Gas cartridge

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gas cartridges are rather small disposable containers that are sold filled with liquid gas at relatively low pressure (approx. 10 bar). This liquid gas is mostly butane , pure or mixed with isobutane and / or propane . Gas cartridges can typically be used to operate single-flame camping gas stoves , gas lamps , blowtorches and other gas burners . Gas cartridges sometimes form the base or handle for a device.

Particularly small gas containers with an internal volume of around 15–150 ml, which typically contain gas under higher pressure (50–200 bar), are called gas cartridges.

However, if a gas container is refillable and has a larger volume, it is usually not referred to as a gas cartridge but as a gas cylinder .

The smallest for siphon bottles, whipped cream bottles and for filling wheel tires are filled with CO 2 or N 2 O and are disposable. Larger, often filled with air and refillable, are optionally also referred to as gas bottles.

Cartridge systems

190 g gas cartridge
230 g screw cartridge (Primus) with cooker
Screw valve cartridge (7/16 "EU) connection
Bayonet valve cartridge connection

Depending on the connection used, a distinction is made between three different types of cartridges:

  1. The piercing cartridge: This cartridge has no valve. Instead, a hollow spike punctures the cartridge as soon as it is inserted into the device. It should be noted that the recess in which the mandrel sticks must be clean (free of dust and grease and free of label residues), otherwise the rubber seal in the device cannot seal reliably. The cartridge may only be removed from the device after it has been completely emptied, otherwise all gas would flow out at once. This system can be found almost everywhere in the world where there are gas cartridges. The price / gas volume ratio is up to four times cheaper than screw and bayonet cartridges, and since the cartridges are offered by many manufacturers, you are not dependent on a monopoly. However, the two seals on the spring-loaded sliding part that surrounds the mandrel have certain leak rates , so that the cartridge empties slowly over a period of several months. In the case of inadmissible dismantling of partially empty piercing cartridges, the entire gas content escapes with the risk of uncontrolled ignition and even explosive combustion. Therefore the French Commission for Consumer Safety warns against the use of piercing cartridges.

Piercing cartridges have a diameter of 89 mm on the floor tiles and are 90 mm high. Net they contain 330 ml equal to 190 g butane with a gross mass of 290–292 g. The internal volume is about 430 ml, so the gas phase makes up about 100 ml at room temperature. Towards the arching of the roof, the jacket tapers from 86 to 81.5 mm in diameter, making it compatible with two different device shapes that were previously available. Decades ago there was also a lower shape with an estimated half volume to save weight when mountaineering. It could only be held by a correspondingly lower device and could not assert itself on the market.

  1. The screw valve cartridge : It is screwed to a suitable connection with a thread (7/16 "- 28 UNEF thread). It also has a valve that only opens when the connection is screwed on. This cartridge can therefore be dismantled again and again This system is produced by Primus , Snow Peak , Rothenberger , Coleman and Markill and can be found mainly in Scandinavian countries, but also in Central Europe. These cartridges are similar in range As common as piercing cartridges, the Campingaz CG cartridges also have this connection.
  2. The bayonet valve cartridge: This type of cartridge also has a valve and can therefore be dismantled again and again. However, the connection is not screwed on, but pushed on and then secured by a kind of lever. Several cartridge systems are designed with a bayonet connection:
    1. Campingaz CV
    2. A system originally widespread mainly in Asia, which is known among other things under the designation MSF-1A . These cartridges can be recognized by a notch in the collar next to the valve. The Campingaz CP cartridges also have this connection.
    3. Coleman max , with hexagonal embossing on the valve.

Since 2005 there have been adapters with which bayonet cartridges can be operated on screw cartridge systems. Previously available adapters from piercing cartridge to screw cartridge system have now been completely withdrawn from the market - presumably due to safety problems.

Gas mixtures

Most cartridges can only be operated to a limited extent at temperatures below 5 ° C due to the low propane content. The boiling point of the butane is decisive here. In addition, each cartridge cools down during operation, because evaporation cold occurs. However, there are a few cartridges with isobutane that also work in the cold.

Piercing cartridges :

  • Coleman 190 (190 g): 80% butane + 20% propane
  • Campingaz C206 (190 g): 80% butane + 20% propane
  • Campingaz C206 D super (190 g): 70% butane + 30% propane
  • Primus PowerGas - without valve (190 g): 95% butane + 5% propane

Screw valve cartridge (7/16 "EU):

  • CADAC (445 g) / (500 g): 95% butane + 5% propane
  • Campingaz CG1750 (175 g) / CG3500 (350 g): 70% butane + 30% propane
  • Coleman 100 (97 g) / 250 (220 g) / 500 (440 g): 70% butane + 30% propane
  • Edelrid Outdoor Gas 100 (100 g) / 230 (230 g) / 450 (450 g): 40% butane + 30% propane + 30% isobutane
  • Jetboil Jetpower: 80% isobutane + 20% propane
  • Markill 100 (100 g) / 210 (210 g) / 425 (425 g): 70% butane + 30% propane
  • Optimus Energy (100 g / 230 g / 450 g): 50% butane + 25% propane + 25% isobutane
  • Primus Power Gas 110 (100 g) / 220 (230 g) / 450 (450 g): 70% butane + 20% propane + 10% isobutane (→ according to Primus homepage: 50% butane + 25% propane + 25% isobutane)
  • Rothenberger topgas 220 (gross 220 g): 70% butane + 30% propane
  • Rothenberger multigas 300 (gross 332 g): 65% butane + 35% propane
  • Rothenberger maxigas 400 (gross 338 g) - welding gas for higher temperatures: 56% butane / iso-butane (/ propane) + 21% propane + 21.5% acetone + 1.5% pentane + <0.2% 1.2 -Dichloropropane (*) + <0.1% dimethyl carbonate (*) - * Odor substances via carrier pentane
  • Rothenberger MAPP gas (750 ml in 1 l aluminum cartridge) - soldering gas with a high energy content: 50… 100% propene + 10… 25% isobutane boiling point −47 ° C, vapor pressure at 20 ° C 9 bar.
  • Snow Peak Giga Power: 85% isobutane + 15% propane

Bayonet valve cartridges :

  • Campingaz CV 270 (230 g) / CV 300 (240 g) / CV 470 (450 g): 80% butane + 20% propane
  • Campingaz CV 360 (52 g): 100% butane
  • Coleman max 170 (170 g) / 300 (300 g): 60% butane + 40% propane

Kocher valve cartridges :

Campingaz CP 250 (250 g) "Isobutane Mix": <75% isobutane <30% butane & 1-2% propane;

MSF-1a various manufacturers (227 g): 100% butane (identical under the names BGK-1, CP250, TC-SUN-02)

Physics of the liquid gas cartridge

Part of the cartridge volume is taken up by the liquid phase (= liquefied gas), audible by shaking. Cartridges are designed for a maximum pressure of (estimated) 15 bar, which is why they must not get hotter than 55 or 60 ° C. Therefore, they must not be stored in the sun or behind glass and under no circumstances heated.

If the pressure is exceeded, cartridges should open at a seam (predetermined breaking point) in order to avoid an even more dangerous bursting of the wall. The same applies to spray cans that are filled with butane as a propellant.

For all cartridges filled with (partially) liquefied gas mixtures, the gas phase is richer in the low-boiling component - propane C 3 H 8  . When gas is withdrawn (from the gas phase), the higher-boiling component - butane C 4 H 10  - steadily accumulates in the liquid phase. This enrichment, which occurs even more strongly at colder ambient temperatures, causes a progressive decrease in the gas pressure in the cartridge and thus less maximum output at the burner. In practice, the pressure decrease can usually be compensated for by readjusting the valve wheel and is at the same time an indicator that the level is about to be low. With the disappearance of the last remainder of the liquid phase, only the gas phase can expand with a decrease in pressure and flow out in a decaying manner until only the ambient pressure is present inside.

However, a higher proportion of propane or even pure propane requires thicker-walled, heavier gas cylinders due to the higher pressure. Butane also provides (higher carbon content) the higher specific heat of combustion. Gasoline (or kerosene), which is burned in some blowtorches and highly efficient outdoor stoves, is even higher.

Dangers when handling gas cartridges

Gas cartridges are generally thinner-walled than gas bottles and therefore more sensitive to mechanical damage. When the shell is pierced, the filler material emerges partly in liquid and partly in gaseous form. The following sources of danger arise:

  • The evaporating gas quickly creates explosive gas-air mixtures, especially in closed rooms.
  • Due to the evaporation cold , liquid escaping gas can reach very low temperatures and, if it comes into contact with skin, cause cold burns .
  • When replacing the cartridge, the escaping gas from the new cartridge can ignite if the metal parts (e.g. lamp base, stove) are still hot. Therefore it is essential to wait until the devices have cooled down sufficiently!

An uncontrolled outflow can also arise in the event of errors in handling. With the valve cartridges, this is only possible if the counterpart is placed at an angle or if the device (stove, lamp) is operated incorrectly. In the case of spike cartridges, a handling error often means that the cartridge has already been pierced, but the locking mechanism of the device is opened again. This can e.g. B. happen by screwing the spike head at an angle into the holder.

Heating gas cartridges above 50 ° C can create dangerously high pressure, which can lead to the cartridge leaking or bursting.

The gas it contains has a higher density than air, so that it can accumulate in the event of leaks in pits and cellars (rooms below ground level). Therefore, gas containers and devices with inserted cartridges must not be stored in such rooms.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Recommendation (summary) on the safety of type c200 piercable gas canisters and the appliances they power 04/06 ( Memento of October 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Joint meeting of the RID Committee of Experts and the Working Group for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (Bern, March 25-28 , 2008) , at otif.org
  3. ↑ Topgas 220 , on rothenberger-industrial.com
  4. ↑ Multigas 300 , on rothenberger-industrial.com
  5. ↑ Safety data sheet Maxigas 400 , dated January 17, 2008, accessed April 22, 2013
  6. ↑ Mapp Gas , on rothenberger-industrial.com, accessed June 5, 2020
  7. ↑ Safety data sheet for Campingaz CP250. Camping Gaz (Schweiz) AG, November 15, 2010, accessed on November 6, 2019 (German).