Burner Preference, Help me decide.

I did my first full 6gal boil the other day and found my old turkey burner isn't really up to the task. It took WAAAY to long to get water to a boil and was hard to hold a good boil with it.

So I'm going to upgrade to something w/ some more juice. I found these two options and while the claim the same heat output, I'm curious if anyone has experience with them that can make a better recommendation. Right now I'm leaning on the KAB6.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003B7USOM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

vs

http://www.homebrewing.org/14-Propane-Burner--220000-BTU_p_1190.html?AffId=160

Thanks... Chuck

Chuck - I recently got the 220k burner from AIH that you have listed there. It works like a champ, the only thing is it doesn't have a windguard but honestly with the flame that thing is kicking out your have to be brewing in tornado for it to blowout.

I'm certainly happy with my purchase. Hope that helps!

I had a KAB4 burner for a while. Until I picked up my first Blichmann burner. I got the leg extensions for it and then picked up a second one to use for the HLT. Very glad I made the switch. The Blichmann burner will stay going while others get blown out (by wind). It also uses less propane due to the shield design (directs the heat up better). Even though the Blichmann is only rated at 72k BTU, it easily performs better than a 210k BTU Bayou burner. Mostly due to how burner manufacturers can rate their product with whatever method they desire.

I don't see any BTU rating on the Bayou Classic, so hard to compare.

If money were no issue, I'd be all over the Blichmann Stainless version. However, money is an issue and I tried to balance quality and price when I purchased. I found the same model that my LHBS sells at Wal Mart for half the price, so I opted for that. It has 60k BTUs. I ended up buying the leg extensions too since I use my Brew Kettle for mashing too.

I have been pleased with this model, but it's definitely nothing like the Blichmann.

More Beer's quote on this one: "We tested one of the 60K burner and regulator combinations and were able to boil 10 gallons of water from 66F in 35 minutes"

WalMart ($44 without leg extensions...$66 including legs)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camp-Chef...gMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems

Morebeer.com ($90 including legs)

http://morebeer.com/view_product/15766/102213/Burner_-_Camp_Chef_Cooker_60000_btu

I've heard the KAB6 is supposed to be a big improvement over the 4. I'm curious if anyones tried it. I'm really not looking for a new cheap 60k burner as I have one of those. Haven't looked into the Blichmann yet, but the posts are making me think it might be pricey.

I see the comparisons to the old Bayou burner on their site, but that's quite a difference in head design and pressure from the KAB6 so I guess I'm just looking for some better data... I really like the idea of a 10min to boil time that in theory that would give me.

I bought the SP-10 from Amazon. Tested yesterday on 5gal of water. Starting water temp was 45. Got up to boil 211 in 22 minutes. The thing is very loud. Looking forward to first brew. It has to be better then the electric stove in kitchen.

mammothkraken said:

Chuck - I recently got the 220k burner from AIH that you have listed there. It works like a champ, the only thing is it doesn't have a windguard but honestly with the flame that thing is kicking out your have to be brewing in tornado for it to blowout.

I'm certainly happy with my purchase. Hope that helps!

Click to expand...

Cool, I just ordered one. Good price too! 220K, Damn.

SO justkev... are you going to post a report when you get it?

This is probably a good place to post this and anyone reading this may be able to help me as well. I got a bayou classic burner this is 13" in diameter which was perfect for my small 5 gallon kettle. But now that I have upgraded to AG I have a 15 gallon kettle that is short, fat, and 16 3/4" in diameter. So when I use the 15 gallon kettle on the 13" burner plate the flame comes out the bottom close to the valve, which is extremely dangerous. Any suggestions on what I should do? If I need to replace the burner with a bigger one, which is a good one to get? TYIA

I originally started with a plain old Bayou Classic turkey fryer. When I wanted to upgrade, I looked at the KAB6 as well. Ultimately, I decided to wait a bit and save a little more money for the Blichmann burner. Boy am I glad I did! It freakin' rocks! I also have to agree with Golddiggie in that it uses less propane (my buddy with a KAB6 screams through a propane bottle). I think it's quieter as well.

IMO, don't be too worried about specific BTU/hr ratings of one model vs. the other. Performance is what matters. I would recommend dropping the extra $50 to $60 and going with the Blichmann.

I'm not concerned about the price, I'm concerned about time required. The Blichmann in theory will take quite a bit longer to heat the water up. If that is indeed true I would brew more often and be happier w/ a KAB6. Unfortunately, I haven't found anyone with experience on the new KAB or who's tried both. I don't begin to doubt the Blichmann is nicer metal worksmanship, but I don't care too much about that.

BrewKid said:

This is probably a good place to post this and anyone reading this may be able to help me as well. I got a bayou classic burner this is 13" in diameter which was perfect for my small 5 gallon kettle. But now that I have upgraded to AG I have a 15 gallon kettle that is short, fat, and 16 3/4" in diameter. So when I use the 15 gallon kettle on the 13" burner plate the flame comes out the bottom close to the valve, which is extremely dangerous. Any suggestions on what I should do? If I need to replace the burner with a bigger one, which is a good one to get? TYIA

Click to expand...

Buy or make a clip on heat shield for the valve, unless you really want to buy a new burner.

++++1 on the Blichmann Burner w/ leg extensions. I've had one for about a year & it's definitely one if the best brewing equipment purchases I've made. It's very quiet (sometimes I have to check to make sure it's still on!) & gets 6+ gallons if water from cold to mash temp in 20 minutes or less.
You won't be sorry if you buy one.

Golddiggie said:

I had a KAB4 burner for a while. Until I picked up my first Blichmann burner. I got the leg extensions for it and then picked up a second one to use for the HLT. Very glad I made the switch. The Blichmann burner will stay going while others get blown out (by wind). It also uses less propane due to the shield design (directs the heat up better). Even though the Blichmann is only rated at 72k BTU, it easily performs better than a 210k BTU Bayou burner. Mostly due to how burner manufacturers can rate their product with whatever method they desire.

Click to expand...

+1 on the Blichmann. I also love the fact it is whisper quiet. I can actually think and have conversations in my garage while brewing now. It will last a very long time. They are an investment, but worth every penny in the long run.

twalte said:

I don't see any BTU rating on the Bayou Classic, so hard to compare.

If money were no issue, I'd be all over the Blichmann Stainless version. However, money is an issue and I tried to balance quality and price when I purchased. I found the same model that my LHBS sells at Wal Mart for half the price, so I opted for that. It has 60k BTUs. I ended up buying the leg extensions too since I use my Brew Kettle for mashing too.

I have been pleased with this model, but it's definitely nothing like the Blichmann.

More Beer's quote on this one: "We tested one of the 60K burner and regulator combinations and were able to boil 10 gallons of water from 66F in 35 minutes"

WalMart ($44 without leg extensions...$66 including legs)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camp-Chef...gMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems

Morebeer.com ($90 including legs)

http://morebeer.com/view_product/15766/102213/Burner_-_Camp_Chef_Cooker_60000_btu

Click to expand...

I have two of the camp chef burners from morebeer.com and they both work very well. I do 5gallon all grain batches with about 7 gallons pre boil volume and it gets it going in no time (couldnt say exactly but around 10-15 minutes)
The only thing I dont like about them is the black powder coating. The crap burns off way too easily and you have to rinse it off the bottom of your kettles after every brew until it all burns off.

also in looking at the product available from wallmart, it appears to be slightly different from the more beer model. Just be aware with all the products wallmart sells, they often contract with manufacturers to make products that are very similar to their usual products, but for "wallmart only" that they make with cheaper parts and with less care. might have the same product description, but could be made with cheaper parts of a lower quality just fyi. I got screwed when i bought a "wallmart only" flat screen tv which broke and needed a part replaced, only to find out they dont make replacement parts for that model (no wonder it was such a good deal!)

The Blichmann has a 10 pound regulator, hence 72K BTU. The difference being, that the KAB6 uses a 30 pound regulator, getting 210K BTU. Funny how that stuff works. Both burner castings are identical. I started with Camp Chefs. They worked good for 10 G batches. I know a couple of brewers with the Bayou KAB6's and have been with them when they were using the burners. One guy built a strut frame to raise the burner. The other guy welded legs on his. With keggles, they have to tune down the pressure, to keep the flames from running up the sides of the keggle. Doing this, brings the output, somewhat, closer to Blichmann's lower output. After seeing the flame pattern of the Bayou at full bore and listening to the roar of the Bayou and then seeing a Blichmann demonstrated using LP. I went with Blichmann. I'm very satisfied with their performance with 20 G kettles. I burn NG. To me, the lower noise factor. Blichmann being stainless and the leg kits, were worth the higher price. Somehow, I'm led to believe, that Blichmann realized that a high pressure burner isn't always needed. Especially, if it has to be tuned down. The other thing is. They design equipment for brewers and not so much for people desiring to cook turkey dinners...To each, his own.

So what is time to boil on the Blichmann for 6-7 gal of water from starting temps? My last batch took about an hour and a half on my old turkey fryer burner, and I'm not planning to repeat that again.

PS... I guess I don't see the price difference being that much of an investment, I'm just after the best fit for my need (TIME). Although if you have to throttle down the KAB6 to the point that it's putting out the same heat then that extra blast isn't really doing me any good.

Im going on the Blichmann side here myself. I just purchased a Blichmann burner w/ leg extensions a few weeks ago.

Im not going tp get into regulator pressures or btus or whatnot, everyone else has pretty much covered that.

All i have to say is i used to use a turkey fryer style burner, it was free from a friend and i was just beginning so i wasnt going to complain. When it all went off without a hitch a 5gallon AG brew session would take me 5.5-6ish hours, with a 10 gallon session that took me about 7 hours.

There have been other things that have lessened time with my brew day (plate chiller vs. immersion coil) but even with the plate chiller i was never under 5 hours.

The first time i used the Blichmann i brewed a 5 gallon milk stout, i started heating my strike water at 630pm and was finished washing out my brew kettle (with beer already in the closet) by 945.

Sure, i was burning the blichmann as high as i could before it licked the pot so i could see what it could do, but it took over 1.5 hours off of my brew day, waiting for water or wort to heat. We timed 45 degree water to strike temp of 167 in a little under 10 minutes, i forget the volume but it was over 4 or 5 gallons.

Needless to say, along with my therminator, best purchase ive made for brewing yet.

Oh and a 10 gallon AG batch still came in under 5 hours...

MustGoFast said:

SO justkev... are you going to post a report when you get it?

Click to expand...

Wil do. It should be here tomorrow.
I'll try it out this weekend and post results.

MustGoFast said:

SO justkev... are you going to post a report when you get it?

Click to expand...

I used it for the first time this weekend. This thing kicks ass.
I'm totally satisfied. Had about 4 gallons of wort in the kettle during fly sparge. Decided to fire it up. Ran it full throttle for about 3 minutes and had to turn it down. The steam was billowing out of my 15 gallon pot like a steam engine on a train. Took 3-4 minutes to get from 140 to 206. Once the wort is boiling, you have to turn it way down so it doesn't boil over. Should be pretty economical considering the power.
Temp was around 5 deg F. in the garage. My brother thinks I'm crazy for brewing a 10 gallon split batch in these temps. Maybe he's right but I now have 10 more gallons in fermenters than he does. Planning another batch this weekend.

MustGoFast said:

I did my first full 6gal boil the other day and found my old turkey burner isn't really up to the task. It took WAAAY to long to get water to a boil and was hard to hold a good boil with it.

So I'm going to upgrade to something w/ some more juice. I found these two options and while the claim the same heat output, I'm curious if anyone has experience with them that can make a better recommendation. Right now I'm leaning on the KAB6.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003B7USOM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

vs

http://www.homebrewing.org/14-Propane-Burner--220000-BTU_p_1190.html?AffId=160

Thanks... Chuck

Click to expand...

I own a KAB6 and I use a keggle with it. Lots of wasted heat pouring to the sides. I have to break out the angle grinder and break some welds on it so I can move the burner assembly up. What a pain. Plus I use about 3/4ths of a tank of propane for every 10 gallon brew day.

I would go with the other one if I were you.

I know you've already made a purchase, but just out of curiosity, did you try to to clean or do any maintenance on the turkey burner? You may still have a decent burner there, so don't chuck it just yet.

That's what I've been using as well for 6 gallon boils, and it works great for me. The cast body does rust, and the scale will eventually get into the all the little flame spreader holes and decrease performance. It helps to hit them with a wire brush once in a while. Also, there is an adjustable air baffle you may want to tweak. You want to shoot for a flame that is mostly blue with just the beginnings of yellow/orange at the top.

HTH

justkev52 said:

I used it for the first time this weekend. This thing kicks ass.
I'm totally satisfied. Had about 4 gallons of wort in the kettle during fly sparge. Decided to fire it up. Ran it full throttle for about 3 minutes and had to turn it down. The steam was billowing out of my 15 gallon pot like a steam engine on a train. Took 3-4 minutes to get from 140 to 206. Once the wort is boiling, you have to turn it way down so it doesn't boil over. Should be pretty economical considering the power.
Temp was around 5 deg F. in the garage. My brother thinks I'm crazy for brewing a 10 gallon split batch in these temps. Maybe he's right but I now have 10 more gallons in fermenters than he does. Planning another batch this weekend.

Click to expand...

Yeah I love mine! It seriously is a beast. I've found that while I blow through propane getting it to a boil I am then able to turn it down so far it's nearly off during the entire boil which makes up for the initial burst.

I thought I'd post what I decided. I picked up the KAB6. I highly recommend it, the temperature controls work very well with the granularity to avoid a boilover or conserve fuel. The power cuts a TON o time though.