How much propane do you use per brew?

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ArcaneXor

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I was just wondering how much propane you use on a standard brewday (mash/sparge/boil) for a 5-gallon batch, and what type of burner you are using.

I read that some people run through a whole 20-lb tank each time, whereas I use 2-2.5 lbs per brew on my $40 58,000 BTU Bass Pro turkey fryer. I will want to upgrade to a stand eventually, but obviously don't want to be stuck with a burner that eats through ridiculous amounts of gas.
 
Not really sure yet... I had my tank filled up when it was really cold, then it got warm, so it released some of the propane (not sure how much I lost)... Then we used my burner to boil a 10 gallon batch, plus I had to condition the aluminum kettle, so that was going for a while... I did brew a 5 gallon batch after that, and still have propane left. Just not sure how much is left in the tank. I think before my next brew day, I'll need to get another propane tank, so that I have a spare... Just in case I need it... Besides, having the third tank (I have one on my gas grill) means that it won't matter which tank runs out first, I'll still have a spare for the other.

For reference, my burner is the KAB4... Same burner that Blichmann uses on their setup, just sans the stainless shell around it and smancy line... :D Rated at 210k BTU by the maker... :ban:
 
I use a 50K burner for my HLT and 110K for my BK. I think I'm averaging about a tank for every three brews but I have two tanks in rotation so it's hard to tell. I certainly don't refill more than a tank every three brews though--maybe a little more.
 
I use about 2 dollars of electricity per 15 gallon batch. Propane tank stays full unless I'm grilling.. ;)
If I cold sparge, I only use 1.68 because the last 7 gallons are cold taking the heat out of the mash. I hate dumping hot grain outside when I'm trying to reach a boil.
 
I use about 2 dollars of electricity per 15 gallon batch. Propane tank stays full unless I'm grilling.. ;)
Actually after I calculated it, its more like $1.37 @ .12KWH

That's relative to the OP how? Of course, you didn't post up batch sizes... :p

I'm still dialing in my system, so I won't really know for a while... I'm sure I'll burn more in the colder months than the warmer ones.

I'd rather be able to get my wort up to a boil in 10-15 minutes (5 gallon batch sizes) than have it take over an hour. All the heat sticks I've seen listed through the online HBS say that they get over 5 gallons to a boil in an hour (or more)... Sorry, but that doesn't cut it for me... Larger heat sticks will use more juice to get the wort up to temp. It could be balanced by the shorter lag time to boil, but you'll still have the boil time...

Besides, there's something very primal about cooking with fire... :D
 
I don't know how much propane it is in pounds or gallons, but for my last brew I maked the tank at the frost line that forms on the outside from drawing off the propane at high pressure and flow. Looks like I use about 1 3/4" to 2" as indicated on the straight part of the middle of the tank. From that I'm estimating 4-5 brews per tank. That's the best I can do for now. Don't think I'll ever really get a accurate read either as I never like to start a brew with less than 1/3 tank. I save or swap those tanks onto the grill.
 
I'm doing 10 gallon batches on 2 burners (HLT and Kettle) and I use probably about 1/3 tank per batch.
 
That's relative to the OP how? Of course, you didn't post up batch sizes... :p

I'm still dialing in my system, so I won't really know for a while... I'm sure I'll burn more in the colder months than the warmer ones.

I'd rather be able to get my wort up to a boil in 10-15 minutes (5 gallon batch sizes) than have it take over an hour. All the heat sticks I've seen listed through the online HBS say that they get over 5 gallons to a boil in an hour (or more)... Sorry, but that doesn't cut it for me... Larger heat sticks will use more juice to get the wort up to temp. It could be balanced by the shorter lag time to boil, but you'll still have the boil time...

Besides, there's something very primal about cooking with fire... :D

Actually in my quote I said it was a 15 gallon batch?;)
I use a 5500w element immersed in the wort, its faster than the propane burner I had before. 15 minutes from power on to boil and I have to wait awhile to hit the switch when sparging. (have to cover the element)
 
I use two coolers, one for my HLT and one for my mash tun. I have a 160000 btu burner for my kettle that I've started using this year and I've gotten 3 five gallon batches out of one 20 lb tank.
 
I go through about 5 lbs per 5 gallon batch. I weigh the tank after each batch with a 50 lb fish scale so I know weather or not It'll make it through the next brew day. Walmart sells a 50 lb fish scale for about 6 bucks.
 
It's very interesting how much variance there is among us. Seems like 3-5 lbs per 5-gallon batch is the norm, and about 7 lbs per 10-gallon batch.

Beernerd, pavs and bctdi, what brand/model of burner are you using?
 
I was just wondering how much propane you use on a standard brewday (mash/sparge/boil) for a 5-gallon batch, and what type of burner you are using.

I read that some people run through a whole 20-lb tank each time, whereas I use 2-2.5 lbs per brew on my $40 58,000 BTU Bass Pro turkey fryer. I will want to upgrade to a stand eventually, but obviously don't want to be stuck with a burner that eats through ridiculous amounts of gas.

I only use propane for heating and boiling after sparge. I weigh the propane tank on a digital bathroom scale after each brew. My batches are typically 7.6 gallons at start of boil, 5.5 gallons in the fermenter after 90 minutes of boil. For this I use on the average 3.2# of propane. On rare occasions I boil for only 60 minutes and then I use about 2.5# of propane. Burner is Bayou SP10.
 
I was using too damn much propane per batch, maybe got 3-4 batches out of each tank. It was so frustrating not knowing if you were gonna run out or not. I had two tanks but still was a hassle getting them filled. If you have natural gas in your house, I recommend running a line so that you can brew with natural gas. It is such a relief.

Besides that, I've read if you have some kind of heat shield around the burner, you will save a lot of propane. There are a few threads about it, I think some people said they went form 3 brews per tank to 5 or 6.
 
I have no idea what we are doing wrong then. We go through almost 2 20lb tanks for a 15gal batch. I think we have the burner to far away from the kettle. There is about a 3" gap between the burner and kettle.
 
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