Looking for Gas Bottles? Garden & Home Fuel

If you’re the type of person who likes to make the most of your outside space for as much of the year as possible, chances are that gas bottles form a significant element in the range of tools that allow you to do so.

Your barbecue can be run on charcoal, but what you gain in authentic flavours and aromas, you might lose in the time spent getting it up to the right temperature – sometimes, you just want to get on with the cooking and eating! And if you’re socialising, you may not want to worry about having to spend half the evening topping up on fuel either. 

Meanwhile, there are many times of the year when you might want to sit outside for longer, but find that it starts to get too cold once the sun goes down – even if you try adding extra layers!

In both these cases, gas fuel offers an affordable and practical solution – powering patio heaters that allow you to stay out for longer or making for a fast and trouble-free way of grilling or running a barbecue. 

Read on to discover more about the different gas bottles on offer at KG Smith & Son and their individual applications and benefits.

What are the different types of bottled gas?

Propane

One of the great advantages of propane is that it can be stored at very low temperatures, making it perfect for outdoor use, while it can also be stored in larger quantities than butane. Those two benefits make it useful for a wider range of outdoor applications, such as powering barbecues and outdoor heating throughout the year. It can also be used to provide heat and hot water in the home – this is why it is available in large bottles of up to 47kg.

Some BBQ aficionados claim that propane is a better fuel choice than butane because the latter can sometimes leave a slight taste of gas on the food. 

Propane is supplied in red bottles. It should be noted, however, that propane in red bottles is predominantly used for large appliances and commercial heating, or even cooking in catering vans. For domestic uses, you’ll probably be better off with patio gas (see below).

Butane

With a boiling point of only -2°C, butane doesn’t perform as well at lower temperatures as propane, but performs better at warmer temperatures. It can be safely stored indoors and is often the fuel of choice for small portable heaters and cookers when camping or caravanning. 

Butane is, however, a more energy efficient fuel than propane, providing some 12% more energy for the same volume of gas. It’s also often slightly cheaper. So for regular outdoor chefs looking for top performance and value, this may well be the best choice.

Butane is supplied in blue bottles.

Patio gas

Bottles that are labelled ‘Patio Gas’ actually also contain propane – so why are there two versions of what is essentially the same thing? Well, patio gas bottles have been specifically designed for ease of use with domestic appliances such as barbecues and patio heaters. In practice, that means that they are compatible with the 27mm clip-on regulators on such pieces of equipment.

Patio gas is supplied in green bottles.

Here at KG Smith & Son, we supply all the above types of gas bottles in a range of sizes suitable for many domestic and commercial applications. If you’re not sure which would be right for you, just give us a call or contact us and we’ll be happy to answer your questions and help in any way we can.

Please note, however, that our gas fuel is not available for online orders, so gas bottles must be ordered by phone.