Need some help from all of you HERMS experts

Suthrncomfrt1884 · 02-04-2012, 10:44 PM

I'm about ready to fire my new rig up, and I'm having some issues with the burners. A little info....

-I'm burning propane from a standard grill tank.
-I'm using a standard LP grill regulator (wasn't sure if this was correct or not)
-My gas runs into the back beam just like on a Brutus 10
-Honeywell VR8200A2132 valves
-Honeywell Q314A4586 Pilots
-All converted to LP
-BG14's mounted 4" below the surface of the keggles. I have them converted to run LP, and they're running wide open as far as oxygen/gas goes. This is the only way I could get a decent flame from them..

I only automated my HLT and MLT, so my boil is all manual. When I fire up the boil kettle burner, it works great. The other two seem as if they don't have enough pressure running to them to create a good flame. It took me 35 minutes today to bring 4 gallons of water from 75 to boiling. That just seems rediculous in my opinion, but I'm not sure if that's the norm or not.

What's happening is I'm noticing a buildup of gas underneath the skirt of the keg and it's causing my flames to be very "crazy".

I figured the best way to show everyone what's happening is to take a video. Here it is...

http://youtu.be/G5fQxkbjWF8

So...do I need to cut vents in the skirts of my kegs? Is the regulator the wrong type for these valves? Or are there any adjustments I can make on the valves themselves in order to provide more pressure.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me...

**OneHoppyGuy** · 02-05-2012, 01:21 AM

Good vid, it helps a lot! Running at low pressure you'll need to open up the orifices a little. How much? I dunno... Measure the current size and start going up about 2 sizes at a time. #54 drill will most likely be the max you want to go.
One more thing we've done is to give our burners a manual override to be run straight from a valve. You'll need a second solenoid to avoid gas being pushed through the pilot tube.

We are discovering a real inconsistency with the burners we're getting. We've started checking every burner orifice.
I want so bad to make my own burner and stop buying foreign slave labor crap.

Suthrncomfrt1884 · 02-05-2012, 01:29 AM

I bought orifices designed for LP, you think I still need to drill them out more?

**OneHoppyGuy** · 02-05-2012, 01:41 AM

I assume you've played with the air shutters?
I know, it's a dumb question...
Do you have a set of pin drills to measure the size?

**OneHoppyGuy** · 02-05-2012, 01:45 AM

Expert: X in mathematics is an unknown quantity + Spurt is a drop of water under pressure = unknown quantity under pressure...

Suthrncomfrt1884 · 02-05-2012, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneHoppyGuy

I assume you've played with the air shutters?
I know, it's a dumb question...
Do you have a set of pin drills to measure the size?

I have played with the shutters. I found that they worked best wide open. Ive got calipers that I can use to get a measurement.

day_trippr · 02-05-2012, 02:11 PM

There's definitely something quite wrong with that flame pattern in the video, particularly the bright yellow column just to the right of center. I'd check for a void or crack in the casting. And running the air damper wide open definitely doesn't match up with my experience using a pair of BG-14 burners, which run best around half-open...

Cheers!

**microbusbrewery** · 02-05-2012, 02:27 PM

Does the flame burn clean when the kettle isn't there?

Suthrncomfrt1884 · 02-05-2012, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by day_trippr

There's definitely something quite wrong with that flame pattern in the video, particularly the bright yellow column just to the right of center. I'd check for a void or crack in the casting. And running the air damper wide open definitely doesn't match up with my experience using a pair of BG-14 burners, which run best around half-open...

Cheers!

The flame in the center is actually the pilot light. Even though it's very low when the rest of the burner isn't lit, as soon as it gets all the buildup of gas underneath the keg, it goes crazy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by microbusbrewery

Does the flame burn clean when the kettle isn't there?

Yes, I can get a MUCH better flame without the keg on top...which leads me to believe it's an oxygen thing. Not sure what the best way to fix it is though.

bstewart · 02-05-2012, 03:55 PM

If you are getting the flame column from the pilot you may need to try and restrict gas flow through this. Possible the gas is taking the least resistance path through the pilot. One easy way to test would be to shut the pilot off after lit. Could be dumping so much fuel you are suffocating the combustion, and the skirt is keeping the high CO levels in from poor combustion.