I’m cooking chili on my coleman camp stove and my propane tank has frost on it it’s so cold. Why?
In: Chemistry
Propane is a gas at room temperature. It is compressed into a liquid when it’s put into cylinders. Pressurizing a gas, crushing it into a smaller space, causes it to heat up. The cylinders then return to ambient temperature slowly over time.
When you use the cylinder, it is releasing gas. Lowering the pressure of the gas lowers its temperature for exactly the same reason as above (raise the pressure, raise the temperature; lower the pressure, lower the temperature). The stove generates heat by letting the gas expand out from the cylinder and then burning it. The cylinder becomes cold as it vents gas. You’re venting gas fast enough to cause frost to form.
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