A:Answer 1) Don't know anything about Butane.
2) When you open the left door, you will see a sticker listing month and year of manufacture. Mine says Apr 2014.
3) Service techs are fewer for any of the foreign brands, but you get a fancier fridge. That's the trade-off generally. This refrigerator is expensive because of its size and dual compressor system. This fridge is also VERY heavy, which prompted me to tip my delivery guy handsomely after seeing how much of a pain it was to get into the house. If service is higher on your list of priorities, stay with the American brands, they make plenty of excellent fridges with some features that work better than this fridge too. Case-in-point the ice-maker is just junk in this model, like all other Samsung fridges, since its the same part they use regardless of price category.
