Pencil Torch Standing Pilot

The Pol · 05-26-2008, 01:59 PM

Polishing kegs and installing fitttings... so my burner setup is a ways off. I plan to control the burners with ASCO valves, but thought about getting a few $11 pencil torch tips to use as standing pilots. I could thread them right on my plumbing, they have a valve to adjust the pilot flame... they would look sorta cool! Any thoughts?

The Pol · 05-27-2008, 01:16 AM

Nothing? Will this work yall think?

**kladue** · 05-27-2008, 03:21 AM

Only problem that comes to mind is the fuel sorce for the torches, most have built in regulators for use on butane cartidges or lp cylinders, keggle burners would be low pressure. If you found a way to seperate feed pipe to orifice in burner it probably would take 5+ psi to burn with large enough flame to be useful, which means that you would need a seperate regulator for just the pilot torches. Only way to find out is to cut one up and try it at low pressure into the orifice, or measure pressure in line to torch head to see what pressure is needed.

The Pol · 05-27-2008, 03:28 AM

Read my original post... I mean to have it plumbed into my burner gas lines... that is what I meant by "thread them right on my plumbing". How ghetto would it be to have a pencil torch with its own tank under a brew rig? HA HA

**kladue** · 05-27-2008, 03:48 AM

Are you going to unscrew them from the regulator base on the torch or feed the regulator base with high pressure lp?.

**Scotty_g** · 05-27-2008, 04:05 AM

If you're going to use a standing pilot and use a solenoid valve to control temperature by cutting and re-starting the main burner, you should get a flame detector like many water heaters have. I want to do something similar when we get around to making our brutus ten, but I haven't researched *exactly* how to pull this off yet.

The reason you really need a flame detector is to make sure your pilot is on before opening up the main gas valve. If you don't, you can run a lot of gas into your basement/garage/etc. without knowing it. This is Extremely Dangerous.

I'd find a pilot burner or something for a water heater instead of a pencil torch. As others have suggested, it won't work right on LP if it's a natural gas or butane torch. Another option would be to get an electronically-fired ignitor that starts to spark every time the main gas goes on...then set up your controls with a main-flame detector that's interlocked with the gas valve but has an ignition time delay.

If it sounds like I'm some kind of burner safety nerd, I am. I've played with the firing controls on equipment at work...I installed a 36 mmbtu/hr burner in our lime kiln a few years back. That could get a keggle up to boiling in about 1.2 seconds

But seriously, doing this wrong is how people blow their houses up.