Converting burner from Propane to Natural Gas

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I'm curious about this as well. Most residential gas service sits at 6-7" of water, or .22-.25psi. Propane burners operate at a much higher pressure.

Is this even possible? My gut feeling is "no" due to the port sizes, among other things.

There must be an expert on gas here somewhere..... or at least someone who has burned their eyebrows off and actually learned something because of it.
 
I use a standard issue turkey fryer to boil 6+ Gallons of wort. I bored out the orifice and removed the regulator, since, as you mention house NG is already regulated. There is a $13 burner which looks like the hurricane style, wider diameter, broad distribution of burner holes, which looks like a good idea. I'm pretty happy with it, but I need to place the lid on a couple pieces of scrap molding to vent it in order to boil off whatever it is, but without the lid I fall off the boil. Hence the upgrade plan. I have a quick connect hose on my NG grill. I got the same quick connect for the turkey fryer.
 
What type of burner are wanting to convert?, if it is the 4" high pressure type the after conversion output is about 30 - 40% on NG. If it is the 6" or 10" cast burners then a drill bit to increase the burner orifice size is about all that is needed. The main factor affecting burner output is higher the gas pressure the greater the ability to induce air into the burner mixer and produce more flame. Changing from high pressure LP gas may require increasing the piping sizes in your rig plumbing to reduce pressure drop to the burner, if you are at 1/2" pipe it should work fine on NG.
 
Check this out. It should help if you decide to do the switch. There is also a nice write up on BBQ conversions here which will give you a better understanding of what is involved.

I am using my Hurricane LP burner with NG and trying to dial it in, right now I have it getting a bit more NG than I want.
 
thanks, thats all very interesting.. but from the looks of it.. i'll just stick with the LP lol..
 
I am an HVAC tech and I have converted my turkey fryers to natural gas and it works GREAT!! You have to get a a few fittings from LOWES or Home Depot to set up the gas line. You have to remove all regulators or timers and then drill out the propane orifice. It runs at a lower PSI so you need more volume thus the drilling out. I can give you set by step instructions if you want me to.
 
Kalizonie said:
I am an HVAC tech and I have converted my turkey fryers to natural gas and it works GREAT!! You have to get a a few fittings from LOWES or Home Depot to set up the gas line. You have to remove all regulators or timers and then drill out the propane orifice. It runs at a lower PSI so you need more volume thus the drilling out. I can give you set by step instructions if you want me to.
Click to expand...

I would be interested in the instructions. Thanks in advance!
Matt
 
Me too!!! I have a gas grill in the back yard that the previous owner setup. I would love to get a turkey fryer and hook it up to that NG line also.

Plus SWMBO would love it if I would quit stinking up the house with my BEER stuff.
 
I'll be the third to say I'd like some detailed directions as well. I have a gas line ran to the garage and the back deck and I'd love to stop paying for propane.
 
Kalizonie said:
I am an HVAC tech and I have converted my turkey fryers to natural gas and it works GREAT!! You have to get a a few fittings from LOWES or Home Depot to set up the gas line. You have to remove all regulators or timers and then drill out the propane orifice. It runs at a lower PSI so you need more volume thus the drilling out. I can give you set by step instructions if you want me to.
Click to expand...

yeah,id love to see these details too,that would make life easy:rockin:
 
Ok, First you have shut off your main gas at the meter. Then you have to install a shut off and quick disconnect to you home's gas supply. Get a BBQ natural gas hose (to work with the quick dissconnect) in the BBQ section of you local home improvment store. (Lowes has a kit that has the hose and disconnects) Take the regulator off of your current burner and connect the remaining black hose to your new natural gas hose. (You will need to buy a brass fitting to transition between the two) Remove the brass oriface from your burner and you will see a small hole drilled in the end. You will need to expand that hole for use with natural gas. Start with a 1/16th drill bit and test it out. That works great at my elevation 4500 feet but you may need a little larger at lower elevations to match the oxygen levels. You want a nice blue flame so if the flame is small and orange, you can go up one more size. I removed all timers and regulators and adjust my imput with the gas shut off. It works great.
 
Kalizonie said:
Ok, First you have shut off your main gas at the meter. Then you have to install a shut off and quick disconnect to you home's gas supply. Get a BBQ natural gas hose (to work with the quick dissconnect) in the BBQ section of you local home improvment store. (Lowes has a kit that has the hose and disconnects) Take the regulator off of your current burner and connect the remaining black hose to your new natural gas hose. (You will need to buy a brass fitting to transition between the two) Remove the brass oriface from your burner and you will see a small hole drilled in the end. You will need to expand that hole for use with natural gas. Start with a 1/16th drill bit and test it out. That works great at my elevation 4500 feet but you may need a little larger at lower elevations to match the oxygen levels. You want a nice blue flame so if the flame is small and orange, you can go up one more size. I removed all timers and regulators and adjust my imput with the gas shut off. It works great.
Click to expand...

These instructions are ok for someone who already knows how to work with NG. For anyone else it really lacks the detail needed to do it in a safe manner. And you advise starting with 1/16" bit and then moving up a size which means what exactly to the average guy with a box of drill bits? Anyone doing this should have a set of wire sized bits so they can move up incrementally without oversizing in one shot. People also need to be using pipe dope or proper Teflon tape on all connections. Proper testing of all connections with a leak detecting solution or soapy water prior to lighting it up would be CRUCIAL! Knowing what your gas line pressure is at the hose end right before your equipment would make the process a lot easier using the proper charts for psi/orifice size.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITH THIS STUFF IT CAN KILL YOU OR BLOW UP YOUR HOUSE AND FAMILY.
 
Kalizonie said:
Ok, First you have shut off your main gas at the meter. Then you have to install a shut off and quick disconnect to you home's gas supply. Get a BBQ natural gas hose (to work with the quick dissconnect) in the BBQ section of you local home improvment store. (Lowes has a kit that has the hose and disconnects) Take the regulator off of your current burner and connect the remaining black hose to your new natural gas hose. (You will need to buy a brass fitting to transition between the two) Remove the brass oriface from your burner and you will see a small hole drilled in the end. You will need to expand that hole for use with natural gas. Start with a 1/16th drill bit and test it out. That works great at my elevation 4500 feet but you may need a little larger at lower elevations to match the oxygen levels. You want a nice blue flame so if the flame is small and orange, you can go up one more size. I removed all timers and regulators and adjust my imput with the gas shut off. It works great.
Click to expand...

It's pretty clear to me. If you don't know what "go up one more size" means... this probably isn't the project for you. Gas is dangerous, but anyone who doesn't know the difference between drill bit sizes really should just avoid this project all together and continue to use propane. Just sayn'...
 
kalizonie said:
ok, first you have shut off your main gas at the meter. Then you have to install a shut off and quick disconnect to you home's gas supply. Get a bbq natural gas hose (to work with the quick dissconnect) in the bbq section of you local home improvment store. (lowes has a kit that has the hose and disconnects) take the regulator off of your current burner and connect the remaining black hose to your new natural gas hose. (you will need to buy a brass fitting to transition between the two) remove the brass oriface from your burner and you will see a small hole drilled in the end. You will need to expand that hole for use with natural gas. Start with a 1/16th drill bit and test it out. That works great at my elevation 4500 feet but you may need a little larger at lower elevations to match the oxygen levels. You want a nice blue flame so if the flame is small and orange, you can go up one more size. I removed all timers and regulators and adjust my imput with the gas shut off. It works great.
Click to expand...

any pics or part # for the brass fitting ? JUST TRYING TO PICTURE THIS
 
I just had a full port 3/4" valve plumped up to my NG line. Looking like this is going to work out really nice!! Is it really that easy?

Any problem running four burners at once with the low pressure of NG? Would the amount of burners make a difference for the port size?

Thanks for the help,

BW
 
I have a couple of simple questions regarding this thread.
Can't I just buy a NG burner for a commercial stove that would already be set up perfectly for NG?
And.
Is NG that much cheaper to use than LP?
 
I would be very interested in some sort of tutorial on how to do this to these 2 burners, pictured below. I have Natural Gas at my home and wouldn't take much to pipe it into my brewshed.
burner2.jpg


burner1.jpg
 
You don't have to do anything to those burners. It's the hose and oriface that screw into the burner that you have to drill out.
 
Thanks for taking care of all the legal for me. You must be a lawyer. Yes it is true that this can be dangerous if you do it incorrectly. Be sure to use teflon tape approved for gas piping and seal every joint. Also, be sure to use your burners in a well ventilated area to avoid carbon monoxide exposure. I will take a few pictures of my set up and get a bit more detailed over the weekend. It is true that there is a better set of drill bits that pros use to drill out orifaces. These bit step up a lot slower then your average set but also cost quite a bit. Your standard 1/16 bit should work just fine.
 
Any one running NG through the top burner in post #19?

The LHBS said Blichmann has a propane to NG conversion port that might just screw into the back of an existing burner. Anyone done that?

Thanks,

BW
 
I have a blichmann burner and have been wanting to get the ng conversion. From what I have read it works really well! I think you lose a little efficiency but the cost of natural gas is so much cheaper.
 
B-Dub said:
Any one running NG through the top burner in post #19?

The LHBS said Blichmann has a propane to NG conversion port that might just screw into the back of an existing burner. Anyone done that?

Thanks,

BW
Click to expand...

That looks like the 6" one from agrisupply. Assuming it is the same one, I converted mine to NG by drilling out the threads and tapping it to use the propane to NG conversion valve available from Williams Brewing. Check out the info posted by beeboy in this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/6-low-pressure-burners-227767/

I also have some info and a couple short videos on my blog, http://www.microbusbrewery.org/2011/07/brew-stand-build.html
 
Looks good in the photos and really easy to convert over.

My stand has 4 of those burners from agrisupply and at times all 4 can be on. Does any one know if that is still going to be possible with NG's low psi?

Looks like a BBQ quick disconnect and larger orifice size would do the trick.

BW
 
B-Dub said:
Looks good in the photos and really easy to convert over.

My stand has 4 of those burners from agrisupply and at times all 4 can be on. Does any one know if that is still going to be possible with NG's low psi?

Looks like a BBQ quick disconnect and larger orifice size would do the trick.

BW
Click to expand...

My mash is all electric, so I only have one burner for the boil. I tested it out with a 10 foot 3/8" hose and it worked pretty well but when I plumbed it in my garage I used a 25 foot 1/2" hose. I brew five gallon batches and I can get to boil in about 15-20 minutes.

I believe the hoses will tell you what their BTU rating is. I'm not an expert but I believe the total BTU's of your burners can't exceed the total BTU's of the hose without a loss of performance. So you might be pushing it by trying to run all four at the same time (assuming they're all open full blast). Hopefully there's a plumber on here that can provide better info.
 
I believe the hoses will tell you what their BTU rating is. I'm not an expert but I believe the total BTU's of your burners can't exceed the total BTU's of the hose without a loss of performance. So you might be pushing it by trying to run all four at the same time (assuming they're all open full blast). Hopefully there's a plumber on here that can provide better info.
Click to expand...

I run two boils at some point, but one burner is for the HLT and the other is for cleaning water. Both I can run before or after the boils if the BTUs are effected to much.

Either way I am looking forward to getting off of the propane.

The burners are 70,000 btus and the hose is 160,000 btu rated. The photos of the flame on the burners look a little high for maintaining a rolling boil, so this might work out.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ZIr&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&q=natural+gas+hose&gs_upl=29473l29950l0l30201l4l2l0l0l0l0l161l313l0.2l2l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=642&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14913747851127664951&sa=X&ei=zc-1Toy5G4GoiQKvkqlG&ved=0CIYBEPMCMAI

BW
 
BW,

For our Rig, I bought one of these hoses (15' for around $60) and installed one of these quick connects. Use it with this burner. Had a neighbor (who is a plumber, paid him in beer ;) ) extend out the gas line and he also drilled out the orfaces of the burners (which are originally designed for propane) so that they would work with natural gas. We have a burner under the HLT (far left) and another under the boil kettle (the lower one on the right) and often run both at the same time and get plenty of flame for both.
Works great and never have to change out propane tanks.

Hope that helps...
 
Thanks for the photos Kim.

Do you remember what size bit you used to drill out the orifices? Or was it more trial and error?

Looking forward to making the switch over next week. I plan to start with the burner I can live without; cleaning water. That way if for some reason I can't get it to work right I can still brew with propane the week after.

Thanks,

BW
 
Just drilled out the orifice on my low pressure burners. I used 1/16" bit and it is working great! Even with all 4 burners on the flame is great. Selling my propane high pressure regulators and tanks!!

BW
 
After brewing a few times with the burners drilled out with the 1/16" bit I was noticing a longer lag time from kettle full to boil and heating the water for mash in. I have a craftsman 64 bit set and found the next size up, 5/64" and drilled out one burner.

Now my flames look really good still and everything heats up as good if not better then when I was using propane. I can still open the valve full and the flame does not blow out and all but one or two of the outlet holes have flame.

On yesterday's brew I had the kettle full with 14 gallons at 194 deg. In ten min I was boiling at 212!

BW
 
HI,

I just joined thanks to this thread. The discussion was interesting to me because I have a grill I've converted LP to NG and am considering drilling the holes bigger in the flame tubes (as encouraged to try above).

See my play-list full of videos on it here (vid 1 & 2 are how to convert, the other 6 are actual cooking with it).

What brought me here is the yellow-flames that I have. I'm inclined to take a drill to the flame tubes and make their openings a bit bigger. My hope is that will make the flames more blue.

I've tried opening/closing the air-mix-windows where the gas goes into the flame tube. That didn't make any discernible difference in the flame, but it did actually create a slight burn and brought heat toward the valves to the point where they started having hard-turning. So I've re-closed those windows and it seems to work best that way. But no matter what the flames are yellow.

It doesn't seem to effect the flavor of the food but it is a bit sensitive to wind blowing it out - and would obviously be more efficient with blue'er flames.

Oh and my orifice fittings are removed. My impression is that drilling them and replacing them would only have limited the amount of gas getting into the flame tube (the max-heat on the knob). I do have to set it on low to light it with the ignighter.

One more thing to contribute... The LP regulator output was 3/8" black-pipe compatible. So you definitely don't need that $60 conversion hose. Just remove the hose from the regulator and attach that to the gas from the house with an appropriate reducer (1/2" or 3/4" to 3/8" - also visible in my videos too).
 
Kalizonie said:
I am an HVAC tech and I have converted my turkey fryers to natural gas and it works GREAT!! You have to get a a few fittings from LOWES or Home Depot to set up the gas line. You have to remove all regulators or timers and then drill out the propane orifice. It runs at a lower PSI so you need more volume thus the drilling out. I can give you set by step instructions if you want me to.
Click to expand...

Hi kalizone
It is some time since you posted your offer to help. I would really appreciate step by step instructions. I have just bought a Bayou Classic "Kick A Banjo Burner" with 10" burner. Thanks a lot.
Eric
 
Kalizonie said:
I am an HVAC tech and I have converted my turkey fryers to natural gas and it works GREAT!! You have to get a a few fittings from LOWES or Home Depot to set up the gas line. You have to remove all regulators or timers and then drill out the propane orifice. It runs at a lower PSI so you need more volume thus the drilling out. I can give you set by step instructions if you want me to.
Click to expand...
Hi. I see this is a very old post, but if this email reaches you, directions would be AWESOME!\
Thanks, Joe
 
Kalizonie said:
I am an HVAC tech and I have converted my turkey fryers to natural gas and it works GREAT!! You have to get a a few fittings from LOWES or Home Depot to set up the gas line. You have to remove all regulators or timers and then drill out the propane orifice. It runs at a lower PSI so you need more volume thus the drilling out. I can give you set by step instructions if you want me to.
Click to expand...
I would like the step by step instructions if your offer is still available.
 

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