how long will a 20 pound tank of propane last on a very small camping stove, its for emergencies?

my little propane stove top is a cheap little camping one, its for emergencies to cook food storage. I figure it should last a while since i’m not running a big barbeque

Chosen Answer:

There is roughly 21,000 BTU’s in a pound of propane so a properly filled 20lb cylinder (it’s not a tank) contains roughly 420,000 BTU’s of energy.

If you look at the burner you should be able to find a manufacturer’s rating plate which will state the BTU output of the burner. Divide that number into 420,000 and that is how many hours of burn time you will have.

ie: the burner is 10,000 BTU’s. 420,000 ÷ 10,000 = 42 hours of burn time.
by: Propane Guy
on: 30th September 13