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  View original topic: How many trips on a full stock propane bottle?
carterzest Tue Sep 09, 2008 9:54 pm

I seem to have a knack of bothering the service station attendants with filling up my tank prematurely every time :lol: just to be safe and keep the wife on with the adventures! Last weekends trip, I bothered a Hood River OR service station attendant with less than a $1.00 top off. :oops:

Here is my question...with a stock tank and no extend a stay adaptor which BTW is a future project......How many cooking sessions and approximately how long can you use your stove without having to refill?

I have a backup, backpacking one burner alcohol stove as a standby, but just wondering what your experiences are.

I do not use my refrigerator just a 90 can cooler that seems to work great for three-four days and a small chunk of dry ice in the refer box for eggs, milk and other pre frozen dinner and breakfast portions in sealed containers....

I also try to use only one burner at a time.....coffee first, then the rest.

thanks,
Jeffrey

From a recent thread, " who uses their stove"....this is my process pre camping and before trip prep to conserve propane.....
carterzest wrote: Night before leaving on a Westventure:

Breakfasts:
I always prefry my bacon, sausages and put into a sealed tupperware container. they also make that prefryed bacon..not bad, but not so good!

I always microwave my whole potatoes, add rosemary, onions, and other spices, cut it all up, lightly fry it on the stove top to get the bacon and sausage grease incorporated, then put it in a sealed container.

Eggs....I take a dozen or two(depends on how long I am going to be out), pre crack them, add milk and whip them up, then, using a small funnel, pour them into a half and half container(the kind with the screw off lid).
If I am on a 2+ day journey, I will make smaller portions of the eggs and prefreeze them to help keep my fridge or cooler cooler. same with dogs and brats.

I wake up, boil water, make coffee........

pour potatoes into frying pan and crisp up until golden brown. Heat up the bacon, remove, then shake up and pour the egg mixture into the pan. Easy wipe out on the frying pan to minimize having to wash dishes.

Wife likes bagels.....easy enough to toast on frying pan...


Lunches: Sandwiches and snacks....usuallys till full after the break feast!
Hot dogs previously frozen, also to aid in the cooling load of the fridge or cooler.

Dinner:
Premade and frozen Chili, Spaghetti, Stew..........in ready to heat and eat containers. Precooked chicken and taco/burrito fixins are also a fave....pre shred cheeze, onions, tomatoes...can also use these things on hot dogs, eggs, potatoes......

easy and very effective at minimizing the propane tanks longevity. I also take my coleman out with as well as a single burner backpack stove and depending on weather and the wife and kids sleep patterns, will cook outside.

Mmmmmmm. camp coffee!~
cooking thread link below...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=273628


Finally I know what that goofy looking wrench in my drawer is for. Share the knowledge!

This is also something I learned tonight about the stove...from Dogpilot..[/url] http://homepage.mac.com/greystoke.eng/.Public/Stove%20Manual%2001.jpg [url]

[/url] http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=317410 [url]

jackbombay Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:04 pm

I've cooked for 2 people for 2 weeks, then 4 people for week, then 2 people for a month all from one fill, the stove still worked when I went to fill up, but the guy said the tank was empty. Much of that was in quite cold weather so we were drinking lots of tea too. That said, the only thing that runs off propane in my van is the stove.

GWTWTLW Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:17 pm

Dang Jeffrey! You're making me hungry again!!

carterzest Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:20 pm

GWTWTLW wrote: Dang Jeffrey! You're making me hungry again!!
Go out and get yourself some Chicago dogs dog! Then trot your happy a$$ on down and listen to some blues, that is unless you're resting up in the line for Oprah Winfrey tics!~ :?

Are you vacationing? Lookin for a van again? :D
Jeffrey

carterzest Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:22 pm

jackbombay wrote: I've cooked for 2 people for 2 weeks, then 4 people for week, then 2 people for a month all from one fill, the stove still worked when I went to fill up, but the guy said the tank was empty. Much of that was in quite cold weather so we were drinking lots of tea too. That said, the only thing that runs off propane in my van is the stove.
Thanks...seems to be really efficient I just have no way of being sure without corroboration with you all. My 1980 seemed to have a neverending tank until I went tailgating at a OR State Beavers game with 6 passengers and was forced to borrow space on a neighbors campstove. :oops:

erdonline Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:22 pm

OK, I'm ready for bed so I'm not going out to the van to look now for this info, but here's how you can find out how many hours the stove burners will work on high-

Propane has 21,000 BTU per pound, so take 21,000, multiply by the number of pounds a full tank holds, then divide by the number of BTUs of each burner.

Ed in CT

GWTWTLW Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:28 pm

carterzest wrote: GWTWTLW wrote: Dang Jeffrey! You're making me hungry again!!
Go out and get yourself some Chicago dogs dog! Then trot your happy a$$ on down and listen to some blues, that is unless you're resting up in the line for Oprah Winfrey tics!~ :?

Are you vacationing? Lookin for a van again? :D
Jeffrey

Business unfortunately. I just got back. Oprah wasn't giving away Westies...

danfromsyr Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:40 pm

So I need to wiegh the van before or after each campout? :lol:

erdonline wrote: OK, I'm ready for bed so I'm not going out to the van to look now for this info, but here's how you can find out how many hours the stove burners will work on high-

Propane has 21,000 BTU per pound, so take 21,000, multiply by the number of pounds a full tank holds, then divide by the number of BTUs of each burner.

Ed in CT

kevinbassplayer Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:09 am

For me solo I can run the fridge and cook everyday for about 14+days before I need to refill

MarkWard Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:19 am

We went two weeks using the stove and the refrigerator on gas at night. A couple nights we had hookups so the fridge was on shore power. I would think at least 5 weekends. I carry a 1 pound with an adapter setup for an emergency that would tie into the stove. Have to have my morning coffee. We also carry a cooler for drinks. That saves opening the fridge alot.

beatrich Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:44 am

Our van trips have usually been cooking twice a day, (once for coffee, once for food) and fridge on full blast and the propane lasted about two weeks. I am in for a tank revamp though, and was thinking a fill guage would be nice.

Those results have been pretty consistent over 3-4 trips.

campism Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:58 am

We bought our Westy two years ago with what the PO said was a full tank. We probably have 30-40 nights on it now, cooking mornings, sometimes evenings and always heating water for cleanup. No refill yet. I keep waiting to run out so I can pull the tank and repaint it.

dpazos Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:11 am

I did a twenty day trip using the fridge on gas 50% and cooking two times a day with just one tank.

danfromsyr Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:11 am

here's a hint to find out level ..

Run the stove top for half a minute-minute and toss some cold/chill/ambient temp water on the tank.
note the level line that will magically appear as the tank temp will be differant above and at the liquid propane level. 8)


boy that sure beats hitting it with a hammer to hear if it sounds empty. :shock:

ckissick Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:40 am

I spent a whole summer, maybe 80 days, solo, cooking with the stove every day (mostly dinner, but some breakfast and lunch, too - I like grilled cheese for lunch). Never used the propane on the fridge. I ran out while cooking at Bryce Canyon on my second-to-last night. So I went more than 2 months on one tank.



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