Butane or propane blowtorch: which fuel fits your job?
Updated: 21 October 2026
You are choosing between lighter-refill cans, camping butane cartridges, and red propylene cylinders labelled MAPP, while amazon.co.uk shows kitchen torches and plumbing heads in the same grid. Pick the fuel and the thread together. The wrong pairing wastes money and can leak. This page compares butane, propane and UK propylene for the handheld torches in the [blowtorch comparison](/hub/soldering-and-welding/blowtorch). The purchase order, once the fuel is clear, is the buying guide linked further down.
You are choosing between lighter-refill cans, camping butane cartridges, and red propylene cylinders labelled MAPP, while amazon.co.uk shows kitchen torches and plumbing heads in the same grid.
You are choosing between lighter-refill cans, camping butane cartridges, and red propylene cylinders labelled MAPP, while amazon.co.uk shows kitchen torches and plumbing heads in the same grid. Pick the fuel and the thread together. The wrong pairing wastes money and can leak. This page compares butane, propane and UK propylene for the handheld torches in the blowtorch comparison. The purchase order, once the fuel is clear, is the buying guide linked further down.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Fuel | Thread | In the cold | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  TBTeek TBTeek GF-901 blowtorch | Butane, lighter gas | Base refill valve | Weakens when cold | 10.0 | about £12.98 | View offer |
| Alternative |  DOMINOX DOMINOX CGA600 torch head | Propane or propylene | CGA600 | Holds pressure longer | 9.6 | about £26.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Green Haven Green Haven blowtorch, 4 cartridges | Butane cartridges | EN 417 nozzle | Weakens when cold | 9.7 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
When butane is enough
Butane suits kitchen browning, meringue, crème brûlée, searing and small craft, where you want a short jet and a tool that lives in a drawer. Refillable reservoir models in this set, TBTeek GF-901 and GF-907, Ankway, MasterClass, CTDMJ and Paidasin, take standard lighter-gas refills through the base valve. Cartridge heads, the Green Haven kits and JDHON, screw onto EN 417-style camping canisters with long or short nozzles. Green Haven includes a red adapter for short nozzles.
The practical limit shows up in the cold. Vaporisation slows in a winter garage, so the flame weakens even when the can feels full. Liquid Gas UK cites roughly 1.5 bar for butane versus about 7 bar for propane at 15 °C. That lower pressure is fine at the worktop and weaker for a large copper joint in a cold void. For wholesome-water pipe, butane can handle a small open fitting in skilled hands, in the BPEC contrast, and it is the wrong default when you need sustained heat on a 15 mm joint in a tight space.
When propane or propylene helps
Propane and propylene, sold on UK merchant shelves as MAP, MAPP or MAP-Pro, feed the trigger-start heads: DOMINOX, Couleeur and Sondiko. They screw onto larger disposable cylinders, commonly around 400 g, which you buy separately. DOMINOX names CGA600. Couleeur and Sondiko name propane or MAPP-type gas in the bullets without always printing the thread in every field, so read the cylinder label before you tighten.
UK MAPP cylinders in current merchant copy are often propylene, not the historic methylacetylene-propadiene blend. Lava Fire and similar sellers quote an air flame around 1,950 °C for propane and about 1,982 to 1,985 °C for propylene. Those figures sit close together, and well below some listing bullets. Use them to sanity-check hype, not to rank torches in a lab. A cylinder outlasts a kitchen reservoir and supports brazing, plumbing soldering and freeing a fastener. The trade-off is weight, ventilation, and a flame that Couleeur reviewers find too fierce for meringue up close.
Threads and adapters
Three fittings get mixed up in the same search. Reservoir torches take a lighter-refill valve, with no thread in common with a cylinder. Green Haven and similar heads take EN 417 camping cartridges, the 7/16 in camping world, including long and short nozzles. Trade propane and propylene cylinders use CGA600, 1 in × 20 UNEF, which is what DOMINOX names.
Camping gas does not belong on a CGA600 plumbing head. Adapter kits that force the fit show up in forums. Liquid Gas UK and cylinder merchants warn against them. If the threads fight you, stop. Couleeur notes include galling on aluminium. Green Haven's long-and-short nozzle language, and JDHON's half-turn attach, are still butane camping cans, not CGA600. The order of the decision is in the blowtorch buying guide.
Pressure, cold weather and storage
Both butane and propane are heavier than air, so a leak pools low. Liquid Gas UK: ventilate, never seek a leak with a flame, do not refill a disposable, and avoid cellar storage. Propane indoors is limited to short necessary work. A butane charge inside a kitchen handle is a different package. The leak behaviour is not.
Cold hits butane first because vapour pressure drops. Propane and propylene keep usable pressure longer in an unheated space. If you work in a garage all winter, a cylinder head can be more predictable than a refillable pen that sputters until you warm it. Store cartridges and cylinders upright, cool, and away from a living-area cellar and from ignition sources. Remove a JDHON-style canister after use when the seller says so.
Which rows use which fuel
Refillable butane bodies in this set are Paidasin, CTDMJ, Ankway, both TBTeek models and MasterClass. They arrive empty. Butane cartridge heads are the Green Haven four-pack and eight-pack, which include the cartridges, and JDHON, which is the head only. Propane and propylene heads, with no gas in the box, are DOMINOX where CGA600 is named, plus Couleeur and Sondiko. Only the Green Haven rows include fuel. Budget a cylinder for every plumbing head.
Common questions
Is butane hot enough for copper pipe?
For a tiny open fitting, sometimes, in skilled hands. For a typical 15 mm wholesome-water repair you usually want cylinder gas and the skill to use it, not a dessert torch on its own. A tight, wet joint is the case that pushes you off butane. The cylinder is bought separately from the head.
What is UK MAPP gas actually?
Mostly propylene in current merchant cylinders, sold under MAPP or MAP-Pro names, with a CGA600 thread on trade bottles. It is not the older methylacetylene-propadiene blend those initials once meant. Merchant air-flame figures sit near 1,982 to 1,985 °C, close to propane at about 1,950 °C, and far below some amazon bullets.
Can I screw a camping cartridge onto a DOMINOX head?
No. An EN 417 camping thread does not match CGA600. Do not use an adapter to force them together. Merchants and the cylinder guidance treat that mismatch as a leak and fire risk. If the threads will not start by hand, stop and buy the cylinder the head names.
Why does butane struggle in winter?
Vapour pressure falls when the can is cold, so the flame starves even though liquid is still inside. Liquid Gas UK's comparison at 15 °C is about 1.5 bar for butane and about 7 bar for propane. A cylinder of propane or propylene keeps usable pressure longer in an unheated garage.
Do I need a different head for propane?
Yes. You need a head rated for propane or propylene, with a thread that matches the cylinder. A kitchen refill valve is not that head. In this set the trigger heads are DOMINOX, Couleeur and Sondiko, and only DOMINOX names CGA600 in the listing fields.
Are adapter kits safe?
No. Forcing a camping cartridge onto a CGA600 head is the mismatch merchants warn against, and Liquid Gas UK's storage guidance points the same way: do not improvise the joint. Buy a head and a cylinder that name the same thread. If the metal galls as you tighten, stop.
Which products use butane cartridges rather than an internal refill?
Green Haven and JDHON use cartridges. TBTeek, Ankway, MasterClass, CTDMJ and Paidasin use an internal reservoir you fill from lighter gas. Only the two Green Haven kits include the cartridges in the box. JDHON and every reservoir torch arrive empty.
What cylinder size should I budget for occasional DIY?
A 400 g disposable cylinder is the common size on UK merchant shelves. Prices in the same period sat roughly at £6 to £14 off amazon.co.uk. That range is not an amazon price. Shop locally for the label that matches the head, and do not assume a camping cartridge will fit.
Related pages
Sources
Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked on 19 October 2026.
- HSE — L56 gas safety (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- HSE — CAIS 23 culinary torches (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Liquid Gas UK — cylinder safety sheet (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Water Regs UK — solders and fluxes (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- WaterSafe — lead-free solder (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- BPEC — copper pipe skills note (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- GOV.UK — General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Lava Fire — MAPP cylinders (retrieved 19.10.2026)