[TheForge] Propane vs LPG

[Matt Stevens]

> I had a heater in my camper that I used for deer hunting that quit 
> working. After I swapped out the tank and felt liquid sloshing inside I 
> figgered out that it was not propane. I worked just fine in the summer 
> for the gas grill.
> Propane company said that was B/S... we don't sell butane... lets see... 
> sloshes around like a liquid when its 10 degrees below zero and I got no 
> heat... burns just great in the gas grill when it's 70 degrees outside. 
> You decide.

Those sound like symptoms of a propane/butane blend. On a caravanning 
website I found, it described similar. They were describing propane 
being burnt off at cold temps, leaving the butane. On refilling, the 
remaining butane gets mixed in with the refill giving an even lower 
Propane/Butane mix and a higher propensity to repeat and 'run out' 
faster - in cold temperatures. I guess taken to extremes you could end 
up with a tank full of butane and be unable to squeeze any more propane 
in...

The article also suggested Propane/Butane mixes were highly variable in 
different places, in part to compensate for expected temperatures.

The 'fix' is to empty the tank of butane before refilling. Not sure what 
that would do to our greenhouse gasses!

Thanks for the links :-)

Cheers
Matt