Anyone use butane for their forge???

[territorialmillworks]

When I got to Afghanistan as a contractor,I checked on the availability of propane with the thought of doing some very small scale smithing while here. Propane isn't available on base but butane is used by the Afghanis for cooking and heating. Butane is about 10% heavier and has 10% more BTUs than propane. So my question is this: I have a venture burner,hose, regulator and insulating bricks setting on the bench at home just for this scenario. Will the burner work with butane without re-jetting and will butane affect the propane regulator? Someone here mentioned that butane doesn't burn as clean but I don't plan on forge welding LOL. THX, Keith

[kcrucible]

Found this for you.. sounds like it should work, though will behave differently.

The two gases are close. Propane often has some butane in it. That can be a problem for some things. Propane is a little more volatile and will burn off faster and that increases the amount of butane in a large tank. Propane might burn too hot. Butane is not as hot. The air mixture might need to be adjusted. That would be the vents on the burner if they have adjustable ones.

or maybe not, depending on what psi you need.

LPG is a gas that can be liquified by pressure at normal temperatures. Basically propane and butane or some sort of mix. Butane requires lower pressure at a given temperature so is safer in hot areas but will start to fail you at temps near normal room temp (assuming you'd like 10 psi or so supply). Propane is good to temps well below zero, but has very high tank pressures as temps go into the triple digits. Your gas company may vary the mix with the season, but use mostly propane..