Brutus Pilot Ignition

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mplutodh1

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How is Lonnie igniting the pilot in Brutus? Being that his pilot is just a ball valve and small flow burner - standing by for the ASCO to open up flow to the jet burner.

I don't see anything in the BYO article or the photos that would suggest they are spark ignited, etc - does anyone know? Is Lonnie lighting his pilots manually at the beginning of a brewing session?

We're working on our plans for our build and after much discussion/debate today we think we only need to really control the HLT burner (we're building a HERMS btw) with the Love switches - and would setup a standing pilot, thermowell, etc (furnace setup) on that burner but the BK would be just a simple "on / off" - flip a switch and kick that burner into gear.

We'll be sure to post our plans, diagrams, etc - would love to have some folks review it and see if we're completely off our rockers or have it right!

Thanks guys
 
I would suggest using the same pilot burner type for all the burners and a Piezo electric spark lighter electrode where the thermocouple should be on the non controlled burners. You will need a needle valve in the feed line to the pilot burners not attached to the gas valve to regulate pilot flame size, and a shut off valve so you do not have to readjust needle valves each time you use pilots. The pilot burners are a bit more tolerant of stray breezes than non mixing type although they cost a bit more than a smashed piece of tubing.
 
I take it you're suggesting that valve setup for safety reasons? (wind?)

Quickly increases our build cost and ideally our MLT burner is never on - only installing in the event we have temperature control issues - we won't ruin a batch completely. BK though is just simply "ON" where the HLT could cycle on and off to maintain temps.

Would like to reduce complexity and cost wherever possible.
 
For the automatic control the safety of the standing pilot valve is advised, for attended boil and other heating applications a pilot burner without control valve is handy. The two items that can cause problems are running low on propane and burner the flames out then gas flow resumes as tank warms up again, and wind blowing out pilot burner. If you manage the tank levels and watch burner operation then the safety valve setup is not as imperitave, but if you leave system unattended for significant periods of time then consider safety systems.
 

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