Gaseous hydrocarbon oxidations are often accompanied by remarkable non-isothermal phenomena, such as oscillatory cool flames and complex ignitions. These owe their existence to an interplay between kinetics and self-heating via thermal feedback in a system involving chain branching. The present work illustrates these phenomena and provides a quantitative assessment of thermokinetic concepts applied to them. Propane is oxidised in a stirred closed reactor. Characteristically, time-dependent oscillations occur in the pressure range 40–100 kN m–2 at vessel temperatures between 570 and 660 K. Substantial temperature changes accompany the oscillating reaction rate, and these changes are measured by a fine (25 µm) thermocouple and rapid recording equipment. Oscillating temperatures may vary in form from roughly sinusoidal with damping, to steep cusp-like maxima of hardly diminished amplitude, multiple events being terminated abruptly by the consumption of fuel. Thermokinetic oscillations depend vitally on thermal feedback and hence on heat transfer: by the deliberate variation of heat transfer properties such as heat capacities and thermal conductivities (with diluting gases), and intensities of stirring, we are able to test this dependence.