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suhornet84 · 04-18-2010, 11:12 PM

So I just finished trying out my new Bayou Classic SQ-14 propane burner and I had one problem. It easily heated 5 gallon of water to a rolling boil in 27 minutes, but when I removed the kettle lid I could never get it up past 210, so it never really stayed at a 'rolling boil'. I had the tank and air flow adjustment wide open.

So I guess my question is: Any ideas on how to fix this, or will 210 degrees be sufficient for my boil temp?

Thanks.

Catt22 · 04-19-2010, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhornet84

So I just finished trying out my new Bayou Classic SQ-14 propane burner and I had one problem. It easily heated 5 gallon of water to a rolling boil in 27 minutes, but when I removed the kettle lid I could never get it up past 210, so it never really stayed at a 'rolling boil'. I had the tank and air flow adjustment wide open.

So I guess my question is: Any ideas on how to fix this, or will 210 degrees be sufficient for my boil temp?

Thanks.

Something isn't right. You should be able to bring 5 gallons of water to boil a lot faster than 27 minutes with the burner at a high flame level. You may have tripped the surge valve which can substantially reduce the gas flow. Try closing the tank valve completely. Open the burner control valve to relieve the residual pressure in the hose. Close the control valve then open the tank valve all the way. Lastly, open the control valve and light the burner. Sometimes if the control valve is opened before the tank valve, the sudden rush of gas will trip the surge valve. There could be a problem with the OPD valve inside the tank, but I would try the above first. You should be able to maintain a more than adequate roiling boil at much less than wide open throttle and a much larger volume. I can easily boil 15 gallons at less than half throttle with my SQ-14. That's the biggest kettle I have, but I'm sure it could handle even larger volumes with ease. All of the above won't apply if you are nearly out of propane though. You did check for that possibility, didn't you?

**FSR402** · 04-19-2010, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catt22

Something isn't right. You should be able to bring 5 gallons of water to boil a lot faster than 27 minutes with the burner at a high flame level. You may have tripped the surge valve which can substantially reduce the gas flow. Try closing the tank valve completely. Open the burner control valve to relieve the residual pressure in the hose. Close the control valve then open the tank valve all the way. Lastly, open the control valve and light the burner. Sometimes if the control valve is opened before the tank valve, the sudden rush of gas will trip the surge valve. There could be a problem with the OPD valve inside the tank, but I would try the above first. You should be able to maintain a more than adequate roiling boil at much less than wide open throttle and a much larger volume. I can easily boil 15 gallons at less than half throttle with my SQ-14. That's the biggest kettle I have, but I'm sure it could handle even larger volumes with ease. All of the above won't apply if you are nearly out of propane though. You did check for that possibility, didn't you?

I use 2 of the SQ-14's to bring 47 gallons to a boil and only one running half to keep it there.

MikeP · 04-19-2010, 03:45 PM

try adjusting the air flow on the burner as well.

suhornet84 · 04-20-2010, 01:22 PM

Thanks for the help Cat22, I think that was the problem. I had a double brew day yesterday and it handled 10 gallons easily. I love this burner!

TheBeerNerd · 04-20-2010, 02:25 PM

I was having trouble getting the initial adjustment on my burner dialed in as well (same burner on a homebuilt stand.) Flames were licking up sides of my keggle. It turned out my problem was with my regulator pressure being too low. Do you have someone you can borrow a new regulator from?

I also have the air flow wide open, as this seems to be most efficient.