Propane Burner Question

In a nutshell -- do these badboys need replacing after a while? I have a custom keggle burner stand that I got almost ten years ago when I first started brewing. it sat unused for several years and now I'm having some issues with it.

1st, I can't crank it to high. If I turn the regulator to high and the o2 intake to min, then the flame is yellow and sooty, but all there. The SECOND I try and open that o2 intake, it starts to flutter and sputter at the openings. Eventually, it blows itself right out.

Here's the style burner it is: BURNER STYLE

Mine is rusty and I had to replace the bolt in the middle. I just took the whole thing apart and cleaned it out with a brush/cleaner etc. After drying it still won't burn right.

2nd, even when it does, I get a weak boil (5 gallons). I'm using my heatstick just to get a rolling boil, when in theory this should be capable of boiling a 10 gallon batch.

Time for a replacement? Regulator?

Darned if I know. What do you think?

-- Tallon

You might try taking it apart and cleaning it. But if it is really rusty, it may be time to give it a decent burial--at least the burner. I had a gas grill that I kept forever, and eventually I had replaced everything but the carcass: hoses, venturis, starter, regulator, burners. It's up to you whether or not replacing the pieces is worth it to you. But if you live long enough, everything breaks (There is a world view in there somewhere).

This may not be relevant to you but I have had experiences where the sequence of connecting the hose and opening the valves messes with the proper flow of the fuel. Not sure how or why. It tends to work correctly when I close both of the valves (tank & regulator), disconnect the hose and let it set for a bit, then reconnect the hose, then open the tank valve ALL THE WAY, then open the regulator valve and relight.

I've noticed on some of the cheaper burners some of the flame holes will sputter out faster than others leading me to believe that the hole is somehow disturbing the gas flow which causes the flame to separate from the burner base and start the sputtering / jet action. I'm thinking of polishing up the holes with a dremel tool to see if it has any effect.

Mine has sat out in the rain for a couple days at a time. Its not the burner, its the orifice. take the burner apart and give it a good wire brushing. Remove the orifice and run a jet cleaner(bread bag tie wire if it fits) through it. The jet sounds like the culprit. Also close up the airvent. Excess air may make it roar but it can cool and blow the flame out unless the burner is already hot enough to preheat the gas.

A louder burner is not hotter than one that is adjusted down with the air slide. The more air the burner gets the more it blows the heat away from your burner and keggle. I now run mine almost closed, I get better fuel economy and faster boils then when the air slides were wide open.

beerthirty said:

Mine has sat out in the rain for a couple days at a time. Its not the burner, its the orifice. take the burner apart and give it a good wire brushing. Remove the orifice and run a jet cleaner(bread bag tie wire if it fits) through it. The jet sounds like the culprit.

Click to expand...

Stupid question -- what is the orifice? Is that the pinhole opening in the regulator hose?

The only reason I open the air valve is to get a nice blue flame. I can only get a small blue flame that is stable. Bis and blue = sputter out.

-- T.

The oricfice is the pinhole size hole(usually in a brass fitting attached directly to the burner). The hose attaches to it. The orifice is sized to determine NG or propane fuel. The proper adjustment of the airslide is to achieve a blue tipped flame. When I ran my burner lean like you seem to be explaining, I had to start with a small flame and as the burner heated up, could increase the gas flow. Now that the airslide is almost closed, it will instantly light without worry of a flame out.

One word.

"Banjo"

BM you are wasting a lot of fuel there. There is no wort in the air around the outside of the skirt. Back on topic, even your "banjo" has an orifice which could be subject to the same issues OP is having. I know we all hate to admit to having a dirty orifice but time to time, **** happens.

BierMuncher said:

One word.

"Banjo"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OcGY3bKkME

Click to expand...

what model banjo is that? Mine is the KAB4 and my pot sits a lot higher off the burner because of the way the stand is built.

beerthirty said:

The oricfice is the pinhole size hole(usually in a brass fitting attached directly to the burner). The hose attaches to it. The orifice is sized to determine NG or propane fuel. The proper adjustment of the airslide is to achieve a blue tipped flame. When I ran my burner lean like you seem to be explaining, I had to start with a small flame and as the burner heated up, could increase the gas flow. Now that the airslide is almost closed, it will instantly light without worry of a flame out.

Click to expand...

Ah. Okay -- the orifice adapter on mine is more firmly attached to the hose of the regulator. so I have: REGULATOR -> HOSE -> ORIFICE -> SPRING -> O2 FLAP -> BURNER.

I'll try giving that a clean.

Does anyone with that style burner have any imput as to how fast your wort reaches boil? Mayhaps I worry too much?

-- T.

I have that burner but mine are rated at 170,000btu. Not sure if the difference is orifice size or hi pressure reg. I have never turned them up all the way and can get 14G to boil in about 30 min.

I had the same burner with the same problem, a customer of mine gave me their never use stainless steel turkey fryer no pot just the stand and a full bottle of propane to boot. Clean it out if you can or replace it with a banjo burner. I had much better results.

Elshauno said:

I had the same burner with the same problem, a customer of mine gave me their never use stainless steel turkey fryer no pot just the stand and a full bottle of propane to boot. Clean it out if you can or replace it with a banjo burner. I had much better results.

Click to expand...

Never used, so it had never encountered the elements as the OP and mine had. IMO dont replace what can be cleaned to work as good as new.

It sat out on a patio for 2 years the stainless looked new but the burner was rusted up so bad that it the bolt holding the burner on was stripped. I spent a good while cleaning it out got it burning cleaner. It took 15 bucks to replace the burner with a banjo type. I still have the other burner though I haven't been able to get the center screw out