I’ve been burning through the little 3 oz cans of butane at a pretty fast pace. There ought to be a way to make use of the larger cans of butane and butane/propane sold for camp stoves. Any suggestions?
Ideally, I’d to be able to attach a valve to the top of a can with a long hose, and then attach the end of the hose to the ronson valve on the Ruby, and turn on the gas. There has to be a better way than what I’m doing
Talk to Royce. He has what you describe.
Bruce Chandler said:
Talk to Royce. He has what you describe.
Good luck with that. I ordered one from him 16 months ago. He was having family issues so I cut him some slack and called back to remind him 3 months later. Another reminder a month after that, and several calls from Marilyn too. Never sent the adapter. I Ordered this one from Aristo for $30.
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/jrad/_forumfiles/AristoFill.jpg)
It has a stiff rod that sticks straight out of the top of the can. I’d prefer the clear tube because it allows you to tun the can on it side and get all the liquid out. I found the best deal on the cans at King Butane
Wow, that King butane place is a great deal! Thanks!
I’m thinking of the screw on kind, like they sell at camping stores. The big advantage there is they sell a butane/propane mix, for cold weather running.
Adding R/C to the Ruby made such a huge difference, and now I have a goodall valve, so I can add water, but I’m not getting much run time from the butane tank
What’s wrong with the butane sold to refill lighters? I get what looks to be 10-12 ounces for $1.89. The can already has the high dollar Aristo nozzle.
Won’t this work for your steamers?
Ralph
It would, Ralph–where do you find 10 oz. cans with a Ronson valve? The Ruby has a fuel tank with a Ronson valve on it. All I can find is smaller 4.5 oz. cans and they go very quickly.
(http://www.mysharpknife.com/images/moteng/moteng_images/ZI3801.jpg)
The other thing is at cooler temperatures butane doesn’t want to flow. For camping they make butane/propane mixes that will work at lower temperatures. But those mixes don’t come with a Ronson valve, they need an adaptor like the one Aristo sells I just spoke to Royce–he’s not too far from me and I’m going to stop by and pick one up.
I get these for $1.89. The can is 8 inches tall…without the cap and valve. Doesn’t give weight, but volume…300ML. Looks to be 10-12 oz. May very well be less. Package size can be deceiving. Ralph
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/cabby/_forumfiles/poplite.jpg)
I’ll look for those Ralph–haven’t seen them anywhere around here
Mike - Have you had trouble with the butane gassing due to cold? The Ruby’s gas tank looks like it is set up exactly like the Shay - close to the boiler. So long as the tank is warm when you first light it, the boiler heat should keep it warm enough for a run in fairly colder weather with straight butane.
Great picture Jon!
I have noticed it runs differently at different temps. This morning I tried to run it and it took a long time to get up to steam. I had to press my fingers on the butane tank to get it warm enough to start flowing. And yesterday, I had a really hard time turning the flame down–I could not get it low enough to keep the safety valve from blowing. This morning, I could not get steam pressure above 40 psi and the safety valve never blew, even though the gas was turned up much higher. Ran great though, once it got up to steam–long running times.
this is fun!
Later today I’m going to try to get some video. We’re off to the inlaws for Easter
