We will be over in the house next week, and plan to bring a propane-powered camping stove with us since we don’t have a kitchen yet. We have the usual regulator etc, but because we’re travelling by tunnel, can’t bring our gas bottle. In the past we’ve had some difficulty getting a bottle because the shops want to sell a recharged exchange unit, rather than a whole bottle including gas. Is this likely to be a problem in France? I’m looking at something like this:
NB this might not be the cheapest source, but it’s very convenient for us to pick up when we get supplies on arrival to keep us fed on Sunday.
You can get these cheaply at Leclerc filling station - I go for Clairgaz - it is approx 30 euro plus 10 euro deposit (although no deposit required last time)
Super U.
26 euros and no deposit for 13kg.
It seens that bottled gas in UK is rather scarce according to various camping forums with 6kg empty bottles being offered on Ebay for silly money.
It seens plentiful here.
We use Butane indoors… red and blue 13kg are interchangeable… and available all over the place… just explain that you want a full bottle and have nothing to exchange … no probs.
Casino supermarkets are ok and Bricomarche sell gas. Just be aware that you will need a regulator to suit the french bottle as they are the opposite of uk regulators, UK bottles have a Female outlet, whereas the French version is Male.
Can these be connected to a camping stove? Most camping stoves are small, the ones I have somewhere even fold up. Can the supermarket bottles sold everywhere in France actually be connected to these?
As a backup maybe bring an electric-powered hotplate? Available quickly online. Induction may be still available at Aldi UK, or something like the Swiss Luxx on ebay (I have it, and it’s jolly useful, low electricity use but efficient). Hypermarkets sometimes also sell a 2-element electric own brand, Leclerc’s one is branded own brand Elsay 26-30 euros. Out of these i’d go with the Swiss Luxx. If you pack a cast iron casserole dish with a lid in the car, you can cook most things easily over any heat source.
Plenty of places sell them garages bricos your local village shop etc you pay a deposit for the bottle and most times that give you the regulator. When empty you just swap an empty bottle for a full one. When changing you no longer pay a deposit just the gas. If I was you I’d buy the plastic bottle as much lighter for the missus to handle
Thanks, for the reply.
If I remember correctly, I just had to fill in a sheet with my name address for the depost. I very rarely carry my id except driving liecence.
Propane outdoors only? I’d not heard that before. We changed regulators a couple of years ago from Butane to Propane because Butane was hard to find and expensive round here, and I should still have the Butane regulator. However that’s not necessary if we get a new regulator when paying a deposit.
The stove is a double burner plus grill job designed to stand on a table. I had considered one of those small free-standing hotplates, but this is easier to cook on and no worries about enough sockets in the right place. It’s also CE marked & came from Aldi a decade ago.
Been like that for a few years. You can get a French regulator in larger supermarkets and they can be for butane, propane or both, fixed and adjustable varieties. The fixed one is halfway between the propane mbar and the butane mbar
Propane has a much lower boiling point than butane, making it far more suitable for outdoor use such as camping stoves in spring and autumn when the ambient temperature is lower.