gas fittings for camping

Introduction

LPG stands for Liquefied Petroleum Gas and this may refer to propane (as it usually is in Australia), butane or a mixture of both (as it often is in NZ)
n-butane has a boiling point of -0.5degC and at 21deg is stored in cylinders or cartridges at 215kPa
iso-butane has a boiling point of -11.7degC and at 21deg is stored in cylinders or cartridges at 310kPa
propane has a boiling point of -42degC and at 21deg is stored in cylinders or cartridges at 860kPa hence requires extra strong and heavy cylinders but is better than butane in sub-zero temperatures
natural gas is methane and appliances operate at much lower pressures than LPG (1.1kPa vs 2.75kPa)

whilst you can use appliances with different fitting to the bottle via adapters such as 3/8”BSP–POL, these add extra connections and thus extra risk of gas leaks - so check the fitting before use
you cannot in any instance join two gas hoses together as this can be dangerous
you cannot lengthen the hose of a high-pressure stove but you can lengthen the hose of a low-pressure stove
some principles regarding LPG gas cylinders
- it is not legal to refill a cylinder that is more than 10yrs old unless you have it re-certified
- they must be stored upright and out of direct sun
- avoid storing them on your vehicle in an impact zone - most transport them on the roof rack - perhaps tied down in a milk crate - check your local regulations!
- they are heavy a 1.25kg gas bottle actually weighs around 4kg when full
- they are hard to judge how empty they are without weighing them
- the pressure inside them is generally high at 600-900kPa
  - a pressure regulator is usually needed to attach to most appliances and this reduces pressure to a more manageable and controlled 2.75kPa
    - caravans often have this regulator at the gas cylinder and thus you don't need to add extra regulators into the system for each appliance connected to the gas line - these must be fitted by licensed gas fitters.
    - some appliances have an internal regulator such as the Mr Buddy camping heater, but these also need a fuel filter to be used at the heater end of the hose

this is used on older 4-9kg cylinders such as those at service stations, Swap'n'Go, etc
has a counter-intuitive thread rotation and thread is internal on the gas cylinder (ie. female) requiring a male POL hose

LCC27 (Leisure Cylinder Connection) is a newer Australian safety standard for LPG gas cylinders introduced in 2021 and identifiable by a black valve knob and has an external thread as well as an internal thread like the older POL gas cylinders
used on newer 4-9kg LPG gas cylinders such as those at service stations, Swap'n'Go, etc
designed to be backward-compatible with older POL hoses
safer design as thread is no longer counter-intuitive and is less likely to leak - the older POL could have valve opened and leak even if nothing was attached
- has an integrated ‘check-valve’ that does not allow gas to flow when the valve is opened, unless an appliance is securely attached to the cylinder
- a gas seal achieved at the connection point prior to the check-valve being opened by the fitting of the appliance, irrespective of how tightly the ‘nut’ has been fastened by the user
- external right-handed ACME thread
- a large plastic ‘nut’ designed to soften in the event of a fire at or near the cylinder. This allows the appliance fitting to eject, in turn triggering the check-valve to stop gas flow
you can use POL hoses on a LCC27 gas bottle but you cannot use a LCC27 hose on a POL gas bottle
see https://www.snowys.com.au/blog/pol-and-new-lcc27-gas-fitting/
NB. this is NOT compatible with QCC1 (Type 1) which is the similar but different thread size standard for North America (USA/Canada)

proprietary fitting used on Primus bottles that has an internal fitting that only allows gas to flow once the fitting is fully inserted into the cylinder

BOM / Coleman fitting 465g propane canisters
- designed for BOM fittings on portable appliances
- eg. Mr Buddy Heater, blow torches, etc
EN417 screw cartridges for hiking
- eg. Jetboil JetPower (propane/isobutane mix)
- eg. Companion butane/propane mix Pro-Fuel cartridge
- have a 7/16″ UNEF thread
- available in 100g, 230g and 430g cartridges
- empty 230g canister weighs 100g
- there is a device to allow proper disposal of these by first puncturing the empty can then crushing it
MSF-1a / A4 bayonet 227g aerosol can style butane canisters
- eg. Companion butane/propane mix Pro-Fuel cartridge
- these have a notch which should always be facing upwards when the canister is being used in a horizontal manner as this is the direction of the L shaped tube inside the canister and if the outlet is facing downwards instead of upwards, dangerous flaring may occur¹⁾
- these are about a quarter of the cost of 230g EN417 cartridges for same output as production costs are much cheaper due to:
  - volumes of scale with hundreds of millions of units being made annually
  - only need to be strong enough for 2 atmospheres pressure for butane whilst the EN417's need to hold 4 atmospheres pressure due to the added propane
- but they do lack propane so will not work at near zero degree Celsius temperatures unless at high altitude
- empty canister weighs 103g

used to connect to BOM 465g propane canisters eg. Coleman, Companion, Gasmate, Oztrail
aka 1“-20 UNEF (Unified National Extra Fine) thread (1 inch outer diameter, 20 threads per inch)
can be used with LPG cylinders via BOM to POL and BOM to 3/8″ LH adapters HOWEVER it is recommended to use a “fuel filter” as well otherwise you may have issues with your Mr Buddy heater or similar appliance not running

¹⁾