Advantages of a new burner

I am currently very content with the crab pot propane burner I use that I borrowed from my father-in-law, however my curiousity is getting the best of me.

I do full volume boils (5 gal batch) and was wondering if there is really any advantage to getting a blichmann floor burner or banjo burner etc.

Will it really make that much of a difference?

For five gallon batches, no.

But if you move up to ten gallon batches...

Whether you are doing 5 or 10 gallon batches, you are going to see a difference. You will see shorter times to reach a boil and definitely better gas efficiency.

Dylan42 said:

I am currently very content with the crab pot propane burner I use that I borrowed from my father-in-law, however my curiousity is getting the best of me.

I do full volume boils (5 gal batch) and was wondering if there is really any advantage to getting a blichmann floor burner or banjo burner etc.

Will it really make that much of a difference?

Click to expand...

I've been boiling 7 gallons on the stove, and am considering buying a propane burner and moving to the garage. I think I'm going to go for the Blichmann, but buying a new burner is definitely a different question than replacing one. So, here are my questions to you to to help you make your decision:

1. How long does it take you to get your batch from room temp to boil? A higher BTU burner will make that faster, but is that a problem you really have? If half of your brew day is waiting for water or wort to heat up like mine currently is, it could be well worth it.

2. How much propane does your burner use? I haven't seen anything quantifying this, but from what I understand, the Blichmann is pretty efficient in it's fuel use. If you use several tanks of propane a year on your burner, that may add up to savings, but that seems somewhat unlikely to me. In combination with some of the other considerations, it could tip the scale though.

3. How clean is your burner? From what I've read, some cheaper burners turn the bottom of the pot black. Does this happen to you? If so, how much time do you spend cleaning it?

4. Do you just want it because it looks good? This sounds derogatory, but it really isn't. If your homebrew setup looks like something that would fit in at a junkyard, and you take up your garage or patio with it once a month, you and the people you live with and near might appreciate something that fits in a bit better.

Those are four areas that I understand the Blichmann to have advantages, whether or not they make a difference to you is your call.

TallDan said:

I've been boiling 7 gallons on the stove, and am considering buying a propane burner and moving to the garage. I think I'm going to go for the Blichmann, but buying a new burner is definitely a different question than replacing one. So, here are my questions to you to to help you make your decision:

1. How long does it take you to get your batch from room temp to boil? A higher BTU burner will make that faster, but is that a problem you really have? If half of your brew day is waiting for water or wort to heat up like mine currently is, it could be well worth it.

2. How much propane does your burner use? I haven't seen anything quantifying this, but from what I understand, the Blichmann is pretty efficient in it's fuel use. If you use several tanks of propane a year on your burner, that may add up to savings, but that seems somewhat unlikely to me. In combination with some of the other considerations, it could tip the scale though.

3. How clean is your burner? From what I've read, some cheaper burners turn the bottom of the pot black. Does this happen to you? If so, how much time do you spend cleaning it?

4. Do you just want it because it looks good? This sounds derogatory, but it really isn't. If your homebrew setup looks like something that would fit in at a junkyard, and you take up your garage or patio with it once a month, you and the people you live with and near might appreciate something that fits in a bit better.

Those are four areas that I understand the Blichmann to have advantages, whether or not they make a difference to you is your call.

Click to expand...

Great points. I have the Blichmann and if you can afford it, then do it! It's expensive but well worth it and it will last your entire brewing career.

I bit the bullet a couple months back and couldn't be happier that I did.

TallDan said:

1. How long does it take you to get your batch from room temp to boil? A higher BTU burner will make that faster, but is that a problem you really have? If half of your brew day is waiting for water or wort to heat up like mine currently is, it could be well worth it.

2. How much propane does your burner use? I haven't seen anything quantifying this, but from what I understand, the Blichmann is pretty efficient in it's fuel use. If you use several tanks of propane a year on your burner, that may add up to savings, but that seems somewhat unlikely to me. In combination with some of the other considerations, it could tip the scale though.

3. How clean is your burner? From what I've read, some cheaper burners turn the bottom of the pot black. Does this happen to you? If so, how much time do you spend cleaning it?

4. Do you just want it because it looks good? This sounds derogatory, but it really isn't. If your homebrew setup looks like something that would fit in at a junkyard, and you take up your garage or patio with it once a month, you and the people you live with and near might appreciate something that fits in a bit better.

Those are four areas that I understand the Blichmann to have advantages, whether or not they make a difference to you is your call.

Click to expand...

1. I dont think it takes entirely long to get my water (wort for partial/ag) to a boil, if I had to guess it probably takes 20-30 min.

2. I cant really say, I just exchanged the tank after 4 batches and it may not have been full because I got it used from father-in-law.

3. This is a serious problem it turns my beautiful kettle and keggle black on the bottom and sides (towards bottom) I have to scrub it off after every brew day.

4. Yes, the blichmann would look 10x better than what I got.

So I guess, if the blichmann or equal burner boils wort/water faster, and doesn't leave black charcoal film all over my equipment then it may be beneficial for me to look into getting one.

Is blichmann one of the best IWO floor burners? Is the Darkstar from NB just a fancy glorified crab pot burner? Or is a banjo burner better?

The BTU rating is only half of the equation. An important thing to think about when purchasing a patio stove is the efficiency rating of the burner. A sooty flame is a dead giveaway that one's stove is not efficient. The soot is the result of incomplete combustion. A yellow flame or yellow-tipped flame is an inefficient flame. The burner used in the Blichmann and the Banjo burns with a blue flame, which means that these stoves are very efficient. A stove with an efficient burner will pay for itself over time in fuel savings.

I have been through several brewhouses in my amateur brewing career; therefore, I have learned to "buy once, cry once." What appears to be expensive today will be a bargain if you stick with the hobby because you will not be continuously churning your gear. Plus, if you stick with the hobby for more than a couple of years and move up to all-grain brewing, yeast banking, and start buying malted barley and hops in bulk, your gear will pay for itself many times over (where can one purchase a case of craft brewery-quality beer for six to eight dollars?).

I brewed for ten years before talking almost an eleven year hiatus from the hobby. No hobby in which I have been engaged since quitting brewing in late 2002 has had the same return on investment. I am in the process of rebuilding my brewhouse, beer dispensing system, and my home-based lab because I foolishly sold off my brewing gear, kegging system, and labware for a song a couple of years ago. I am buying what I want because I know the true of cost of going cheap.

Dylan42 said:

1. I dont think it takes entirely long to get my water (wort for partial/ag) to a boil, if I had to guess it probably takes 20-30 min.

2. I cant really say, I just exchanged the tank after 4 batches and it may not have been full because I got it used from father-in-law.

3. This is a serious problem it turns my beautiful kettle and keggle black on the bottom and sides (towards bottom) I have to scrub it off after every brew day.

4. Yes, the blichmann would look 10x better than what I got.

So I guess, if the blichmann or equal burner boils wort/water faster, and doesn't leave black charcoal film all over my equipment then it may be beneficial for me to look into getting one.

Is blichmann one of the best IWO floor burners? Is the Darkstar from NB just a fancy glorified crab pot burner? Or is a banjo burner better?

Click to expand...

IMO, the Blichmann is the best. There is no other company out there making burners with stainless stands.

If the stand is not a concern for you, then use a banjo burner. I have several friends that like theirs.

Don't get a jet burner. They are loud and inefficient.

EarlyAmateurZymurgist said:

The BTU rating is only half of the equation. An important thing to think about when purchasing a patio stove is the efficiency rating of the burner. A sooty flame is a dead giveaway that one's stove is not efficient. The soot is the result of incomplete combustion. A yellow flame or yellow-tipped flame is an inefficient flame. The burner used in the Blichmann and the Banjo burns with a blue flame, which means that these stoves are very efficient. A stove with an efficient burner will pay for itself over time in fuel savings.

I have been through several brewhouses in my amateur brewing career; therefore, I have learned to "buy once, cry once" the hard way. What appears to be expensive today will be a bargain if you stick with the hobby because you will not be continuously churning your gear. Plus, if you stick with the hobby for more than a couple of years and move up to all-grain brewing, yeast banking, and start buying malted barley and hops in bulk, your gear will pay for itself many times over (where can you purchase a case of craft brewery-quality beer for six to eight dollars?).

I brewed for ten years before talking almost an eleven year hiatus from the hobby. No hobby in which I have been engaged since quitting brewing in late 2002 has had the same return on investment. I am in the process of rebuilding my brewhouse, beer dispensing system, and my home-based lab because I foolishly sold off my brewing gear, kegging system, and labware for a song a couple of years ago. I am buying what I want because I know the true of cost of going cheap.

Click to expand...

PJoyce85 said:

IMO, the Blichmann is the best. There is no other company out there making burners with stainless stands.

If the stand is not a concern for you, then use a banjo burner. I have several friends that like theirs.

Don't get a jet burner. They are loud and inefficient.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I love this hobby and appreciate the advice. Im leaning towards a blichmann with leg extensions.

I have the Bayou classic Banjo burner and I am very happy with it. I've seen the Blichmann in action as well and the stainless is very pretty, but the $60 difference was just a little much for me at the time. They have the same burner and are both built very well. I'd say the Blichmann would definitely last longer over a lifetime, but I also don't see my Banjo burner falling apart anytime soon. I guess I look at them kind of like the difference between a toyota and a lexus, both are reliable and will get the job done, one will just do it with a little more style.

Definitely stay away from anything that doesn't have the Blichmann style burner though. I started wtih a turkey fryer that I had had for a couple of years. It just uses waay too much gas.

I have heard nothing but great things about the blichman and I would buy it if I could get the cost past the swmbo. I bought the dark star from northern brewer and have been very pleased with it and the price is right.

I went w the sq14 i believe and gave it a go this weekend. for 44 bucks shipped it worked great... and considering my tank has been used for grilling for over 12 months I got a 90 minute boil out of it and still have some left it seemed to be efficient. IT is a bit noisy but brought the 8 gal to a boil in prob 15 minutes. Once it got going I was able to turn it way down to maintain the boil.
Based on looks, efficiency I'd love to have a blichmann.... but didn't have the 170 for the get up at the time.