I just picked up a backyard classics turkey fryer at walmart for $27. Has a 30 qt. aluminum pot. It makes no mention on the box about how many btu's it puts out. Anybody here know how long it will take me to get a full boil going with this? Anybody have one like this that can tell me how well it works? I'm pretty eager to put together the rest of my equipment to try an all grain batch.
Backyard classics turkey fryer
- Thread starter JeepGuy
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JeepGuy said:
Those turkey fryers are very often 55k BTU. I used one for my first AG batch last weekend, and it worked fine. You might need a little more time to get things boiling, but not too much lonfer. Once you get it going on a boil, the 55k BTU burners are more than sufficient for keeping it going. In fact, I had to turn the flame DOWN because my 6.5 gallons of wort was boiling a little too hard.
-walker
It'll take about 30 minutes to get a good boil going. Most of us use those types of burners.
JeepGuy
Well-Known Member
Thanks guys. I just saw a post by JimiGibbs on this same page about the same fryer. I'll post a link pretty quick to send people that way. Looks like a pretty good deal though.
edit---here's the link
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16695
edit---here's the link
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16695
Evan!
Well-Known Member
definitely a good deal. I got 2 for $37 ea., so if you found it for $24, jump on it...I can get my wort from mash/sparge temp up to a boil in 5 mins.
cha ngo
Well-Known Member
This interests me because my 10 gal batches consistently take 40 minutes to boil. What volume are you getting to boil in 10 min?debtman7 said:
I think I'm going to go get one of these tomorrow at lunch time. I just need a burner, and I want it NOW, and having the whole fryer set-up would be cool, and there is a walmart a couple miles from my office, and I have a $50 budget, and....
I'm debating whether it would be easier, long-term, to have a pair of burners. I have a Bayou Classic Banjo Cooker on the way. But, we've bought my brother-in-law a basic brew kit for xmas, and I know he needs a big pot; if we split a fryer, $15 - $20 each, he gets a big aluminum pot to brew in and I get a second fryer. Just not sure whether it will ever really be useful to have two, like, if I'm starting to boil the first runnings while still heating sparge water, or if I want to directly heat a mash tun. Dunno.
debtman7 said:
And you are boiling what, 3 gallons?
When I heat up my sparge water from ground water temp it takes 30-45 at least. Boiling 8 gallons it is at least 20-30 minutes every time.
Dude said:
Last time I used it I made spaghetti for 60 people
I don't know exactly how much water I had in it, but it was mostly full so I'd estimate at least 5 gallons. I had a rolling boil in less than 10 minutes. I was pretty sure it was a 55k BTU burner, but if everyone else takes 30 minutes to reach a boil, then perhaps mine is a higher output one. It was a walmart after thanksgiving el cheapo special though, so I always assumed that it wasn't terribly powerful.
Maybe debtman7 is doing his boils at the Everest base camp.
Sherpa Stout anyone?
Sherpa Stout anyone?
I think it depends on the pot that you are using also. If you use the cheap aluminum pot that it comes with you might get a fast boil. I use a keggle, and it takes at least 25 minutes to go from sparage temps to boiling.
I'm irked.
JeepGuy measured his burner's top surface for me (thanks!) and it's 12.25" on a side. I need to be able to put a keggle on it, and kegs are 17" in diameter.
This doesn't look safe to me.
JeepGuy measured his burner's top surface for me (thanks!) and it's 12.25" on a side. I need to be able to put a keggle on it, and kegs are 17" in diameter.
This doesn't look safe to me.
I keep talking about it, but the Banjo Cooker is supposed to be 17" in diameter (and I thought kegs were closer to 16"). That's one of the reasons I sprung for it, rather than a turkey fryer. It's also really low to the ground, which might be a PITA for some people (my deck has two levels, so I can deal with that pretty easily).
rdwj
Well-Known Member
Walker-san said:This doesn't look safe to me.
Honestly, I think that's fine. It touches at all 4 corners. You'd need a pretty big push to knock that over.
rdwj said:
The bottom of a keggle is rounded except for the outter rim, so the only place the keg would touch the burner is at those four small contact points at the corners. It wouldn't take much bumping for the keg's rim to slip off the corner and this would send the keg tipping over in a hurry.
Here's what the cross section of the keggle looks like:
the_bird said:
According to the info I found on the web, a half barrel is 17" in diameter.
I didn't actually measure mine at home this morning, so I can only go by what I found here http://www.alabev.com/draught.htm
and here
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer-edu/faqs-cid-87.html
rdwj
Well-Known Member
Walker-san said:
Ah, I see whyat you're saying - ya, that's bad! Can you weld at all or do you know anyone that can? Seems like you should be able to rig up the necessary support without much trouble.
JeepGuy said:
Yeah, I thought about either doing that, or building a 16" frame to rest the keg on. The burner could sit inside that frame... the keg would never actually touch the burner's frame directly.
But.... if I do that, the price of this becomes less attractive and I could just buy one of the bayou classic 16"x16" burners and be DAMN sure it would work great.
PROBLEM SOLVED! (Actually... there never really was a problem.)
Walmart is selling two different turkey fryer set-ups.
One is $37, and includes the burner, 30qt pot, thermometer, and turkey "rack". This one comes with the 12.25"x12.25" frame.
The other fryer set is $49, and includes everything above, plus a steamer basket, smaller (10qt) pot, a little scooping spoon, gigantic hypodermic needle, and has a 13.5"x13.75" frame (it's also got an electric ignition, which kicks ass).
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5155897
That second set is the one I had been looking at on line this whole time, and was the one I was planning to get.
Furthermore, my keggle is NOT 17" in diameter as the internet resources I found had be believing. It is actually 15.75" in diameter.
So... I'm all set. I picked up the fryer today and checked it out with my keggle. I've got a good 2+ inches of clearance at the corners.
I am a happy guy.
Walmart is selling two different turkey fryer set-ups.
One is $37, and includes the burner, 30qt pot, thermometer, and turkey "rack". This one comes with the 12.25"x12.25" frame.
The other fryer set is $49, and includes everything above, plus a steamer basket, smaller (10qt) pot, a little scooping spoon, gigantic hypodermic needle, and has a 13.5"x13.75" frame (it's also got an electric ignition, which kicks ass).
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5155897
That second set is the one I had been looking at on line this whole time, and was the one I was planning to get.
Furthermore, my keggle is NOT 17" in diameter as the internet resources I found had be believing. It is actually 15.75" in diameter.
So... I'm all set. I picked up the fryer today and checked it out with my keggle. I've got a good 2+ inches of clearance at the corners.
I am a happy guy.
I own one, and the only complaint I have is that the thermometer is not accurate at all. It refuses to read below 80F unless you pour cold water on it, and it's not even close to my floating thermometer (which I think might read a little low).
I have 2 thermometers, and I can't tell which one (or both) is wrong. But I will say that sitting the one that came in the turkey kit in the cooled wort was WRONG. It said 80F for about an hour until we realized that it was probably closer to 65F, as the wort was actually 'cold' to the touch.
I have 2 thermometers, and I can't tell which one (or both) is wrong. But I will say that sitting the one that came in the turkey kit in the cooled wort was WRONG. It said 80F for about an hour until we realized that it was probably closer to 65F, as the wort was actually 'cold' to the touch.
rdwj
Well-Known Member
put me on the long list of guys that purchased one of these - have my first outdoor/basement brewing experience today! I have a walkout basement, so it should work out well
jezter6 said:
Thanks.... I'll keep this in mind. I didn't really have any intention of using the thermometer that came with it (I've got three other thermometers already in my took kit), but it's nice to know that it is of questionable accuracy.
-walker
rdwj
Well-Known Member
Walker-san said:
I don't think that thermometer is designed for our needs. It's for the really hot oil you deep fry in and is probably accurate enough for that purpose.
rdwj said:
Yeah, that's probably right. I have the same issue with my digital probe thermometer. At temps under 85°F it doesn't really give you a reliable reading.
I rely on my floating thermometer for anything below 150°F.
Walker-san said:
You should learn to trust me! I told you I thought it was closer to 16".
rdwj
Well-Known Member
Using this burner for the first time right now - MAN is it AWESOME! Full boil in about 15 minutes!!! Had a small boil-over that would have pissed SWMBO off to NO end, but because I was on the patio - no BFD. A little hose action and all was well!
This thing is going to make my brewing life SO much better!!!!
This thing is going to make my brewing life SO much better!!!!
Beer Weevel
Well-Known Member
I have a "kick a Banjo Burner" Model KAB4 and use a Keggle on it all the time and yes Walker-San a keggle is 16" and the burner is 17" it works well but in time I will weld a little extra skirt onto it so it will not slip off if it is bumped!!!! but it is a great combination and this burner kicks ass!!!!!!!the_bird said:
