How Long Will a 45 kg Gas Bottle Last

“How long will my gas bottles last?” is one of the most common questions we hear.

Whether it’s a 45kg gas bottle in Australia or a 47kg in the UK, the question remains the same.

There is no single answer to this question and a bit of explanation is required to get to the answer for your specific situation.  Figuring it out is actually easy.

How Long Do 45kg Gas Bottles Last?

Here are some typical examples:

• 16 L/min Hot Water used for 20 minutes per day = 52 days
• 9 MJ Cooktop Burner used for 60 minutes per day = 244 days
• 15 MJ Gas Heater used for 3 hours per day = 49 days
• 25 MJ Gas Fireplace used for 2 hours per day = 44 days

These estimates are based on running at maximum setting/rate.

Duration would be longer on lower settings.

Calculations Based on MJ/hr or BTU/hr

How long an LPG gas bottle lasts depends on the appliances used.

Gas appliances energy consumption is rated in MJ/hr or BTU/hr.

Gas bottle energy content is expressed in MJ or BTU.

By dividing the MJ consumption into the gas bottle MJ content, you get the number of hours that the gas bottle will last.

The same is true for BTUs.

Add 4.4% to the estimates provided for a 47kg gas bottle.

Here are some estimates on how long a 45kg gas bottle will last:

Read more to learn exactly how to calculate for your home…

Important Reference Information

To get started, here are some numbers you will need to know for your reference:

Energy equivalent conversion:

1kW/hour = 3.6MJ

1kg of LPG = 1.96 litres of LPG (propane)

LPG – propane – contains approximately 25MJ per litre

A 45kg gas bottle contains about 88 litres of LPG or 2200MJ of energy

(Add 4.4% for 47kg)

How to Use Less Gas at Home – Efficiency Matters

How to use less gas at home is all about the appliance efficiency ratings.

MJ inputs and kW outputs are directly related but are affected by the efficiency of the appliance.

For example, a 25MJ heater with a 5.8 Star energy rating has an output of 6.2kW.

Now, if you do the maths, dividing 25MJ ÷ 3.6MJ, you would expect that the output to be 6.94kW, not 6.2kW.

The difference is that, at 5.8 Stars, the heater is 89.3% efficient.

No gas appliance is 100% efficient, which is why we have the Star rating system to judge the relative performance of different models.

Examples of How Long a 45kg Gas Bottle Will Last

So, now that you have the background information, we can get back to answering the original question. 

The best way to do this is with examples:

Heater Consumption Calculations:

A 15MJ 5.8 Star gas heater running at its maximum setting will last approximately 147 hours on a 45kg gas bottle. 

We know this because the gas bottle contains 2200MJ. 

The math is as follows: 2200MJ ÷ 15MJ = 147 hours. 

However, this same heater, when set on low, consumes 6.0MJ. 

So, if you operate it on low only, it will last 367 hours (2200MJ ÷ 6MJ = 367 hours). 

As most people would vary the settings, depending on the temperature, the gas bottle will last some duration between 147 and 367 hours. 

So, if you use your heater for four hours every evening, you would expect your gas bottle to last anywhere from 37 to 92 days.

Hot Water Consumption Calculations:

A 16L/min 130MJ 5.0 Star continuous flow hot water heater running at full capacity will last for 16.9 hours of actual run time. 

This equates to about 204 five minute showers. 

However, the water heater can run at a flow rate of as little as 3.5L/min. 

When running slower, the unit will self-modulate and consume less gas. 

This would increase the run time by roughly 4X or to about 68 hours. 

This equates to around 816 five minute showers. 

Assuming you use hot water for other things, as well, totalling 20 minutes per day at maximum, your gas bottle would last about 50 days.

Cooktop Consumption Calculations:

Cooktop burners are an even greater challenge to calculate. 

The burners on a particular cooktop could vary from 5MJ for the smallest burner to 9MJ for a medium burner, 12MJ for a large burner and 15MJ for a wok burner.  

Add to this the fact that each can be run at less than maximum and you can see the maths challenge. 

If you use the medium 9MJ burner as the average, you get 244 hours of cook time. 

Not surprisingly, many cooking customers report that a single bottle can last more than a year.

Consumption Calculations if You have Multiple Appliances

Now the math gets really challenging! 

You really can’t add the MJ ratings of all of the appliances together, as they would rarely be used all at the same time and for the same duration.

The easiest method of calculating would be to estimate how long you would use each appliance per day and total their daily consumption. 

Using the previous appliance examples:

1. You use your hot water for 20 minutes per day on maximum.  This equals 43MJ of consumption.

2. You use your heater, on maximum, for 4 hours every evening.  This equals 60MJ of consumption.

3. You cook, using one medium 9MJ burner, on maximum, for 45 minutes per day.  This equals 7MJ of consumption.

4. Adding these all together, you are using 110MJ per day.  Based on this, you would expect a 45kg gas bottle to last for approximately 20 days. (2200MJ ÷ 110MJ = 20)

You may also wish to see:

How Much Gas is Left in the Gas Bottle

Tips for Not Running Out of Gas

Ordering LPG:  3 Common Mistakes To Avoid

12 Handy “How To” Guides for LPG & Gas Appliances

45kg LPG Consumption Calculator Chart

For those who can’t be bothered with the maths, here is a quick reference chart with examples: