Thanks Quinn, i made the video for that reason. I know people are not comfortable about refilling gas cans, so i made it as comfortable as i possibly could. 👍👍
@Ultimate dad bod Yes i see what you mean. I don't know if you are from the UK. Lighter butane is expensive here, it wouldn't be worth doing unless you really need gas. If anyone knows of cheap lighter refills let us know. Thanks for the info. Can be very handy, knowledge is power.
MSR propane canisters have a scale printed on the side. When floated in water, they indicate approximately when Full, Half-Full, or Almost Empty based on their weight.
Good to see you back out. I have the same adapter, I freeze and use a digital scale, but your way seems much simpler. I did learn the hard way that butane gets to cold in the winter and my flame dies out. I was able to get my lunch done, but it was close. Keep up the videos, hope to see you cooking in the field again soon. Tell Peter I said "Long live Hexi..."
I just bought an adapter because you reminded me that this can be done. I bought a 12 pack of butane canisters for my lighters and now I have some way to actually use the extras.
Recently found your You Tube Videos and subscribed Paul, and I have been spending hours watching. Very informative. I own Trangia 25 & 27, and thanks to your reviews just ordered the gas burner . Lot's to learn and practical tips presented with humor! - Thank you very much, from USA. - FARMERIK
Great video paul, I have always thought of doing this but I seen so many videos people saying you must leave in fridge for a few hours then keep weighing the thing . I might try it now and at that price it may still be worth using in the winter even though its not at full power. thanks ..
Paul if you take a new canister put in water, mark where the water is. They usually float. This is the full mark. When you refill your canister you check it by putting it in the water staying below the line you marked when new.
Freeze the one your filling put the one you are filling from in the sun for a bit. The one you are trying to fill will be at a lower pressure and will fill faster. PV=nrt (pressure gas law) Doing at the same temperature your just relying on gravity to drain it - what will work fine aswell if you have the time. If you put them both in the freezer your wasting your time.
Dont forget that the one thats empty also has a lower pressure than the full host can. So the pressure difference also assists the refil, not just the gravity.
Top tip Paul, I don't use gas when wild camping etc, but use the butane on the single camping stove like your image that popped up... never thought you could refill the stumpy camping one though. Lee
I feel sick now knowing this as I had about 20 empty msr / primus canisters of varying sizes which I finally depressurised, put holes in, then got rid of. But I still have a few left. I certainly shan't be binning/recycling these. I got them cheap, but not this cheap! Doh! Thanks for sharing this. You should have posted this ages ago and saved me a lot of cash!
Great vid, did not realise you could do this . As long as the pressure in cannister is not above original pressure when putchased it will be fine :). To compliment your ingenuity , it should be simple to get a cheap pressure gauge , bicycle type or something and compare pressure on new v refill cannister . Although think i need to check up on refilljng when at room or fridge temp . Will save a small fortune , thanks 🙂👍
The pressure in a liquid petroleum gas container remains the same no matter how full it is. The danger is in leaving enough ullage space. The liquid gas will expand when warmed. If there is not enough space the canister will rupture and you will get a gas explosion. This why this “give it a shake” filling method is so dangerous. An overfilled canister is a bomb waiting to be warmed.
You only really need to freeze them if your source is getting low and/or you're filling a partially full canister back to close to full. Thanks for sharing
When you get a new canister. Weight and write full weight on bottle. Then you can fill it as new. Just don't go too much over as you risk overfilling - which can rupture when it gets too warm. Beside pure butane has lower pressure than butane/propane mix.
This seems a safer bet than using the butane bottle adaptor I got at the same time as the Trangia gas set - always used a proper canister with it in the past because I was worried about the plastic clip breaking and stopping the cook. Im guessing putting the empty one in the freezer would reduce the pressure allowing more gas into the colder one, but as you said dont want to over-pressure it so I suppose that would only be useful to get the remnants out of a partially used bottle.
Yeah it would get that last bit out if it was cold. Thanks for watching Clive 👍 I like the small cans as they are easier to pack and lighter. I have had more problems with the big butane cans in the campingaz bistro cooker than i would like to mention. And those cookers are very sharp!
Refill at room temperature not in the fridge etc. I once refilled a small cartridge from a large one using the fridge approach. Never again, too much gas ends up in the cylinder. I then went on a trip up a mountain and was horrified to see that the base of the canister had gone from being concave to convex. Scared me that did. Since then I refill at room temperature and stop as soon as I can't hear the hissing (just like Paul in his video).
I know what you mean Mark. I have never had a pressure change as extreme as you experienced. You do need to leave head space for expansion, the temperature changes will increase the pressure and reduce it. It goes to show how strong these canisters are though ;)
Kovea makes an adapter to go on the tall thin Butane stove tanks without threads, and the adapter has the threaded connection like the short cans. Costs about $15 USD including Ebay shipping. With that, no refilling, just buy the tall cans of butane and use them in reasonably warm weather for gas back packing stoves with Lindal hoses. -FARMERIK
Weigh one full with a scale then weigh an empty one for comparison. Refill based on weight from the full one. That way you can be precise and not overfill.....
"Adiabatic compression heating" is a real thing. The gas in the receiving container can become over heated by the filling liquid compressing it and igniting the fuel. Freeze the receiving container if you don't want to take the risk of an explosion. They don't make these recommendations for no reason. Thermodynamics baby. I've seen solid brass manifolds burnt to a crisp by ignited compressed gas from an adiabatic compression fire that seriously hurt people. Be safe.
I don't recall ever seeing the containers of butane fuel locally. I will have to look into it and see what the cost difference is.. Thanks for sharing !
Plain "Ole Chuck, if your in the USA try Sam's Club and any Oriental Market store. Here in Pittsburgh some Sam"s Clubs carry it ($1.35/can) some don't. Chinese Market store has them ($1.50 /can). WALMART EXPENSIVE over $2.00 a can.
Hi. Im surprise you didnt show that you can also use the lighter gas? It doesnt get cold enough in the UK to worry about the mix. I did night fishing for years using just butane and never had a problem. Does that adapter work with the lighter gas tip? Cheers.
So yes there is a markup obviously as with any hobby, but you don't get the same gas. Regular Butane is not the same as isobutane. Isobutane is made from regular butane and is more expensive to produce. The reason is that Isobutane has a lower boiling point which helps maintain the pressure in colder weather. The stove canister mixes have propane and isobutane which clearly outperforms regular butane in the cold. This wouldn't matter much if you're camping in the summer only so go ahead, but be aware of the limitations. The other aspect of why it's illegal to refill them is that people are stupid and companies don't want to be sued and held responsible for people's stupid mistakes.
@@tiberiu_nicolae I think its more about making money. They wouldnt say they are non-refillible if they were worried about mistakes. They would say only refill at a certified retailer. Here is a clear example. Boveda says that you should not refill their packs yet they are basically limitlessly refillable. I have been using the same boveda packs on my cigars for 7 years. In that case its quite obviously about money. I think it is up to people to figure out these things for themselves. If we were to complain about their greed why do we enjoy their products then?
@@dwong98 no i just used the bottle as is and pushed. It worked but the fuel seemed to burn a little bit different and has a bad smell when gas escaped. Ive got bot options and i just use the lighter fluid butane now but in a emergency it did work.
Hi- what brought me here was the question..? You have the yellow lighter gas refill swan/clipper on your film ... Can you refill one big yellow can to another big yellow can? ie topping up all the dregs from many cans into one mother can?? Cheers.
The one thing i would say is if you were filling on a hot day it is best practice to put in a freezer as to reduce the vapour and pressure. I have been filling bottles for years. Saving £28 on every 49kg bottle. Filling 907 4 1. The C bottles were simple and People used to give me empty and i would re fill. When i started it was about 6p 12p 25p for the c bottles.
hey mate i have a lot of the lighter gas refils the kind with the red plastic tip you push in that doesnt have screw threads, do you know the name or link to an adapter for specifically those kind to a camping stove adapter as i can only find ones for the ones with screw threads or the flange with a cutout of which the lighter refill gases i have dont have that
I lived in Cambodia for a while and most people in everyday households use stoves the same as the campingaz stoves shown at the start of this video and use the cheap canisters that he was using to refill the pricey coleman cans and they refill thousands of them everyday, really really old and rusty ones that look like there fit for the bin ,i used them myself many times with no issues, about a dollar to refill as i remember ,drop of your emptys and swap for the refills job done
Paul, can you do it vice versa? I saw the prices you pay, but in Serbia, 220g cartridges are around 4-5 $, while the 500g cartridges with the same valve like on the small one in your video costs around 5 $, and are much easier to find...
You need a different adapter with a screw fitting at each end and an on/off valve . Easy to source on Ebay I buy 500g isobutane cartridges and refill 100g ones . Saving is around 60%.
Hey Paul! I've always been afraid of refills, I feel I will be blown up! But you make it look easy! I have an empty Coleman self sealing 250 which clearly states: Non-refillable. Do you think it's safe to do it? Thanks :)
Safety was one of my concerns but I guess the pressure in the "donor bottle" isn't enough to make everything go boom; they're both butane canisters and they're built to similar specifications and the pressure evens out quickly. It would be different if you were to refill from a large propane canister. Now I have to figure out how to get one of these adapters into Norway without paying more in taxes than the product itself.
Yes you have to do this with some thinking. It is best if it is filled only with butane, then certainly no pressure problems. If you fill with the mixture, you never know in what ratio it flowed. Propane can be a problem. Typically, these cylinders are made for a mix, so they can withstand more than just butane.
Much the same as the big blue bottles, half the price if you get a re-fill.It's the hard wear your paying for. Just the manufactures trying to make more money. Thanks for the info, didn't realise the canister were so easy to re-fill
I use the Home Bargains gas cylinders, bought when they where £1.99 for 4 227g cans. Far cheaper than the jetboil 100g ones that cost £5. I do like to weigh mine so its not overfull.
I bought a pack of four from B&Q (remember them) and they scanned at 99p, so I went back and cleared the shelf. Still have two or three packs left, some years later. You can get an adaptor for 99p to go from the stem valve to a normal screw on one. I use it all the time with my fake Trangia gas burner, or a tiny little pocket rocket type thingummyjig. Gotta love eBay.
@Paul Bisseker Bushcraft And it's because of YOU that I have more stoves than I could ever possibly need. I used to make do with a Swedish army cook kit or just a Brit hexi stove. Now I have considerably more. Thank Dog I don't share your torch fetish to the same degree, or I'd be skint! I blame myself for telling you about Home Bargains 99p meths. The bastards have put it up to £1.29 Luckily, I have laid in stock.
Great idea Paul but did this once and shit myself that I may have overfilled it. I don’t like the idea of continuously byuing new cans and the older ones never get fully drained before they are binned. I now use a Primus Onifuel, comes with a refillable pressurised bottle that can be ran on many differs fuels, I use petrol because there’s nothing wrong with igniting petrol in the vestibule of a one man tent!!!
HAHAHAHA Petrol. I have had many experiences with the stuff. I use it in my car and that's where it ENDS. If you Refill with both cans at the same temperature you won't overfill. The pressure will equalize and it will be fine. I bet you don't mind refilling a lighter. I was pouring meths on a fire once, straight out of the bottle! It caught the bottle alight! I just put my palm over the spout and it went out. Starve the oxygen 👍
Paul Bisseker Bushcraft -back in my teenage school days I thought it was cool to soak my hand & forearm with a can of Lynx and light it, then use the can as a flame thrower. Them’s the dark days, back to the happy place 😉
@@mountains_and_moors We used to put Petrol in Fairy liquid bottles and go to the local woods! When people tell me what could happen when i have a small campfire! Yeah i pretty well have that covered now. We used to put them out BTW.
Paul Bisseker Bushcraft -At age 16 I ‘allegedly’ on Halloween eve while being in a graveyard with mates drew out a five foot pentagram on the floor with zippo lighter fuel and lit it. It’s one way to scare the shit out of your mates. Guess were all a little messed up 🤪
@@scotthill6807 yeah I thought so.,MSR ones you can put them in water that tells you how full they are on the side of the gas cylinder that will also help when you're refilling them thanks
