Gas
 

We are about to head to Tunisia/Libya/Niger and Algeria for a couple of months and have bought a twin burner gas stove.

However, we don't know what sort of gas cannister to buy which we can refill while in Africa. We are assuming it is best to buy butane rather than propane but Camping gaz doesn't seem to be covered outside Tunisia and other brands like Calor Gas all seem to be UK only. We could of course buy the cannister/regulator when we arrive or take a big enough cannister to last two months but that would add significantly to weight. Has anyone got any tips here?

Hi,
My current setup is a Trangia 27, an MSR Whisperlite Multi Fuel stove, and a Kelly Kettle.

I'm now moving towards a dual ring butane setup. Apparently the Coleman Campingaz 2.75kg butane cannisters last for almost 30 hours, with both burners running - though I've not verified this personally yet. If that's the case then that should last quite a while. People I met on my last trip said it lasts them safely for 3x 3 week trips. I'll probably end up with a single cannister and my MSR stove as backup.

As for getting them refilled in Africa, I've never met anyone who's had to do this - but as I mentioned the 907 has a large capacity. For memory, the cannisters I've seen in Africa *look* the same, but I've no idea if the fittings at the refill depot would fit a 907.

HTH. Be interested if finding out how you get on!

Cheers,
Nick.

Hi Charles
Desert cooking
I use the little Campingaz 206 burner for all my trips.
A C206 throw-away cylinder is 190g (the smallest) and lasts me five days, so I provide for 6 cylinders per month. They cost around £2.00 each.
My desert day starts with coffee and ends with coffee, with assorted hot drinks through the day, main meal at night, washing water etc. I boil all vegetables and generally use as much gas as required.
If I ran out I would stoke up a bean tin with sand, fill it with petrol or diesel and make myself a desert burner –
This is a cheap and easy back-up and they work well, but it wouldn’t pass the health-and-safety-in-the-kitchen regulations! (So who cares…!).
I usually travel alone and my Campingaz 206 system works well for me – but if there are more of you, then a cylinder or fuel burner would be more appropriate.
This won’t answer your original question but may be of interest…
All best - Kitmax

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Kitmax - Traveller
Desert Pictures at
http://www.kitmax.com/kitmax/kit03ph...velgallery.htm
homepage http://www.kitmax.com

The Campingaz propane cylinders are exactly the same size as the 907 butane cylinder with the same screw fitting. The only difference is the release valve fitted at the top of the cylinder which you unscrew when you are filling them up. If you look closely you will see that they say “type 907 size” above the big word “PROPANO”. The really big propane cylinders are different – they unscrew clockwise.

I work on the basis that a 907 butane cylinder lasts about for 15 days.

BTW, if you ever get hauled off to the interrogation shed at Dover on the way out of the UK (which happened to me not so long ago), one of the questions you will be asked is “Have you got any camping gas cylinders in your vehicle?”. Having answered in the affirmative, the next question will be “Are any of them connected to anything?”. The correct answer is “No, they are all in storage mode.” Ferry regulations require this.

We use a camping gaz cylinder 2.72kg with a two burner cooker and grill. We tend to cook in the evenings and a few brews througout the day. This lasts us little over three weeks. We found that in southern morocco the identicle gas canister (not sold as camping Gaz) was heavily used for cooking and we bought one cheeper than a refill in europe. They arn't as pretty as they tend to be knocked about but we've had one a long while back home and even managed to get it changed for a camping gaz one at a local garage when it was empty. If your unsure you could always take a different regulator as well.