Propane?

[The Thief Lord]

I'm currently using UHC Green Gas in my TSD/HFC M11A1. It has a magnesium bolt, so I can use green to my advantage. What my question is, though, is if switching to propane would be a good move. I know that I'll have to lubricate the gun more, but my dad refuses to let me buy propane for it because it's more flammable, and the Green Gas is basically propane + silicone but with an additive to prevent fire. Is this true, or is propane just as safe?

[Anachronism327]

that's false... silicone is used to provide a degree of lubrication in the gun. Green Gas does not have an additive that prevents it from being flammable. Green gas is just as dangerous as propane, maybe even more due to the way it's stored in a thinner skinned container than a propane can.

[c_a_r_t_e_r_3_5]

Go hit your father with some knowledge!

[tiff_lee]

I may start using propane since I keep hearing how it is cheaper than Green, where is the best places to purchase it from in the UK? I assume in comes in various size containers?

 

[monkey530]

Something like for camp stoves or the plumbers size for soldering pipes or brazing pipes should do.

[GuzziHero]

I get mine from B&Q when I have a gas gun (not often). Make sure you add silicon to the gas by dropping a few drops into the propane bottle valve every 3-5 mags

 

[Libris]

I get mine from B&Q when I have a gas gun (not often). Make sure you add silicon to the gas by dropping a few drops into the propane bottle valve every 3-5 mags

 

While propane is cheaper than green gas it's actually much safer, coming in a thick steel skinned can with a pressure release valve. I'm quite sure that if Trading Standards were aware of what was inside a green gas container in its current form the current canister design would be banned.

 

[Slynx]

Doesn't propane smell thou.... I'm not sure but don't they add something to it in the UK so that you can detect a leak.

[snowman]

Yep - smell's something rotten....

 

Make sure you get PURE propane, though. The Propane/Butane mix is weaker than 134a gas.

 

Cheers.

[Slynx]

Smells like rotten eggs, I don't think I would want to be standing close to you if you got a mag that decided to vent, its gonna smell a bit till the air disperses it

[Nicholas]

Smells like rotten eggs, I don't think I would want to be standing close to you if you got a mag that decided to vent, its gonna smell a bit till the air disperses it

It doesn't smell that bad. It's far from smelling like rotten eggs.

[obsessedwithairsoft]

yeah, its not unbearable, but I do tend to burn incense after filling mags in my room. ( don't worry, I live in a safe and non veiwable area. out in the boonies, where I can legally fire real guns.)

[ZAXAQUAR]

I never thought it smelt that bad.

Just the smell of wasted material. haha

It's not harmful is it?

[Stealthbomber]

Something like for camp stoves or the plumbers size for soldering pipes or brazing pipes should do.

Whoa!

 

Hold on there.

You're right that propane is often sold for use by plumbers when soldering but the cannisters that go in camp stoves are almost ALWAYS a propane/butane mix rather than pure propane. The butane helps the gas burn more cleanly.

As Snowman said, any propane/butane mixed gas will be much weaker than propane. Even weaker than HFC134a.

[Stuey]

Something like for camp stoves or the plumbers size for soldering pipes or brazing pipes should do.

 

Yeah just to add to Stealth's comment, the stuff sold for plumbers and for soldering and brazing can sometimes be MAPP gas, which burns hotter than propane. I'm don't know why, but I read somewhere that you definitely don't want to use it in your guns.

 

Stu

[tiff_lee]

Oh right ok so where is he ideal place in the UK to buy propane from?

[kevshin21]

insane for propane? (You have to watch king of the hill to understand that)

[Connery]

Just keep in mind that you will probably have to lubricate your gun more often using Propane, for some strange reason it tends to dry out your gun a lot faster, even if you mix silicone into it. And just because it's not pure propane does not mean it's not flammable. When we run out of butane, we use Green Gas to refill our lighters. The flame is much larger than it would be if it were butane, so that should shoot down any theory that Green Gas is not flammable.

[Shinden]

lol, there are couple videos on Youtube as well with people lighting up green gas in shoes and other random things. Propane is cheap, it's everywhere and comes in a large tank at times. It is an alternative, however you'll risk ruining your gun more. Your magazines will leak much more sooner with the O-rings dried up and blown out. Inside your gun, you nozzle, cylinder, piston cup will be nice and dry and infact brittle to any shock absorbed by the gun while shooting. Given you also live in the States where Winter is present, you'll have to oil your gun before and after use. And of course over-oiling/lubing will hinder your gun's performance when shooting and all that excess oil will just become drag. Careful when thinking about propane in your gun.

[Treadhead]

You can get it rather cheaply in B&Q in the UK.

 

 

Smells like rotten eggs, I don't think I would want to be standing close to you if you got a mag that decided to vent, its gonna smell a bit till the air disperses it

 

 

Personally I much rather having a smelly highly flammable gas in a container which isn't likely to leak or explode than having the same gas without a smell in a flimsy aerosol can....