D.W.

Recipes 

I'm planning on brewing in my basement, where I have a easy source of natural gas. I see burners up to 300,000 BTU and I'm wondering how much I need? I'll be heating sparge water in a 7 gal. aluminum, and boiling the wort in a 10 gal Polorware SS pot. Does anyone have experiance with this type of setup? Is it possible to have too many BTU's and not have enough control on the low temp end? What works good for you? I'm planning on an exhaust fan for the room. Thanks D.W.

david_42

Recipes 

I've been brewing with a 55,000 BTU torch burner for five years and haven't felt the need to go to a larger one. I'm replacing that burner with a 60,000 ring burner to give me better control. The burner on my mash tun is only 10,000 BTU. If you are planning on sticking with 5 gallon batches, I don't see any reason to go over 100,000 BTU.

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casebrew

Recipes 

You'll need the correct jet for your gas. Propane uses a smaller jet, NG uses ones 1.6x larger.

I use a burner stolen from a NG wall furnace, says it's 34,ooo. I peened the jet smaller for propane. Works well enough. A real 'hell' of a lot better than my kitchen stove for heating 7 gallons.

AHammer16

Recipes 

Too many btu's is just a waste of energy. I also would get a CO detector for your basement to make sure nothing goes wrong.

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D.W.

Recipes 

Thanks that gives me a starting point. I've been brewing outside with a propane cajon cooker for a while, but I'm looking forward to getting set up in the basement with natural gas. I was given the cajon cooker, so I have no idea how many BTU's it is. The CO detector is a good idea. Small investment for the piece of mind. Does anyone have any experiance and or opinions on the best brand or style of natural gas burners? Thanks again, D.W.

Shovhed1

Recipes 

I use a burner from a discarded 40gal natural gas water heater. It's rated at 35000 btus and boils 5 gallon batches perfectly. I hooked it to a approved quick connect. Its great for indoor use.

parasonic

Recipes 

How much did your quick disconnect cost, and where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking?

Shovhed1

Recipes 

The quick connect was about $40 at the local gas grille shop. I got the burner from a discarded water heater and installed it in a cut down 30 gal oil drum. 2 pieces of band iron hold the 12 gallon kettle above the burner. A 1/2 inch npt valve screws right on the burner and the quick connect screws into it.