How much propane do I need?

[John61CT]

I can understand while backpacking, but eating good food is one of life's great joys!

Our gear should be supporting what we want out of life, not compromising our lifestyle to suit limited gear.

Just my opinion of course, I guess lots of people don't mind eating shyte meals.

[JaggedEdges]

Cooking for one is a pain in the butt though, sometimes you just wanna get some fuel down you and carry on with what you enjoy. However, I don't relish the thought of living off that stuff for the hell of it.

Although it pisses me off the lack of dried foods in stores now, because I DO like the idea of having sealed long keeping foods in the camping setup, so you can snatch suddenly available weekends and have food, even if you don't get to hit a store. Or it's a good prepper supply in case you have to get out of Dodge for severe weather etc. Anyway, 20 years or so back I could find loads of stuff, rice dishes with dried chicken in, vegetarian chillis that were pretty decent, can't seem to find that any more around here. Even the canned selection is pretty dire now.

[G-Mac]

My bracket showed up on Thursday, but the bottle didn't arrive until late Friday. I filled it up today and mounted it. I really like the smaller size and I love the weight reduction. I believe we lost about 25 lbs overall. Every little bit helps. I'm sure the 10 lb bottle will last us a while with just 2 burners.







We have eaten the freeze-dried foods and actually like them when hiking, but we like to do a little more prep and eat healthier, fresher meals when we can. The recipe section on here has been a great help. Our favorite so far is the omelette in a ziplock. We prep before we leave, put them in the fridge and boil for breakfast. Love them filled with veggies, spices, a little cheese and whatever else is in the house fridge from the week.



We did pasta for dinner. Quick and easy. We're taking a minimalist approach to cooking supplies and using a backpacking pot kit with plates in it. It's small, but works great for the two of us.

So far, we have been trying to plan out our meals, prep ahead of time and just throw it all together when it is time to cook. The more we can prep and combine, the better. One of the reasons I like the omelettes so much. It's pretty easy to boil water, insert a plastic bag and then eat!

[Socal Tom]

Cooking at camp is different for everyone. Some folks do as little as possible, when I'm by myself I am more likely to just heat some water and do mountain house or things like it. But in general I like to cook when I camp, but I'm not at the level of some of the cast iron chefs on here.
Tom


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[JaggedEdges]

Some people cook every last thing in advance and deep freeze it, then have it all stacked in order of use in a cooler, that they use only for that. Then just warm everything... probably get a pound of propane to last you a week with that method, vs 30 mins at a time burner time to cook on site.

Edit: At that point you might not even need propane, figure out some solar heater. Tinfoil umbrella etc.

[noseoil]

I finally refilled our 11# tank this month. It had been going for about a year with a few weekend trips here & there, last year's marathon summer trip & daily use on trips for coffee each morning. We have the 2 burner stove with oven setup, which works well enough for our needs. We don't cook three meals a day while out camping, but have had our share of cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Typically, we have coffee & perhaps an evening meal of chili or something simple, with water for dishes after a meal & that's about all.

I refilled it this past weekend & it took about 8# to top off, that's all. A 25# bottle would be good if you need heat, hot water & cooking all the time, but for coking chores & very basic camp needs, our 11# bottle has served us well & will last quite a while on the road. YMMV....

[G-Mac]

Much appreciated. What I like about the bottles is the TAR WT is listed. I can always pull the bottle and weigh it to see how much I have left. I do that with my Co2. With just 2 burners, I think I'll be good-to-go for a while.

[Esteban]

G-Mac, where did you buy the propane cylinder bracket? I may want to buy one myself.

It looks similar to the 10 lb. cylinder bracket from AdventureTrailers.com which cost $124.00.

I want to use a similar bracket to hold a 11 or 17 lb. Viking Composite Cylinder. I like that they weigh less than steel cylinders and that you can easily see how much propane they contain.

I'll use a Camp Chef Deluxe Outdoor Camping Oven on a slide out shelf in my galley. I'm undecided whether to mount the propane tank on the side of the galley or in the front of the teardrop above the tongue.

[Syberia]

We have a 20lb cylinder on the front of our trailer. Only used the trailer once for 2.5 days so far, but that usage included our water heater as needed, making pizza on the bbq one night, steaks the next night, omelettes one morning, and bacon/eggs/pancakes the next. Tank was still 3/4 full when we left.

For the record, we eat better when we're camping than we do when we're home half the time.

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[G-Mac]

:thinking: G-Mac, where did you buy the propane cylinder bracket? I may want to buy one myself.

It looks similar to the 10 lb. cylinder bracket from AdventureTrailers.com which cost $124.00.

I want to use a similar bracket to hold a 11 or 17 lb. Viking Composite Cylinder. I like that they weigh less than steel cylinders and that you can easily see how much propane they contain.

I'll use a Camp Chef Deluxe Outdoor Camping Oven on a slide out shelf in my galley. I'm undecided whether to mount the propane tank on the side of the galley or in the front of the teardrop above the tongue.

Both items were Amazon.

Bottle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJV5A26/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bracket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OCDRB94/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, the bracket is about the same cost as the bottle, but it is well-built and solid. Power tank makes some great products. Fit is perfect!

[Esteban]

Thanks for the information and links Gary.

I'm hoping to use a Viking Composite Cylinder for my propane supply tank because it weighs less and you can see the remaining amount of propane. The Vikings 12" diameter is bigger than the 10 lb. Manchester tanks 8.9" diameter. To be able to use a Viking cylinder I also need to find a bracket that will fit it.

If anyone knows of a bracket that fits a 12" diameter propane tank I'd appreciate a link to be able buy one.

My fallback preference would be to use a steel, or aluminum, tank and matching bracket like the combo Gary linked to.

[John61CT]

Forklift tank brackets.

Eliminate the "keying" post if it's in the way

[John61CT]

https://www.amazon.com/Nashfuel-Propane ... B00EP1T75Y

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EP1T6KU

http://m.ebay.com/itm/ANTI-THEFT-UNIVER ... 2528872870

[noseoil]

I used a welding tank bracket for the mount on our trailer. The 10-11# bottle is cheaper elsewhere...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Worthington- ... /202034839

[capnTelescope]

I use a 20# exchangeable cylinder that I can refill or exchange as the situation calls for.