Care and Use of Propane Bottles
Some Issues that our customers encounter are related to gas pressure... and that's an issue that is found within the source of fuel. Let's go over some of the usual situations that we find these problems in!
A major factor that can affect our guns is receiving fuel that has too much pressure.
When there is too much gas going through our guns, they become hard to light. A high pressure fuel source can also set off our safety check valves (See this article for more), which are designed to prevent the guns from being unsafe when dropped or mishandled.
You can receive fuel that is too high pressure most often from using a hot bottle. Being at a higher temperature allows more of the liquid propane to boil off into gaseous fuel inside the tank, which the gun receives at a higher pressure. Keep your tanks out of the sun or hot vehicles to avoid this issue.
Receiving fuel at a low pressure is a problem, too.
Conversely, a bottle that is too cold will not give enough pressure. This will negatively affect your Grillblazer experience, sometimes even worse than having too much pressure! Cold bottles discourage liquid propane from turning into gaseous propane, which will both give wimpy pressure to your gun, and starve your gun of fuel, resulting in a weak flame. Nobody likes a weak, tiny flame. When it's cold outside, make sure to store your propane inside or in a warm area to make sure that your propane tanks are ready to go when you need them.
Sometimes, when you are using your torch for long periods of time, your propane bottle will frost over and start to freeze. If you continue to use your torch for longer periods of time with a frosted bottle, the bottle can become too cold for optimum operation of your torch. The fix is an easy one though... simply take small breaks for your bottle to warm back up, or swap out bottles for unused, warmer bottles for optimum operation. This is natural with propane as a fuel source.
Alternatively, if you plan on using your torch continuously for longer periods of time, connect your torch to a larger tank of propane with one of our available hoses (Sold here). The thermal density of a larger tank of propane negates most temperature issues with fuel outside of particularly colder climates, and will provide unhampered, continuous use of your Grillblazer torch.
When using a large tank with a hose, slowly open the tank valve. Our propane hose has a check valve within the hose, as well as the safety check valve located in the handle of the torch. Engaging the tank's valve too quickly can lock down the check valve in the hose or the gun.
There is an extra step in using a Grillblazer torch when using a hose.
Due to the nature of propane, fuel sitting inside of the hose will, over time, condense back into liquid propane. This fuel, when you go to use your torch again, gets forced up into your torch, setting off the safety check valve, and can even clog your gun in serious cases. But this is easy to prevent.
When you are finished using your torch, leave your torch aflame and pointed in a safe direction, while first closing the valve located on the top of the tank. Keep the torch on until the flame burns off all the remaining propane inside the hose and naturally dies away after all the gas is gone. Only then can you cleanly close and disconnect your GrillGun or Su-VGun.
Another issue dealing with low fuel pressure is using unapproved fuel sources, like pure Butane, with your torch.
Pure Butane and other fuels lack the tank pressure needed for proper use of the GrillGun and Su-VGun. Our torches require 135psi, or 9.3BAR for optimal use. Only use proper fuel tanks for your Grillblazer products for proper flame output and care of your torch.
The following are acceptable fuels for our Products:
- Propane
- Propane/Butane mixtures (Will have less power, but still works when in a mixture that includes propane)
- Mapp gas
The following fuels should NOT be used with our products:
- Pure Butane
- Alcohol canisters
- White Gas
If you aren't sure about using a certain fuel, reach out to one of our customer service representatives, and we can help.
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