Four companies have accounted for over 90 percent of the LPG sales in France:
Totalgaz – http://www.totalgaz.fr/moving-to-france/gas-bottle
Primagaz – http://www.bouteille-de-gaz.fr/majic/pageServer
Antargaz – http://www.antargaz.fr/-2-4-5-5_Accueil_Particuliers_Nos_produits_Les_bouteilles_de_gaz
Butagaz – http://www.butagaz.fr/Particuliers/tarifpart.aspx
You need to pay a deposit when you purchase your first gas cylinder, prices vary but most of the supermarkets have an “own brand” gas which is generally €1 deposit and just under €30 for the 13KG gas bottle.
All the main bottled gas companies supply both Butane and Propane gas cylinders.
So which should you choose propane or butane?
Butane Gas for cooking and heating.
On a per-volume basis, butane is a more efficient fuel than propane, by around 12%. This means that a similar amount of butane and propane will yield more energy for the butane. Butane is not recommended for storage in anything below freezing and the liquid will not convert to gas at low temperatures so it is unsuitable for outside storage.
Propane Gas for cooking and heating.
Propane has a lower boiling point than butane, and is stored at a higher pressure point.
This means that propane is much better equipped to deal with the elements and brutal weather, making it a superior choice for long-term storage outside and liquid propane will convert to gas at very low temperatures. Propane should not be stored indoors; it needs to be stored outside. Propane can not be safely stored in an outbuilding or garage.
Whilst in the UK butane usually comes in blue cylinders and propane in red, you can not rely on this to be the case in France.
Safety and Security
Bottled gas is dangerous stuff; it causes 300 deaths a year in France so you should really get a qualified engineer to install your bottled gas heating and cooking systems.
Most LPG gas hob manufacturers recommend that you turn off the supply at the bottle as soon as you have finished cooking.
Both butane and propane are heavier than air, you need to ventilate at floor level if you have allowed any gas to escape by leaving an appliance on which has not ignited.
If your LPG gas hob is housed over an electric oven it must be connected using a flexible steel pipe and not a rubber hose.
Connecting Liquid Service Cylinders such as a forklift cylinder to a vapour system or vapour line will result in fire danger. The same is true for outdoor appliances and equipment that work by using propane vapour. Hobs, Grills, Ovens and boilers are propane vapour service appliances that will be damaged by the introduction of liquid propane as well as create a very hazardous situation.
Using LP Gas cylinders and bottles improperly or using them for an application for which they are not designed will harm equipment, appliances and can seriously burn users and bystanders.
Propane cylinders have to be installed outside, so they are vulnerable to theft, some home systems will have 4 propane bottles stored outside. A steel cage can be purchased to prevent theft.
This fully enclosed cylinder cage for the storage of 4 x 12kg/15kg/ or 18kg propane/butane cylinders.
Extra precautions for propane cylinder use include keeping clear of flammable and combustible materials, keeping a safe distance from building openings and walls and having a fire extinguisher in case of emergency.
A very important rule when using propane gas cylinders is to make sure they are stable and not moved while in use. If the cylinder is jarred or moved while actively being used, liquid propane may escape through the cylinder service valve resulting in excessive flames.
Components of the LPG heating and cooking system.
The Regulator
The regulator is a mechanism that’s used to move the gas that’s stored in a bottle at a certain pressure to the connecting pipe, where there is less pressure. Butane and propane use different regulators.
This Propane Auto-Changeover Two Stage Regulator switches to a second bottle as soon as the first bottle is empty.
LPG Cylinder Connecting Pipe
The connecting pipe lets you connect the regulator installed on the gas bottle to a gas-operated device. There are two types: The flexible tube with a pipe clamp for butane only, to be used with a nipple except for certain devices. It has a Service life of just 5 years. The flexible hose with a mechanical end fitting (without a nipple) is recommended for all uses, including butane or propane. It has a of 10 year service life.
There is some good info on bottle gas on the totalgaz website, http://www.totalgaz.fr/moving-to-france/
Propane And Butane Cylinder BTU Capacities and sizes
Propane or butane cylinder BTU capacity indicates the total number of BTU’s per full cylinder. This information is useful when determining the total appliance running time.
Naturally, larger propane or butane cylinders will allow for longer running times but sometimes larger cylinders are not practical for use in certain applications due to space, hose length, etc.
To calculate the total LPG gas bottle supply time, divide the total BTU’s of the cylinder by the appliances BTU rating. Keep in mind that listed BTU appliance ratings indicate the total BTU load when the appliance is running at 100%. In other words, a gas oven with a listed rating of 50,000 BTU implies the oven will use 50,000 BTU’s per hour when all burners are turned on running at capacity.
The safeoptions propane storage cabinet will store 4 x 47kg propane cylinders securely
Safeoptions sell 3 different types of gas bottle storage and they would probably arrange for them to be delivered to any address in Europe if you asked them nicely.
Interesting info matt, I found e-leclerc to be cheapest bottled gas supplier in France, their Clairgaz brand is available in 13kg butane, 6kg Butane and 11kg propane sizes. Butane is 30 euro for 13kg with a 5 euro deposit on the bottle.
I took a hob that I bought in B&Q to France and connected with a flexible pipe from e-leclerc that cost about 6 euros, However the flexible connection needed an additional rubber washer to make a good connection, gas was leaking at the connection before i fitted this washer. I got the rubber washer from the UK LPG connector that was supplied with the hob (it did not come with a pipe.)
I also had to put some PTFE tape on the elbow connector that fitted to the hob, initially i didn’t do that and butane was leaking from the connection. You can check to see if gas is leaking buy putting a small amount of washing up liquid on the connections and checking to see if any bubbles appear.
There should be no smell of butane when the hob is lit, if you can smell gas when cooking you need to turn the gas off at the bottle immediately and locate the leak.
I have fitted an LPG hob that I am trying to power using a 13kg butane cyclinder. I have swapped the installed jets for the included LPG jets but the largest ring will not ignite correctly. All the other rings are fine and gas bottle valve is fully open. Do you think this is faulty hob? Are all the LPG jets the same or does each one match a .specific ring? Can a standard domestic hob be powered off bottled butane or do I need to invest in a proper LPG tank outside my house?