If you often have to deal with gas appliances, then you probably have thought more than once about how long a regular cylinder lasts in different situations. Agree, it is important to be able to calculate the amount of gas consumed in order not to get into an extremely awkward situation when blue fuel may run out at the most inopportune moment.
We are talking not only about extreme situations, when the question of the presence of a flame source becomes especially acute, but also about the most common use of a gas cylinder in domestic conditions. In order not to face such a problem, you will need to independently calculate how long a gas cylinder is enough in a particular situation.
Small tourist receivers, which are convenient to take with you on a hike, have gained particular popularity today. If at home the lack of gas will bring only minor inconveniences, then during the "sortie" the situation can turn into a real disaster. From this article you will find out at what speed gas is consumed in cylinders with different volumes, and for how long 220 g, 5 and 50 liters of gas receiver are enough.
The content of the article:
- Gas consumption from a 50 liter cylinder
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Choosing a travel gas cylinder
- The formula for calculating the consumed gas
- The main factor in calculating the gas used
- Gas bottle consumption in the mountains
- Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Gas consumption from a 50 liter cylinder
Traditionally 50 l gas cylinders used in everyday life and act as the main source of fuel for appliances such as a gas stove, water heater or heating boiler.
When buying a household propane cylinder, each buyer thinks about how long the propane will last and how often it will need to be refueled. In this case, everything depends only on the number of gas appliances that will be "powered" from a 50 liter gas cylinder.
You can calculate how long 50 liters of the receiver will last, based on the maximum flow rate of the used gas device in 1 hour
In order to find out the maximum flow rate of a particular gas appliance, you will need to look at its technical document. For example, a Hephaestus PG 900 gas stove with 4 burners consumes 486 g / h (0.486 kg / h), while propane will have to be calculated in grams. It is worth noting that at the indicated gas consumption, the stove must work "at full", that is, all 4 burners must be involved.
Therefore, if a 50 liter cylinder contains 21.5 kg of propane, then this amount of fuel will be enough for the consumer for about 44 hours. In this case, we divide the amount of gas in the cylinder by the consumption of the gas stove - 0.486 kg / h, and we get the time of using blue fuel. If you use only 2 burners, then the consumption of gas will be half less.
The same formula is used when calculating the consumed propane by other gas appliances, such as a gas water heater or a heating boiler. In the case of a boiler, the level of gas consumption will directly depend on the degree of insulation of the house and the outside temperature, therefore, the calculation may be inaccurate.
Choosing a travel gas cylinder
Today, many manufacturers offer special camping gas cylinders that allow not only to cook food, but also to heat the tent when a person is in nature. On the Internet, you can find both small 220 g propane containers and 5 l cylinders with a built-in burner.
Unlike a burner, such a mini gas cooker is designed for containers of any size, since it has a stable grid for dishes.
Despite the convenience of a camping gas stove, small cylinders with a burner are most suitable for mountain travel, since it will be somewhat impractical to take a mini-stove with you. The amount of gas consumed is calculated depending on the duration of the trip, goals use of gas, and the number of gas consumers, depending on which the volume will change vessels.
If you do not know how many days a 220 gram gas cylinder is enough, then such a small cylinder will be quite enough for a three-day fishing, but it is only suitable for cooking. However, in this case, you should go fishing by car so that you can spend the night in the cabin, and thus save on gas.
The required volume of the cylinder will be calculated depending on the rate of gas consumption per day by one person. If you choose camping gas burners, then you should understand that they are often used to boil small volumes of water, so during while traveling with a company, it is better to give preference to a 5 liter cylinder, to which you can connect a gas stove with one burner.
The formula for calculating the consumed gas
At the time of buying gas burner for hiking, the manufacturer indicates how many grams per hour the burner consumes. Therefore, if you want to clearly calculate how much gas you will need on your trip, it is better to purchase just such a gas cylinder with a burner.
You can study information regarding the performance of the burner in the product description on the page of any online store.
Such a camping gas burner can even fit into a small backpack, while its gas consumption is about 30-40 g less than that of a mini-stove
To calculate the volume of gas consumed, you need to know only two parameters: fuel consumption (grams per hour) and the boiling time of 1 liter of water (in minutes). Based on this knowledge, you can roughly calculate how long a propane 5 liter gas cylinder lasts when going on a hike or fishing.
According to the information from the product description, the average burner consumes 110 g / h, while 1 liter of water boils in 4.5 minutes. In this case, we will rely solely on time, since the amount of propane consumed depends on it. Let's say there is a need to cook porridge and boil water twice for tea for a group of 10 people.
To prepare porridge, you must first boil 3.5 liters of water, which will need to be multiplied by 4.5 (boiling time for 1 liter of water), which is equivalent to 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes is allotted for cooking porridge, while for tea the water should only come to a boil.
One meal will take 30 minutes to prepare, and the same amount of time will be required for two kettles of tea. In total, the total time for preparing a full meal for 10 people is 1 hour, respectively, we consume 110 g of propane.
When buying a travel gas cylinder, it is important to pay attention to the information located on the packaging, and especially the total weight of the cylinder with the burner
According to the data taken from the stamp on an ordinary 5 liter cylinder, there is 2.3 kg of pure propane inside the container. To calculate the exact weight of propane, you need to weigh the empty cylinder, then subtract the resulting number from the total weight of the burner cylinder.
With two meals a day, you will need to use 220 g, which means that a 450 gram balloon will be enough for a two-day hike. There may be errors in the manufacture of such travel cylinders, so it is better to choose a cylinder with a large volume in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Therefore, if a 5 liter cylinder holds 2.3 kg of gas, then for cooking for 10 people this volume of gas will be enough for about 10 days. In this case, gas is consumed only for cooking, without the need to heat the tent or cabin.
The main factor in calculating the gas used
If, for example, a camping gas cylinder is equipped with a built-in burner that has a set amount consumed gas per hour, then when using a conventional cylinder, an ordinary gas mini-stove with one burner.
The gas consumption of such a device can vary from 130 to 150 g / h, while the boiling time for 1 liter of water will be less than 4.5 minutes.
For one person, a 220 gram bottle may be enough for a two-day hike if the gas is used exclusively for cooking.
Many travelers often take with them on a hike the popular model of the mini-cooker "Tourist", which is equipped with just one burner for cooking food in containers of any size. Camping gas burners designed only for the capacity of a certain displacement, so in this case the mini-stove will be much more practical.
The gas consumption of such a tile is 150 g / h, which means that when connected to a 5 liter cylinder, 2.3 kg of propane will be enough for 15 hours of continuous use.
We also recommend reading our other article, where we described in detail how to refuel gas cartridges for burners. Read more - read Further.
Gas bottle consumption in the mountains
A conventional propane cylinder with a burner will heat the water twice as long in strong winds, so cylinders with a mixture of several types of gas are sold for traveling in especially difficult conditions. Thus, the use of gas at an altitude of up to 3,500 meters above the ground implies the purchase of a gas cylinder with a mixture of butane and propane.
If you climb even higher, then the gas will simply freeze, due to which its efficiency will significantly decrease. In this case, you will need to purchase a cylinder with a mixture of propane, butane and isobutane.
The more impurities in propane, the less pure gas is left for cooking, which increases the duration of boiling.
That is, at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, it is worth setting an error factor of 50% in the calculations, even if the information on the cylinder itself does not say anything about it.
If 450 g of ordinary propane is enough for exactly 2 days, then the bottle with butane and isobutane impurities will run out after the completion of the second cooking for the whole company.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
From this video you can find out how long it takes for the water to boil, and, therefore, how long a propane cylinder with a burner will last:
Before calculating the time for which a propane cylinder of a certain volume will last, it is necessary to find out the maximum flow rate of the gas equipment used. Often this information is indicated in the technical documentation of the device, whether it is a gas stove or a heating boiler.
According to the formula, to calculate the time of using a gas cylinder, it is necessary to divide the amount of propane inside the cylinder by the fuel consumption of a specific gas appliance. Based on this, it is possible to calculate how long it will last for both a traveling cylinder for a gas burner and a household 50 liter cylinder for using gas appliances.
If you have had to calculate the required volume of gas more than once, please share your experience with our readers, tell us how accurate the calculations turned out to be. You can leave a comment or ask a question to our experts in the appropriate field after the article.
