Garden & outdoor
How long does a camping gas canister last?
Grams of gas per day and days of autonomy per cartridge or cylinder, for camping, vans and work sites.
Quick answer
Gas stove autonomy is pure arithmetic that almost nobody does before running out mid-dinner: butane/propane mix holds about 12.8 kWh per kg, so a burner consumes roughly 78 grams per hour for every kW of power at full flame. The classic 2.2 kW single burner drinks about 170 g/h flat out — meaning a 230 g screw cartridge is only 80 minutes of full-power cooking. At a medium simmer flame, consumption roughly halves and the same cartridge stretches past two and a half hours.
Autonomy
~1.8 days
- Gas per day
- 129 g
- Meals per container (15 min each)
- ~5 meals
Butane/propane mix delivers about 12.8 kWh per kg, so a stove burns roughly 78 g per hour per kW at full flame. A classic 2.2 kW single burner at full power uses ~170 g/h — a 230 g cartridge is about 80 minutes of full-flame cooking. Cold weather cuts cartridge pressure and effective output: in winter keep cartridges warm (inside the jacket, not on the stove!) or use propane-heavy mixes and cylinders.
How it works
For work sites, vans and long camps, the container choice matters more than the stove: screw cartridges are convenient and legal to carry easily, but per gram of gas a 3-5 kg refillable cylinder costs a third as much. The enemy of both is cold — butane stops vaporizing near 0 °C, so a half-full cartridge that worked at lunch can feel dead at dawn. Winter answers: propane-heavier mixes (marked "winter gas"), keeping the cartridge in your jacket before use, or cylinders with propane. And always cook with a windscreen outdoors: wind can double consumption before you notice.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a 230 g gas cartridge last?+
On a standard 2.2 kW burner: about 1 h 20 min at full flame, or roughly 2.5 hours at medium. In meal terms, that’s 5-6 quick one-pot meals or 10+ coffee-and-freeze-dried stops. Small backpacking stoves (1.5 kW or less used briefly) stretch a 230 g cartridge over a week of boiling water twice a day.
Cartridges or a refillable cylinder for a work site?+
For daily use in a fixed spot, the cylinder wins on every count except weight: gas costs about a third per kg, no cartridge waste, and cold performance is better with propane. Pair a 3-5 kg cylinder with a proper regulator and hose. Cartridges keep their place for mobility — jobs that move every day, no storage, or where carrying cylinders triggers transport rules.
Why does my stove get weak in the cold?+
Butane needs to evaporate inside the cartridge to feed the flame, and below about 5 °C it barely does; near 0 °C a butane-heavy cartridge effectively dies even half full. Fixes, in order of practicality: buy winter mix (more propane, works to -10 °C or lower), warm the cartridge in your jacket or sleeping bag before cooking, stand it in a centimetre of lukewarm water while cooking — and never heat it with the stove’s own flame.
Is it safe to cook with a gas stove inside a van or tent?+
Only with serious ventilation, and never for heating. Two separate dangers: carbon monoxide from incomplete combustion (invisible, odourless) and unburned gas pooling low since butane is heavier than air. If you must cook inside a van, open a window and the door, keep the flame in sight, and install a CO detector — a €20 device that removes the biggest risk. In small tents, cook in the vestibule with the zip open, or better, outside.
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