a 'CampingGas type of container.

So they have compromised and Camping Gas is usually a Butane/Propane mix. To answer your question, because of the the pressure involved, there is more velocity with a Propane flame but the temperature difference is irrelevant(so I believe). The gas will be used up quicker.
Hope that answers your query.

 

[Paul Narramore]

It answers my question fully and amply, kind Sir. I read part of that on the CampingGaz website but I must say it went in one ear and out of the other. I am a little clearer now. I sent away for the top of the blowtorch and then found it wouldn't fit my existing gas cylinders. CampingGaz seemed to have created a new style top. Although it's a sort of aerosol, the cylinder now has a rim around the top with a notch in it. This allows a sort of bayonet fitting for the top. Anyway, it worked a treat at freeing the seized half nuts on top of the damper.

 

[SJC400]

Hi Paul, just to reinforce the above, I found this on the net:
Contrary to the notion that propane burns hotter than butane, the heat output is identical. Both fuels deliver the same BTUs (British thermal units), so neither flame is hotter, according to The Adventure Network. One will not boil water or cook food faster than the other. Hope that helps?

 

[Paul Narramore]

Thank you!