A 3 kg gas cylinder with a cooker top is the classic South African camping kit: a small cylinder, a burner screwed onto the valve and a kettle on top. The 5 kg size runs longer, while 1 kg and 2 kg cylinders suit a lamp or a light weekend pack. This page covers the sizes, what they run, caravans and 4x4 trips, valve types and where to refill small cylinders, with the safety points that matter in a tent or a vehicle. Send one free, no-obligation request and suppliers near you quote you directly.
Sizes from 1 kg to 7 kg
- 1 kg and 2 kg: light cylinders for a lamp or a single burner on a short trip.
- 3 kg: the common camping size with a cooker top, easy to pack.
- 5 kg: more gas for long trips, a caravan or a small heater.
- 7 kg: found in places, for caravans and small homes.
For a stove at home or anything you use daily, a 9 kg cylinder is usually better value and easier to swap.
Cooker tops, lamps and small appliances
A cooker top screws straight onto the cylinder valve and sits on top of the cylinder, so a level, stable surface matters: a flat rock or a table, not soft sand. Keep pots small enough not to tip it. Lamps fit the same way, with a glass globe and a fragile mantle. Larger appliances, such as a skottel braai or a portable heater, connect through a regulator and hose; see regulators and hoses for matching parts. Use all of them outdoors only.
Caravans, 4x4 trips and valve types
Small cylinders come with different valve types, and a cooker top, lamp or regulator only fits the one it was made for. Check before you buy a second cylinder or swap at a campsite. In a vehicle, carry cylinders upright, strapped down and in a ventilated space, never loose in a closed cab on a hot day. A caravan with gas piped to a built in hob or fridge is an installation: ask a registered gas practitioner to check it and issue a certificate.
Refilling small cylinders
Many refill stations fill small cylinders by weight while you wait, but some need a special connector or skip the smallest sizes, so phone first. The station checks the test date, the valve and the body as it would on any cylinder. Some outlets exchange small cylinders instead. Never decant from a 9 kg into a camping cylinder at home: there is no way to stop at the right weight, and an overfilled cylinder can leak or vent once it warms in the sun.
What to include in your request
- Say the cylinder size and how many
- Say if you need a cooker top, lamp or regulator
- Mention the valve type on cylinders you own
- Say if it is for a caravan with a built in hob
- Ask if they refill small sizes while you wait
3 kg & 5 kg Gas Cylinders for different clients
- Homeowners: a backup cooker top for boiling the kettle when the stove cylinder runs out
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: a small cylinder for a balcony braai where the estate rules allow it
- Restaurants, takeaways and bakeries: market stalls and pop up stands running a single burner or warmer
- Guest houses, lodges and venues: lamps and cooker tops for bush camps and rustic sites off the grid
- Farms and smallholdings: a cooker top in the bakkie for long days in the camps and at the dam
- Factories, warehouses and workshops: small burners for site work where a 9 kg is too bulky to carry
- Campers, caravanners and event hosts: camping, caravans, 4x4 trips and fishing weekends with a cooker top and lamp
- Gas installers, plumbers and dealers: outdoor shops and dealers stocking small cylinders and cooker tops
Frequently asked questions
What is the 3kg gas cylinder price?
Can I use a gas cooker top inside a tent?
Where can I refill a 5 kg gas cylinder?
Can you find me a 3kg gas cylinder with cooker top?
3 kg & 5 kg Gas Cylinders by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg