Propane Burner Questions

I am looking to buy a new propane burner any suggestions. I will be making all grain batches boiling roughly 7-8 gallons at a time. I also do have a keg that i plan on converting as my brew pot. Please help with suggestions.

I have a KAB6 for my newly bought burner and I love it! I have also heard good things about the KAB4 & KAB5. As I have never used them two the only one I can comment on is the KAB6

Are you looking for a stand-alone unit, or are you looking to buy just the burner itself (to build into your brew stand)?

If you want a future dual burner for AG I highly recomend the Camp Chef Weekender. I bought for $100 shipped at overstock. It is built like a tank and should have no problem holding a keg or two with water.

i am looking for a stand alone unit

I have a Bayou Classic KAB4 which I use with my 15 gallon kettle. It can do a 13 gallon boil easily, but it sucks propane so fast that it can make the tank freeze up. I have two tanks, so I usually swap halfway through the boil when the flame starts to get smaller.

I have the Bayou Classic SQ-14 with a 10psi regulator. My last boil(6.5gall) brought to boil in 30mins, well actually 29mins but you get the idea! The stand holds my 13gall pot perfectly. Just my 2 cents!

The SQ-14 has a really nice stand. I've used one much like it. It's very broad, holds a 15-gallon kettle perfectly, and has a lip around the edge to retain the kettle. However, it's got the smaller 55,000 BTU burner. Good enough for a 5-gallon batch, but if you're planning to move beyond 5-gallon batches, you might as well go with the next level up.

Bayou Classic doesn't list their product catalog on their own site, and some vendor websites show different pictures for the same product. This site seems to have a decent listing: link

The KAB4 pictured on that site is what mine looks like. The burner is rated at 210,000 BTUs -- I assume they mean BTU/hr -- and it only cost about $20 more than the equivalent product with the small burner. I was told by a LHBS employee that he's witnessed a KAB4 bring 50 gallons to a boil. Apparently it took well over an hour, and they had to use a very large propane tank to run the burner at full bore for long enough.

I have the Bayou Classic SP-1 Very hot! Sturdy stand Works great and not expensive.

If you end up going a turkey fryer kit route, just make sure to watch out for burners with an auto 15-20minute shut off. You end up getting used to having to crank up the timer I'm sure, but if you can avoid it from the get go you should. I "inherited" my burner & don't know the model, but I remember dealing with that damn timer on a friends fryer at Thanksgiving & it's the first thing I think of whenever I see these conversations now.

Swooded said:

If you end up going a turkey fryer kit route, just make sure to watch out for burners with an auto 15-20minute shut off. You end up getting used to having to crank up the timer I'm sure, but if you can avoid it from the get go you should. I "inherited" my burner & don't know the model, but I remember dealing with that damn timer on a friends fryer at Thanksgiving & it's the first thing I think of whenever I see these conversations now.

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Mine has that, but I have a duct-tape override for it