Butane/Propane & Saddle Bags

[rapz]

I'm taking a weekend camping ride of about 350 miles (one way) and as part of my gear I've got a Primus Butane/Propane canister for my stove/lamp. Are these things safe to carry in the saddle bags? Hate to give up some hot food!

[kbasa]

I carry mine in my tankbag or tail trunk. Either way, I wouldn't carry it over the muffler.

[DesertRider]

The risks of pressurized-fuel stoves might be a good reason to consider a gasoline-powered stove. You'll never be out of stove fuel because you can use fuel right out of the bike's tank, and no worries about riding around with a bottle of fuel under pressure. Heck, you could even empty the stove fuel back into the bike tank and carry it around empty, if you like.

[99007]

One of the training videos they showed us back when I learned how to Scuba dive was enough to scare me about carrying around pressurized tanks in my freakin' car.

[kbasa]

Originally posted by DesertRider
The risks of pressurized-fuel stoves might be a good reason to consider a gasoline-powered stove. You'll never be out of stove fuel because you can use fuel right out of the bike's tank, and no worries about riding around with a bottle of fuel under pressure. Heck, you could even empty the stove fuel back into the bike tank and carry it around empty, if you like.

Yeah, but it makes the bottom of your pots all black and nasty, which makes a mess in the saddlebag. I use a small bottle of white gas for our stove and have a small pressurized canister for our lantern.

[DesertRider]

Originally posted by KBasa
Yeah, but it makes the bottom of your pots all black and nasty, which makes a mess in the saddlebag. I use a small bottle of white gas for our stove and have a small pressurized canister for our lantern.

Yeah, but a bit of soot on the bottom of the pan is easy to deal with (plastic bag), and it's not dangerous the way a pressurized gas canister can be.

I just checked a propane canister and here's some of what it says on the side:

"Do not expose to heat, sparks, or flame. Do not leave in direct sunlight. Do not store at temperatures above 120F...
Never store in living spaces...
Never put in luggage or take on trains or aircraft."

(emphasis in the original)

---

If the soot on the pan really bothers you, I think even white gas would be much safer to carry than propane or butane. At least the white gas is not under pressure and therefore not in danger of bursting or leaking from exposure to heat (such as in saddlebags).

As for the lantern, one word: LED (does an acronym count as one word?~). Compared with LEDs, combustion-powered lanterns are large, heavy, dangerous, and not nearly as convenient to use. Multi-LED lights can now supply as much light as one could wish for less weight, much less power, no danger (in fuel transport, lighting, or of burns), much longer burn time, and they can be filtered so they don't attract the zillion insects that are attracted by combustion lanterns. See, for instance, the CMG LED lantern or the Browning LED lantern.

Just a thought for you to consider -- you do such a great job here, we'd hate to have you blown up out there.

[kbasa]

Now THAT is a cool lantern! No mantles to mess with either. And you can leave it on in the tent. Right now, I'm using an LED headlamp, which is pretty nice. No holding a maglight in my mouth while I try and set the tent up. Able to carry a six pack in each hand while walking around a dark campsite. Able to read in the tent without hold a flashlight with my chin.

We use white gas for the stove. Cheap, plentiful and it seems to provide plenty of BTUs from the quart or so I carry.

Thanks for the tip on the lantern and the kind comments!

[R100RS]

I carry a small bottle of white gas with me for weekend trips (in the saddle bag). My stove will burn almost anything, but the white gas is supposedly the cleanest (not only for soot, but for keeping the stove's jet clean).

For longer trips, I plan on filling it with white gas before I leave, then when it runs out, use unleaded from the tank.

[JimKane]

If I remember the math, a gallon of gasoline is equal to 29 sticks of dynamite. That figure times six gallons of gas equals one hell of an explosion. I wouldn't worry about a mere 1/2 quart of butane in a metal container. I carry a butane stove that fits in a cook kit. It is in two metal containers. My gas tank is plastic. That has much less protection from puncture and any resulting damage.
When thinking about the damage a gasoline fire can do, look at the evening news. A tanker has closed I95 in Connecticut when the burning gas melted the bridge. It is estimated that the closure may be up to a month. I don't suggest that the LT carries enough fuel to do that kind of damage, but lets be serious about simple stove.
\
Jim Kane

[DesertRider]

Originally posted by jentine
If I remember the math, a gallon of gasoline is equal to 29 sticks of dynamite. That figure times six gallons of gas equals one hell of an explosion. I wouldn't worry about a mere 1/2 quart of butane in a metal container....but lets be serious about simple stove.

I don't follow the logic. Because you have one risk, you should ignore all others?

In any case, the difference is that the gas in your bike's tank is not pressurized. It can sit in the sun in a 120-degree day and never burst or leak. The problem with the butane tank is that it is pressurized, and if exposed to high heat it can and will burst or leak. The fuel tank on your tank may be much bigger, but the butane tank is the real risk.

[JimKane]

I fail to see the basis for the paranoia that has led this discourse against butane/propane as a fuel. Thousands of people use it daily in hundreds of situations. I have never seen a report of one of these canisters exploding while in use or left in the sun. In this atmosphere in the U.S., where we have given control of our daily lives over to the government to decide what is safe and what is not, it is hard to believe that such a paternal overseer would allow us to buy, let alone use, such a dangerous storage device; but they have. Apparently, someone has tested these containers and deemed them safe. I have never seen a gas container without a pressure relief valve of some sort.
The pressure relief valve is designed to allow the release of gas before it is in danger of explosion. Where is the pressure relief valve on white gas stove. I have used white gas stoves for more than 40 years and have had several serious fires, some that were uncontrollable.

[JimKane]

I believe that white gas stoves are very dangerous and require much care and caution. Once, my white gas stove started to spew liquid gas from the orfice in a spray pattern that ignited the picnic table and surrounding grassy area. There was nothing I could do to extinguish the source of the fire without endangering myself. I did the most practical thing. I moved my bike to a safer location and called the fire department. I would not consider this type of stove "safe" but that would not preclude my using it. As long a one understands the dangers associated and are in the position to make an informed choice, these dangers may be muted.
White gas stoves are pressurized by the user. Loading a white gas stove into your saddle bag in the pressurized state is not a very safe thing to do and it put you in a more precarious position than having a butane canister in the same place. Storage in the tank bag is a very good idea since the gas leaked will vent to atmosphere.

[LORAZEPAM]

Having been around propane most of my life ( my dad worked in the industry, and my brother does now) I don't worry about the butane canisters. I like the convience, and believe it or not, the safety, and the clean burning they provide. Most of the warnings that are printed on the canisters are CYA, the legal system being what it is. I dont have the patience to list all the warnings that are in my new manual. It almost scares me too much to consider riding or working on my new bike . Relax folks, we have too much free time if we are worrying about butane fuel canisters.

[knary]

Originally posted by lorazepam
Having been around propane most of my life ( my dad worked in the industry, and my brother does now) I don't worry about the butane canisters. I like the convience, and believe it or not, the safety, and the clean burning they provide. Most of the warnings that are printed on the canisters are CYA, the legal system being what it is. I dont have the patience to list all the warnings that are in my new manual. It almost scares me too much to consider riding or working on my new bike . Relax folks, we have too much free time if we are worrying about butane fuel canisters.

Sounds good to me.
I carry white gas for my Dragonfly stove in one of those generic red cylindrical fuel bottles. I always depressurize it before packing and always put it in the right saddlebag, away from the muffler! I sometimes carry a few, filled with fuel for the bike, attached the rear rack of the bike. I also make sure to replace the o-rings in the cap from time to time. They will crack and leak after a while.

[BRADFORDBENN]

Just camp next to some one that has a stove