200,000 BTU natural gas burner!

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:rockin: I just test fired my natural gas brew burner...it rocks! If you want one, here's what to order:

Small Burner (130,000 BTU),
Medium Burner (145,000 BTU), or
Large Burner (200,000 BTU), and
3/8" Natural Gas Hose

You'll also need a 3/4" NPT male plug (there's a large inlet hole on the bottom), and a minimum of one 3/8" NPT male to male coupler, along with the means to tap into your home natural gas supply. NOTE: THIS IS NATURAL GAS, NOT PROPANE!

EDIT: I forgot to mention that you'll need a way to control the amount of gas going to the burner. A ball valve rated for gas seems to work quite nicely.

4688-holyhellburner.JPG


And now for the bad stuff...
EDIT: There is none!!! I thought the customer service was a bit shoddy at first, but they proved me wrong within 48 hours.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hmm...BBQ Guys advertises mine as a 200,000 BTU unit, but it's almost identical to the 300,000 BTU burner at Northern Brewer - same diameter, 32 jets. Either way, that's a lot of heat!

EDIT: Actually BBQ Guys is misleading - their medium size is advertised at 32 jets, but the picture shows only 24. The large one is advertised at 44 jets, and the picture only has 32. Mine is most like the picture of the large one at Northern Brewer.
 
Beautiful. What is the diameter? I'm guessing about 12 to 14 inches.

What burns hotters, LP or Natural Gas? I know which is cheaper, for sure. Even with all the increases in natural gas prices in recent years, it's still the cheapest source of energy I use in my home. And, being an avid cook, I'd never consider cooking (indoors) on anything else.
 
The diameter is about 10 3/4."

As for potential energy given the same volume, ya got me. However, propane usually winds up being a hotter source because it's under higher pressure. That's why this burner was so attractive - the heat output is at least as good (if not better) than any propane burner out there, and I won't have to worry about running out of gas mid-boil.
 
Plus NG is cheaper than LP, and no bother having to run to the store to refill a cylinder.
 
I just checked them out in the Northern Brewer catalog. Pretty sweet. When I eventually get my own house, I'm considering building a system and putting in natural gas burners. The only draw back is that it wouldn't be portable.
 
Sorry for the not-quite-off-topic semi-hijack, but does anyone know if a turkey burner can convert to NG and how hot will it run? I ahve two turkey burners and an unused NG tap off my patio.....

Skol!
 
SBN said:
Sorry for the not-quite-off-topic semi-hijack, but does anyone know if a turkey burner can convert to NG and how hot will it run? I ahve two turkey burners and an unused NG tap off my patio.....

Skol!

You should be able to pull it off but it will definitely run cooler than it was originally rated at. I'd test it as-is and see if it's hot enough for a quick boil. If not, drill the burner holes out a little larger and try again. Keep in mind, the propane units use a regulator because the tank pressure needs to be reduced. You'd probably have to cut the hose between the burner and regulator and use a pipe to hosebarb fitting. Does your setup have flame control built in to the regulator? If so, you'll have to use a ball valve to regulate the flow of gas. I haven't tried this so it's all in theory.

Bobby
 
I have the same rig. I had a 3/8" hose, but was told to try a 1/2" id hose. It makes HUGE difference. You need at least 1/2" id supply line. No more propane bottles.
 
SBN said:
Sorry for the not-quite-off-topic semi-hijack, but does anyone know if a turkey burner can convert to NG and how hot will it run? I ahve two turkey burners and an unused NG tap off my patio.....

Skol!
I tried converting my burner (Bayou Classic) to NG, and I wasn't very successful. I drilled the jet to almost 1/8," and it still didn't get as hot as I would prefer. I boiled a gallon of water over it as a test, and it took about 10 minutes. I'm not sure if it would have the guts to get 5+ gallons to a rolling boil...and I'm looking at 15+ gallon brews at this point!

BrewerBrewer3401 said:
I have the same rig. I had a 3/8" hose, but was told to try a 1/2" id hose. It makes HUGE difference. You need at least 1/2" id supply line. No more propane bottles.
Thanks for the tip - I may try that!
 
I take back anything negative I said about the company from which I bought this burner. I found their customer service e-mail address yesterday ([email protected]), and here's the response. I also got a FedEx tracking number a few hours later. I'll stand behind this one 100% now!

shopperschoice.com Customer Service Team said:
Dear Nathan,

I apologize for that, we are going to ship out a few replacement jets to you
today.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Rebecca
Customer Service Team
Shopperschoice.com
1.877.743.2269
 
I have the 23 jet setup with natural gas. I had a 3/8" hose, then went up to a 1/2 " ID hose. HUGE difference - really. Much faster than the 65,000 btu turkey fryer, and its NG. Did a little research. NG is at least 60% cheaper than propane, plus no driving around with bombs in my car.

I bought 2 of the 32 jet Propane burners from Northern Brewer for 2 guys at work. Looking to set up with 10 psi regulator. Should be interesting.

My son uses the 23 jet with 10 psi regulator for propane and it's very intense.

All of these rigs are for crawfish/seafood boils except mine - primary = beer.
 
chillHayze said:
Everyone asks "Why" but Nate asks "Why not?" New Mexico will never be safe again. :)
chillHayze - gotta love it, bro. And you're so right. It's completely fruitless to ask me why I've gone out of control with the homebrew gig. The answer: BECAUSE I CAN!
 
Oh yeah, I'm going to weld up a simple brew stand out of angle iron for this weekend's brew. Since I only have one burner, and I want to have a hot liquor tank and a boil pot ready, I'm going to devise a simple mechanism to slide the burner from one pot to the other and back. Pics, of course, to follow!

I shouldn't have tapped that keg tonight...I'm in a GOOD mood!
 
Hey Yuri_Rage:

Like so many others, I've been admiring your handywork. Very nice indeed.
I built a system earlier this year and I'm still tinkering with it. I'm a bit more active on another board and rather than re-create everything here, I'll put the link:

http://www.brewcommune.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1282 <EDIT> Due to a Brewcommune Crash, this post was lost. I'll try to get another version up Dan </EDIT>

I used burners similar to those you used. I can say for sure that the ball-valves work wonders at controlling the flame. I also built a DHLT using a Ranco and an old furnace gas valve. Additionally, I also digitally control the HERMS / Mashtun side with a Ranco and a pump. It took a little bit of electrical doing to get things working properly (a relay was involved).

So far, I"m having a great time learning about AG brewing and about my system.

Enjoy yours!

Dan

P.S Another BrewCommuner has built a chilling system for his conicals, I'll post a couple of links on that thread too.
 
dhempy said:
I used burners similar to those you used. I can say for sure that the ball-valves work wonders at controlling the flame. I also built a DHLT using a Ranco and an old furnace gas valve. Additionally, I also digitally control the HERMS / Mashtun side with a Ranco and a pump. It took a little bit of electrical doing to get things working properly (a relay was involved).
Looks like you've been a bit busy yourself! Lucky you to have a brother with a great shop! Funny you should mention the Ranco temp controller - I just bought another one. I was going to use a single stage controller for my brew closet, but the weather's getting cold, so I upgraded to a two stage controller to manage both heating and cooling. That left me with a spare single stage unit (ETC-111000), so I plan on using that to control my RIMS system. I'm either going to manually control the heat of the recirculating tank and use the controller for the pump...or I'll do something similar to your setup and use it to control the burner. It'd be easier to digitally control the pump, but your furnace valve/controller is pretty slick.
 
Hey Thanks!

I've also got a couple of pretty talented friends including one that used to build / race Indy cars. A hint .. call your local HVAC shop and see if they'll let you into the boneyard where you can pillage a valve and the electronics. Fortunately, one of hte BC'ers works HVAC and we have a ready source.

Actually, I control two pumps and the gas valve with two Rancos. When my DHLT is "ON" I also circulate the pump so that the entire liquor system is at the the same temp (or close to it). For the RIMS side, the other Ranco controls BOTH pumps (hence the need for the relay) to circulate the liquor through the outside of the Chillus Convolutus and the wort through the inside.

One thing of interest .. I have two different thermowells and the one in the MT takes a bit longer to come up to temp ... so one of the nuances of brewing for me is to set temps that undershoot the target by a couple of degrees ... part of this is because I went with stainless (I tried to minimize copper in my system). FWIW this is something to keep in mind on your first brew session ...

Keep up with the cool projects ... I'm getting ready to do a stirplate!

Dan
 
Hey Yuri, this thing will be awesome next time the sun burns out and needs to be restarted. :)
 
This thread dates back to 2006. I am beginning to research a brew stand that will use natural gas.

Anybody have an update to these burners? Are they good quality? Are there options out there I may want to look at?

I will be using a keggle. There is a customer comment about the largest burner being too large for a keggle. Can anybody confirm this?

Thanks
 
I just two 32 tip burners that I plumbed into my house's natural gas line and I love them. They put out more heat then you'll be able to use most likely so if you go this route, make sure you have a way to bring 'em down a bit.

32 Tip Round Nozzle Jet Burner - CHINESE WOK RANGES - RANGES - EQUIPMENT

TY Cape

Did you need an additional regulator or does the one used by your home serve well? Also, did you add a natural gas ball valve to your brew rig for each burner?

I plan on designing my system for three burners but installing only two. The direct heat mash tun will wait.

Do you have any pics of your system?

What types of questions do I need to ask to get set up on home based natural gas safely?

Thanks
 
I can say with 100% certainty that the 32 tip is too large for 10 gallons in a keggle. In fact, I personally believe the 23 tip is too big and the 10 tip is just right. Some folks might have luck with the larger ones but I have to wonder if gas pressure is playing into the whole thing. One thing to keep in mind is that all of these jet-tip burners are not very adjustable so don't think you can just dial the flame down. The alternative is the Hurricane burner with the Nat gas orifice replacement.
 
I don't use a regulator as the two gas valves I have regulate the gas flow for me... and nope, I don't have ball valves for each. I have a ball valve at the "spicket" that comes out of the wall and then I have a natural gas flexible hose with a huge natural gas-specific quick connect that plugs into my rig. It then branches off directly into two gas valves that then lead to two burners... one under my HLT and one under my BK.

... and I dial the flame down no problem by simply adjusting the screw on the top of my valves. They only need minor adjusting once in a while once they are set but mine can be dialed down no problem.
 
Sorry... and my rig will do up to 20 gallons so I wanted the larger burner... but Bobby's right... the 32 is probably too much for ten gallon batches.

... the other thing was I think the 32 was something like $4 more so I grabbed it.
 
I can say with 100% certainty that the 32 tip is too large for 10 gallons in a keggle. In fact, I personally believe the 23 tip is too big and the 10 tip is just right. Some folks might have luck with the larger ones but I have to wonder if gas pressure is playing into the whole thing. One thing to keep in mind is that all of these jet-tip burners are not very adjustable so don't think you can just dial the flame down. The alternative is the Hurricane burner with the Nat gas orifice replacement.

TY Bobby
I am one to plan for the future, but I think 10 gallons is as large as I want my brewery.

You did mention that the 10 tip burner would be fine for my needs. But I did not see that burner listed within the link Cape Brewing offered.

Cape Brewing
It looks like you have already completed the same project I am embarking upon. I will no doubt ask your assistance and advice as I move forward.
 
Ask away. Guys like Bobby have a lot more experience on their rigs than I do on mine. I only have about ahalf a dozen batches done on mine since I just finished it not too long ago but with the exception of my first batch, I've got it pretty dialed in and am really happy with it. I have a single tier HERMS set up with two March 809s, those two 32 tip burners and nine liquid solenoid valves so everything is "flip a switch" in terms of moving any liquid throughout the rig.
 
Ask away. Guys like Bobby have a lot more experience on their rigs than I do on mine. I only have about ahalf a dozen batches done on mine since I just finished it not too long ago but with the exception of my first batch, I've got it pretty dialed in and am really happy with it. I have a single tier HERMS set up with two March 809s, those two 32 tip burners and nine liquid solenoid valves so everything is "flip a switch" in terms of moving any liquid throughout the rig.

I'm in the midst of planning out my brew stand, and I want to make it NG. I have a 3/4" pipe that "tees" off in the garage at my hot water heater. Do you have some pictures of your setup, specifically the gas pipe, valves and connections? Thanks!
 
I'm doing a saison on Sunday... I PROMISE I will take a bunch of pics of how I have things set up. I've been talking about posting pics and just haven't gotten to it.

I will post 'em early next week.
 
Which gas valves do you use and does it control the flame when you turn it down. It seems as though just a ball valve is the wrong way to go because it will burn too rich/
 
I'm doing a saison on Sunday... I PROMISE I will take a bunch of pics of how I have things set up. I've been talking about posting pics and just haven't gotten to it.

I will post 'em early next week.

Cape Brewing,

Did you post those pics somewhere? I would be interested in viewing them.
 
I have the big one and it boils 55 gallonsin 40 mins and I MEAN BOILS. The only pitfall with these are the jets. If one is brokin it will kick out a yellow flame which isnt very hot. Now here is the real kicker. You cannot replace the high pressure nozzles ie jets. So if one breaks from mishandling you have to buy a whole new burner. However I guess you could soder it shut.
 

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