Obtaining a gas canister in France
-
So I'm currently on vacation, and I like using my gas barbecue on the campsite. Normally I bring a 5kg canister which lasts me 2-3 years, but as this year takes me to Corsica that's not an option.
I was wondering if any local Frenchmen know what are the most likely chains to carry 250g weber or compatible butane/propane gas canisters.
-
Well, Europe mostly has the Campingaz canisters (R907 - R901) which means you are probably better suited with a screw-on regulator.
From what I remember, for these types of canisters you'll be able to find refill stations all over the place, especially if you're near camping sites.
-
@rhywden That'd leave me an empty canister worth significant trade-in which I can't take home on the ferry and, as far as I know, can't be returned only exchanged for a full canister.
-
@pleegwat Of course you'll be able to return them when you don't need them anymore. We did that all the time.
However, you might be able to find the Weber canisters as well. Just not as easily. I'd either try looking in an Intersport or a (DIY) superstore like Carrefour, Hyper U, E.Leclerc, Géant and Casino.
-
Gas canisters can be found at almost all gas stations, definitely at the stations linked to supermarkets. No idea about the types available but canisters seem to be more widely available in France then around here.
-
@PleegWat Any store that has camping stuff (and probably all supermarkets or even local grocers in a tourist area such as Corsica) should have campingaz canisters. If you're going to a camping site, the reception sometimes has a small shop and if so, it's highly likely that they will sell those as well.
There is a type of tiny gas canisters that you have to pierce with your burner, like the one in the far right of this picture:
They are well suited for e.g. backpacking, but they don't last long (IME, they're good for a week-end, 3 days max) and are so small that putting a large kettle/pan on them will be tricky. Your burner also needs to be suited to those (it needs to have a pointy thing that will pierce through when you screw it on).
These ones don't have a deposit, so when you're done you just throw them away (when you unscrew the burner all the remaining gas will go off, so don't do that inside your tent!).
All (or almost) gas stations will sell the larger canisters (10-20 kg) and they do all carry some deposit, but they are intended for larger burners (typically home cookers), so it's unlikely you want those for camping. The ones you want for camping will be found inside of shops. Just ask for a "petite bouteille de gaz" (small bottle of gas) and people will know what kind of stuff you're looking for.
-
@remi said in Obtaining a gas canister in France:
when you unscrew the burner all the remaining gas will go off, so don't do that inside your tent!
Heh … that reminds me of an anecdote someone once told me: his brother went on a camping holiday, but had to take a flight first to get there. At the airport, they wouldn’t let him take his (small disposable) gas canister with him, which he for some reason had packed. Unfortunately, the burner was already attached to it, and when he protested he couldn’t just unscrew the burner from it, they insisted he remove it there and then. So he said, “Well, okay then, if you want me to …”
-
@remi said in Obtaining a gas canister in France:
@PleegWat Any store that has camping stuff (and probably all supermarkets or even local grocers in a tourist area such as Corsica) should have campingaz canisters. If you're going to a camping site, the reception sometimes has a small shop and if so, it's highly likely that they will sell those as well.
There is a type of tiny gas canisters that you have to pierce with your burner, like the one in the far right of this picture:
They are well suited for e.g. backpacking, but they don't last long (IME, they're good for a week-end, 3 days max) and are so small that putting a large kettle/pan on them will be tricky. Your burner also needs to be suited to those (it needs to have a pointy thing that will pierce through when you screw it on).
These ones don't have a deposit, so when you're done you just throw them away (when you unscrew the burner all the remaining gas will go off, so don't do that inside your tent!).
All (or almost) gas stations will sell the larger canisters (10-20 kg) and they do all carry some deposit, but they are intended for larger burners (typically home cookers), so it's unlikely you want those for camping. The ones you want for camping will be found inside of shops. Just ask for a "petite bouteille de gaz" (small bottle of gas) and people will know what kind of stuff you're looking for.
You can get little CampingGaz bottles with valves (looks to be the two on the bottom left, except mine have red dust-covers not green). I use them for my camping stove and they didn't have a deposit. I didn't know there were similar types without valves until now, I'll have to be more careful when buying them in the future.
-
@cursorkeys said in Obtaining a gas canister in France:
I didn't know there were similar types without valves until now, I'll have to be more careful when buying them in the future.
I got bitten by that once. I bought a small burner that was for this kind of canisters and of course didn't notice it and bought the wrong kind of canister. And of course again, I only noticed it after having set up my tent in the middle of nowhere and too late to go back to a shop. Cue cold dinner and no warm drink the following morning. Ugh... :-(
Then since these canisters are obviously less secure than the ones with valves, they are slightly harder to find (I'm somewhat surprised that they still exist at all... I guess they are sufficiently cheaper/lighter to make it worth it for e.g. backpackers?), so I had to go through several shops before finding one.
-
So we were searching today bacause we ran out while still in Italy. It turns out there are at least 3 types of camping gaz connectors:
- The piercing kind (
) - a snap-on system called easy-click
- a screw-on system ( again)
The third fits my weber regulator. So that's some comfort.
- The piercing kind (
-
@pleegwat I don't know about the second one, that might be a new system (or something specific to Italy), but the other two -- and in particular the one you need -- should be easy to find in Corsica.
(note: don't try being funny and joking about needing a gas canister to blow it up, Corsica has a recent history of local autonomist terrorism and some people might not quite see the funny side of it...)
