Which burner do you prefer, and why?

I just purchased a bigger boil kettle, which means I can no longer brew stove top. I need to purchase a burner. I am confused by all the different reviews of the burners. Is the Blichman really worth the money? What if I don't want to spend that much, which one would you suggest? I have a 10 gallon pot and I brew 5.5 gallon batches.

The Bayou Classic KAB6 burner is essentially the same BG14 burner used in the Blichmann in a sturdy mild steel chassis. Sells for around $120, is fairly popular, and if taken care of should last a long time.

The Blichmann floor burner chassis is all stainless steel and sells for $150. It's bulletproof. It'll never rust out and frankly needs zero maintenance. I own two of these and am happy to have them.

Finally, if you actually only needed a burner, you can buy the BG14s on-line for around $30...

Cheers!

Love my Blickmann burner. Bombproof, works well in the wind, plenty of heat, and good fine adjustment. None of that can be said about the cheap turkey fryer burner I used to have.

I have the Bayou Classic Sq14. Pretty heavy duty. It get's a 10 gallon batch cranking.. For under 50 bucks, it works for me.

I too have the SQ14 and feel it gets the job done good enough for me. I have a converted keggle as my brew pot and have no issues getting things to a boil quickly and using very little gas.

pannell77 said:

I too have the SQ14 and feel it gets the job done good enough for me. I have a converted keggle as my brew pot and have no issues getting things to a boil quickly and using very little gas.

Click to expand...

I am very happy with my new SQ14. A major upgrade from my generic turkey fryer burner from the hardware store.

I've had great luck with Camp Chef burners for a couple years now, plus it has legs included.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000ASCU9/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

My first burner is a Blichmann. I purchased this because I thought I might eventually move to the Top Tier brew stand.

My second burner is a Camp Chef. I got the Camp Chef because it is what i could get locally. In using the Camp Chef I began to see the value of the Blichmann. It is quiet, fuel efficient, and built like a tank.

My third burner is also a Blichmann. I purchase it to go with the first Blichmann on a new brew stand I built (not the Top Tier). I love these two burners.

I will keep the camp chef to use for non brewing tasks, but I really do like the Blichmanns. and they are worth the extra money in my opinion.

Mark

lpdjshaw said:

http://www.idjnow.com/StoreModules/ProductDetails.aspx/PID=PC-100

Click to expand...

Ummm... not a burner.

There are some things I've cheaped out on and some that I've splurged on since I started homebrewing. One thing that I definitely do no regret buying was a Blichmann floor burner. I had used a friends cheapo and it was like a freaking jet engine. The Blichmann is so much quieter, more fuel efficient, sturdier, and maintenance than what I was using. I've had mine for 3 or 4 years and the only upkeep I've done is occasionally swapping out propane tanks.

So, it was definitely worth the extra bucks for me, but HBT guys will no doubt have comparable solutions for less.

Definitely love the blichmann's, I specifically wanted them because they have the little fingers that hold the kettles in place which is great since I roll my system in and out of the house. I had planned on bolting them to the stand, but they are so dang heavy they just sit on top of the stand and never move and hold the kettles in place. I also put cement board on top of my stand so the wood would have some protection from the burners, but its not needed at all, it barely gets hot underneath the blichmann's.

I've used the Bayou Classic KAB6 and the Bayou Classic SP10.

SP10: $50 or so, very noisy, eats up gas pretty good, doesn't fit keggles without modification

KAB6: $125, pretty quiet, eats up gas like nobody's business, fits keggles just fine

If I could do it all over again, I would have gone with the Blichmann.

Another endorsement for the SQ-14 here. Quiet, sturdy, very easy on gas, and inexpensive.

+1 on the SQ14. Inexpensive, sturdy, quiet, and very fuel efficient. Works great for my 7-8 gallon pre-boil volumes. I'd recommend a roll of aluminum flashing to rig a windscreen and a couple of cinder blocks if you're using gravity to transfer to your fermenter.

i have a bayou classic, but have no idea what model???
it works flawlessly for 5 gallon batches and i plan to use it with my keggles for 10 gallon batches too. one tank of propane does ~8 batches

ApothecaryBrewing said:

Ummm... not a burner.

Click to expand...

Oops, fixed in my previous post

Hello, Need help!

Im looking at ordering a burner and I could use some help, I have a 15 gal pot that is 17" across the pot and would like to pull off boiling 13 gal of wort once in a while but will be doing 5 gal batches most of the time.

Im also going to be building a brew stand soon and will be incorporating whatever burner's I purchase in the stand.

Im trying to figure out the difference with these 2 burners, both banjo's
Im guessing that the 210000 btu one will eat more propane and be louder, will the 100000 btu one be able to pull off boiling a 10 gal batch=13gal of wort ?

And what burner is in the Blichman, is it one of those 4" dia burners?

Also is the kab6 burner the same as one of the burners in the links below?

http://www.agrisupply.com/carolina-cooker-banjo-burner-and-stand-100000-btus/p/64482/&sid=&eid=/

and

http://www.agrisupply.com/cooking-surface/p/83715/

any advise would be great

Cheers

Both of your linked burners as well as the Blichmann all use the same BG-14 "10 inch banjo burner". The second link looks like a Bayou Classic KAB6.

The difference in the burner ratings between the two links is likely the regulator - some BG-14 rigs come with 0-10 psi regulators, some come with 0-30 psi regulators. The Blichmanns come with 0-10 psi regulators, fwiw.

Any of these three can handle what you want to do...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Both of your linked burners as well as the Blichmann all use the same BG-14 "10 inch banjo burner". The second link looks like a Bayou Classic KAB6.

The difference in the burner ratings between the two links is likely the regulator - some BG-14 rigs come with 0-10 psi regulators, some come with 0-30 psi regulators. The Blichmanns come with 0-10 psi regulators, fwiw.

Any of these three can handle what you want to do...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Thanks,

So dose the Blichmann use the BG-14 too? I know you said it is but then why do people that use them say they are better burners than the BG-14.

Cheers

WileECoyote said:

Thanks,

So dose the Blichmann use the BG-14 too? I know you said it is but then why do people that use them say they are better burners than the BG-14.

Cheers

Click to expand...

I've read that as well. I have two Blichmanns, have seen a KAB6 up close, and I can't tell the difference as far as the actual BG-14 burners used. So I guess I don't know the answer to that...

Cheers!

+1 on the Blichmann. My first burner & I'll never change. Great quality & QUIET!

I'm new to AG and will be buying a cheap turkey fryer with burner for $49 (!) at Walmart to start. Have heard this a good starter set up. If you only want the burner then Northern Brewer has a $35 one called 'Dark Star' at 54000 BTU's. only drawback I see is it doesn't have a skirt to protect from the wind which will cause more propane usage. This should be easy to remedy I think...

Blichmann is my pick.

He probably bought one 8 months ago