For those of you that fly and camp at airshows or otherwise, do you bring along a camp stove for cooking? If so, what kind of stove, and how do you transport the fuel for it?
I have a camp stove that uses the small propane cylinders, but I would be concerned about transporting the propane in the airplane.
I would not think a little propane poses anywhere near as much risk as having 50 to 100 gallons of gas with you. Propane is at such a high pressure that altitude will not affect it much at all.
I don't think a tank of compressed propane is any more of an issue than a tank of compressed oxygen as far as venting at altitude goes.
Back in the smoking days, butane lighters were banned in cabins because if you used them in flight the potential was there to have a ten inch flame under your nose when you released the pressure when lighting them. And I don't think you’re going to make some coffee at cruise.
I think I would be more concerned if I left an extra cylinder in the cabin with a days worth of sunshine beating through the windows.
You see many of those stoves there though so it must work out.
I took the easy way out and bought an MSR-XK stove that burns AVGAS as well as white gas, car gas, etc. That way I just drain some gas from the airplane into the stove and when I'm through camping the gas from the stove goes back into the plane! End of problem.
Thank you for the responses guys. GM - I was also concerned about cabin heat if I was parked somewhere hot while in transit, with everything still in the plane. Plus propane is classified as a hazardous good, so what would happen on a ramp check?
Jim T - it sounds like you have found a great solution. It solves all the associated problems. I didn't realize that those stoves were available. Thanks.
Not to be a killjoy, but you won't find me using my MSR stove with leaded gas. Mogas would be ok, but I'm dumb enough, I don't want any more lead in my diet.
Liquid fuels in the cabin scare me more than propane/butane. That may just be a hang-up of mine (see above). There are lots of portable engine pre-heaters that use propane and some that use liquid fuels (e.g.: Northern Companion).
Interesting comment. I never thought about that aspect but I wouldn't think that the amount of lead released heating a small pot of water would be much. I always keep my water pot covered anyway to keep bugs, dirt, etc. out so fumes from the combustion probably don't contaminate the water to a high degree.
Paul Wrote:
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> Jim,
>
> Not to be a killjoy, but you won't find me using
> my MSR stove with leaded gas. I don't want any more lead in
> my diet.
You make a good point Paul. plus you and your camping "neighbors" don't have to breath in the lead released during the combustion process.
I don't think the amount of lead in the fuel you would burn poses a health risk. Prior to the introduction of low and non lead fuels, we all burned leaded gasoline in our campstoves, and today's 100LL has less lead than those blends.
Ron, go ahead and transport the propane cylinders in your plane. They are highly regulated as to how full they can be when new, are forbidden to be refilled for this reason, and even in the hot sun will not get hot enough to vent any propane, though perhaps if you are in Arizona this time of year you might want to move them out of the sun. Just don't put the stove in your plane with the tanks hooked up as that joint might have a chance of leaking.
