Burner for a keggle

Well, I've finally decided to do 10 gallon batches in the summer, when I can brew outside. I put my keggle on my turkey fryer, and it's definitely not a great fit. It's unstable. I've seen photos of people using bricks to support the keggle with the burner in the middle, but I think I'm going to have to buy a new burner that will work with my keggle.

What burner do you have and recommend? I'd only do 10 gallon batches on it- I'd still do smaller batches inside.

The Bayou Classic that Austinhomebrew sells (the $70 version) is very similar if not identical to my extra burner and it works great. We had a keggle on it a couple weeks ago and, while I didn't put a stopwatch to it, it was doing a much better job than the turkey fryers we had going.

I use a Bayou Classic KAB6. I do not use a keggle but I have seen pics of this burner using a keggle and there is 2-3 inches of space on each side. The burner works great, and the stand is very sturdy.

My turkey fryer just barely fits my keggle and has a 55k btu jet burner on it.
This burner here:



It works ok for 10gal batches, but the hurricane burners on my single tier get the wort boiling MUCH faster, and since I built it specifically for keggles it's much more stable as well.



If you know someone who can weld it wouldnt take much to fab up a stand and install one of the hurricane burners under it, plus you could always entice someone to do it for beer!

SQ-14 from Home Depot, about $40. I like it a lot better than my Banjo. Fits a keg perfectly, plenty of kick for 10-gallons, and easy to control the flame when you want to play around with things like decocting (or just having a gentle boil so you aren't wasting propane).

the_bird said:

SQ-14 from Home Depot, about $40. I like it a lot better than my Banjo. Fits a keg perfectly, plenty of kick for 10-gallons, and easy to control the flame when you want to play around with things like decocting (or just having a gentle boil so you aren't wasting propane).

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Yeah, exact same experience here.

+3 on the SQ-14. Lots of BTU's but has a huge range of adjustment, not to mention it has a pretty big support area. A keg, 15 Boilermaker etc fits very well with no wobble.

the_bird said:

SQ-14 from Home Depot, about $40. I like it a lot better than my Banjo. Fits a keg perfectly, plenty of kick for 10-gallons, and easy to control the flame when you want to play around with things like decocting (or just having a gentle boil so you aren't wasting propane).

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This is the one that I am about to buy. I have never been able to find them in a HomeDeopt and now they are not even online. They sell them on Amazon too:
Amazon.com: Bayou Classic SQ14 Single Burner Outdoor Patio Stove: Patio, Lawn & Garden

the_bird said:

SQ-14 from Home Depot, about $40. I like it a lot better than my Banjo. Fits a keg perfectly, plenty of kick for 10-gallons, and easy to control the flame when you want to play around with things like decocting (or just having a gentle boil so you aren't wasting propane).

Click to expand...

Another thumbs up for the SQ-14.

My turkey cooker doesn't fit under my keggle very well, so until I get a stand built, I've been using metal saw-horses to hold it.

IXVolt said:

My turkey cooker doesn't fit under my keggle very well, so until I get a stand built, I've been using metal saw-horses to hold it.

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WHOA dude! Looks like you need some serious adjustment on that flame. Way, way too much air coming in through the adjustment plate.

Does anyone with a SQ-14 have any pics they can post that shows a keggle sitting on it? I too am looking for a powerhouse of a burner that I can sit a keggle on. From the looks of the burner, it doesn't look like a keggle would fit (and be sturdy) on a SQ-14.

That burner is from the 60's I think. Not much adjustment available... I bought it at a yard sale for 5 bucks with a full propane tank.

Can you explain what you mean... should I wrap the sides so less air can come from beneath?

++ on Hurricane - it really will do a robust boil on 14 gallons of liquid in a keggle using NG. I imagine with propane and the original valve it is a bit more robust then mine. Nice thing is the easy transition back and forth between NG & LP if you want to travel with it. (I have the low pressure regulator - have not used it yet)

The burner mounted on the stand they sell is not good with Keggle unless you modify it a bit. You could probably weld on a few tabs to make it secure. I have my burner mounted in a stand.

I'm in the same boat. It does seem that the SQ-14's are hard to come by for less than $65.00, not counting shipping.

macabra11 said:

Does anyone with a SQ-14 have any pics they can post that shows a keggle sitting on it? I too am looking for a powerhouse of a burner that I can sit a keggle on. From the looks of the burner, it doesn't look like a keggle would fit (and be sturdy) on a SQ-14.

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What's to say other than it's got plenty of room? It's plenty sturdy; it's built a lot stronger than it looks.

+Whatever number we are on now for the SQ-14. It's a great burner, will hold a keggle with no problems.

Beerrific said:

This is the one that I am about to buy. I have never been able to find them in a HomeDeopt and now they are not even online. They sell them on Amazon too:
Amazon.com: Bayou Classic SQ14 Single Burner Outdoor Patio Stove: Patio, Lawn & Garden

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Bingo. That's the extra one I have.

The keggle in front is on that burner in the pic

been looking for a new burner at a reasonable price for awhile. You guys sold me on the SQ14. For anyone else looking for it ace hardware has it for $49.99 with free ship to store

For about the same price the SQ-14 the KAB4 or 6 has more punch to the burner.
210k btu's as apposed to 55k btu's . I have both SQ-14 and the KAB4 hands down the 4 is faster and quieter .

jpsloan said:

I'm in the same boat. It does seem that the SQ-14's are hard to come by for less than $65.00, not counting shipping.

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they sell for 56.99 at Bayouclassicdepot
56.99

IXVolt said:

That burner is from the 60's I think. Not much adjustment available... I bought it at a yard sale for 5 bucks with a full propane tank.

Can you explain what you mean... should I wrap the sides so less air can come from beneath?

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There should be an "aperture plate" on the end where the gas line connects that you can rotate. This will open and close the slots allowing more or less air to mix with the propane as it is pushed into the burner.

For as much as I've seen this question asked, and asked it myself, maybe these threads should be combined. Possibly as their own subject forum but definitely all together. It would certainly make research much easier. I don't know anything about the administrative side, so it's a sugquestion. - Dwain

I used to use the round bayou classic burner (on the right in this pick) but I get nervous every time I use it now - with use it's become a bit wobbly. I recently picked up a "Cache Cooker" off of CL that has leg extenders on it, and some serious BTU's.

It's nice to have it elevated so gravity can run the wort through my CFC and into the fermenter with no pump.

springer said:

For about the same price the SQ-14 the KAB4 or 6 has more punch to the burner.
210k btu's as apposed to 55k btu's . I have both SQ-14 and the KAB4 hands down the 4 is faster and quieter .

Click to expand...

springer, the "cooking surface" bars look like they would not support the weight of a full keggle at all. Did you have to build a special platform for the keggle above the burner? I like the idea of 210k btus, but I don't have the ability to make custom supports etc - so the burner needs to be ready to accept my keggle out of the box.

I built two of these dual jet burners. It is an easy DIY project and they do burn!

Here are some views to give you a general idea.



The two tubes are galvanized fence post cut to length.



The gas pipe is ½ “ black pipe with a brass gas nipple on one end and 2 brass caps off a T on the other end.



Each cap has a small hole (gas orifice) drilled in it.

I just purchased the KAB4 and it ROCKS! I will admit I was intimidated at first as the burner was cooking the paint off of the stand. Smelled like $h!t. Luckily I was just doing a test fire to see the power. Boils 10 gal in about 25 mins. Fits on the stand quite well. However I took a hack saw to mine to fit it in a stand.

Brewpastor said:

I built two of these dual jet burners. It is an easy DIY project and they do burn!

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Seriously? thats awesome. Any pics in action. Hows it compare with only two jets?

I have a KAB5 which apparently doesn't exist anymore. Why do I always buy stuff that is weird and get's discontinued.
I'm going to build a better stand around the top. Not much support for my severely uneven keg bottom. I have to rotate it until I find the sweet spot for it to be steady.

macabra11 said:

springer, the "cooking surface" bars look like they would not support the weight of a full keggle at all. Did you have to build a special platform for the keggle above the burner? I like the idea of 210k btus, but I don't have the ability to make custom supports etc - so the burner needs to be ready to accept my keggle out of the box.

Click to expand...

I did modify it a bit I cut the bars and turned them 180° so that the keg sat nice and firm the bars are strong enough themselves . I do 10 gallon patches so 12 -13 gallons is the norm to start the boil





Would take a welder all of about 10 minutes to weld them up after you cut them

IrregularPulse said:

Seriously? thats awesome. Any pics in action. Hows it compare with only two jets?

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I will try to get some pictures. I use them to heat my steam kettles and they do a good job of it. I can keep 40 gallons rolling with them!

Here is my SQ14 in action. I'm happy with it, although it blew out in the wind once. It is very sturdy. I ordered from Amazon 2-day shipping and got the unit within 12 hours from Kentucky to Oregon. The internet rocks.



This isn't my keggle tho, I need a keggle!!

Ok, I bought the SQ14, and had it shipped to the local Ace store. For $49.00, I thought it would be a great deal for me. I'll use the turkey fryer and that turkey fryer pot to heat the mash water and water for the HLT.

Hopefully that burner comes this week, so I can try a batch this week. Now, I am thinking I need a new IC or a CFC. It just never ends, does it?

Thanks everybody!

YooperBrew said:

Ok, I bought the SQ14, and had it shipped to the local Ace store. For $49.00, I thought it would be a great deal for me. I'll use the turkey fryer and that turkey fryer pot to heat the mash water and water for the HLT.

Hopefully that burner comes this week, so I can try a batch this week. Now, I am thinking I need a new IC or a CFC. It just never ends, does it?

Thanks everybody!

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Definitely go CFC. It changed my life

Picobrew said:

Here is my SQ14 in action. I'm happy with it, although it blew out in the wind once. It is very sturdy. I ordered from Amazon 2-day shipping and got the unit within 12 hours from Kentucky to Oregon. The internet rocks.

This isn't my keggle tho, I need a keggle!!

Click to expand...

If you go to my gallery I have some pictures of a cheap fix for the wind issue. I bought a h/c "thimble" adapter at home depot, cost like 6 bucks. Makes for a great windguard.

Anyone have a link for the Ace Hardware Bayou SQ14, I can't find it searching on there website, or is it something you have to call in for?

It doesn't seem to on the website any more- they only have the sp1 and sp10. I got mine from the website last week, so I know it was there last week. I picked mine up last Friday, but still haven't used it yet. Next week, I'm doing a 10 gallon batch on Wednesday come hell or high water!