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What is the difference between Butane and Propane?

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    What is the difference between Butane and Propane?

    Hi everyone. Can anyone tell me the real difference between Propane and Butane?I have googled this and got a lot of chemistry and formulas. I want to know the real deal from real people.

    #2

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    • troymeister
      troymeister commented
      Editing a comment
      MBMorgan Thank you...Basically Butane is for warmer climates and Propane is for colder climates. I thought there was a whole bunch of difference in BTU's and stuff. Not the case. Basically One's boiling point is higher than the other. I got it!!

    #3
    They're both "anes". One of them is a "but" and the other is a "prop". Other than that I don't know.

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    • Troutman
      Troutman commented
      Editing a comment
      You actually had me going there ribeyeguy

    • JCBBQ
      JCBBQ commented
      Editing a comment
      lol

    • Henrik
      Henrik commented
      Editing a comment
      Finally a scientific explanation, Lol!

    #4
    propane works still in cold environment and runs hotter.

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      #5
      I’m thinking they’re related.
      The first pro "pane" and the second
      "but" ane Means their a pane in the but. 😂🤣😂

      Comment


        #6
        "One carbon atom on the chain" is the answer, but that's not funny among non-chemists. The previous practical answers are correct. Propane has three carbons and butane has four. The more carbons on the chain the more attracted the compound is to itself and the more likely it will exist as a liquid as opposed to being a gas. So for cooking purposes, propane is commonly used as well as natural gas, which is methane, and only has one carbon. Propane is easy to compress and store in tanks. The go to option when natural gas is not readily available.

        I previously mentioned eight carbon atoms being the main ingredient in gasoline, and I stand corrected. Thank you Uncle Bob. Gasoline is a much more complex mixture of different types of carbon compounds than I made it sound, and I withdraw my using octane as a way to simplify the discussion about propane and butane.
        Last edited by mrteddyprincess; June 19, 2019, 02:20 PM.

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        • Attjack
          Attjack commented
          Editing a comment
          So why is butane a good candidate for the fuel for portable burners and lighters over propane?

        • Donw
          Donw commented
          Editing a comment
          It stays a liquid at lower pressure so the containing vessel can be thinner and lighter.

        • Uncle Bob
          Uncle Bob commented
          Editing a comment
          You were doing good until your comment about octane being "the good stuff in gasoline". Iso Octane is one of two reference fuels for rating anti-knock quality of a gasoline sample. BTW, not tryin' to bust yur chops, just that you were having fun with chemo-geeking so I thought I'd add to it.
          Last edited by Uncle Bob; June 19, 2019, 09:42 AM.

        #7
        And butane, well ya can light a bunch of bic lighters at a concert & appear to be cool. Kumbaya! 🕶

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          #8
          If you want hotter, I've always been told MAPP gas is what you want.

          Comment


          • Histrix
            Histrix commented
            Editing a comment
            MAPP gas no longer exists. The only company that made it quit making it a decade or so ago. What you see now - Map Pro (in the yellow cylinders) - is different and it only burns a couple hundred degrees F or so hotter than propane (something like 3500°F vs 3700°F). It's not worth the price premium (3X?)over the regular propane (blue cylinders). Back in the day, MAPP would burn at more than 5500°F or thereabouts.

          #9
          A couple of carbon and hydrogen atoms

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            #10
            Size of the hole in the ground it leaves after the blast.
            Porpane should be more regulated than it is considering the damage it can do both unlit and lit.
            From my old propane forklift driving days its a lot dirtier burning than Butane.
            Can cause pretty good cold burns comes out of the tank in the minus 100s so wear gloves, used to burn my hands if regulator didn't match up right or there was no o-ring.

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              #11
              Looks like I'll have to leave this to ya'll. I use charcoal.

              Comment


              • Attjack
                Attjack commented
                Editing a comment
                I use a butane torch to light a Weber starter cube so I don't have to stand there with a heat gun 😂

              • Mudkat
                Mudkat commented
                Editing a comment
                The old wooden match or three works for me!

              • Attjack
                Attjack commented
                Editing a comment
                Nothing wrong with a wooden match until you run out of them.

              #12
              Still trying to figure out what the real ask is, are you using for cooking? Lighting? Others. I use both for lighting, one for occasionally sweating pipe and neither for cooking. Propane works great in cold weather, butane not so much unless you warm it first and if you dont keep it warm it cools really fast and back to not working well.

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                #13
                I overheard that question in Philly this morning

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                  #14
                  This post reminds me why I stayed away from organic chemistry!

                  Comment

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