Question about brewing outdoors

I have brewed 4 batches, always on my stove, in my apartment.

Haven't brewed in over a year, but now I own a house and a new outdoor gas grill with side burner. Getting ready to start a new batch weekend after next...

Has anyone used their side burner on their outdoor grill to boil their wort?

I realize a lot of people use propane burners, so it seems logical to me that the side burner on my grill would work. And in case of a boil over (which I have had once indoors) the clean up would be so much easier...

Thanks in advance...

I doubt it would have enough BTUs, and I doubt it would support the weight of a full wort boil. I bought a $45 burner at Home Depot that supposedly kicks out 150k BTUs, works like a mofo (I also have the Banjo Cooker, equally awesome, I needed a second one). It's also Bayou Classic, it's the square one; I think it rang up as a "patio stove".

This comes up every once in a while, They are not meant to or capable of holding enough weight in most cases. Not only that, they are drastically underpowered for bringing large ammounts of water up to a rolling boil. Not saying you cant, but you would be better off buying a 20.00 burner from wally world.. Safer, Easier, Faster.

Is that a full 6 gallon boil you're talking about? I don't know that the little burner on the side of your grill would put out enough BTUs to get to a rolling boil in a reasonable amount of time. You should do a dry run with just water before you commit to using it. If you're doing partial boils and topping up you should be fine.

*edit* You guys are quicker on the draw than I am. I'll just shut up now.

thanks guys, appreciate the helpful info.

looks like i should just invest in a stand alone burner...

Fingers said:

Is that a full 6 gallon boil you're talking about? I don't know that the little burner on the side of your grill would put out enough BTUs to get to a rolling boil in a reasonable amount of time. You should do a dry run with just water before you commit to using it. If you're doing partial boils and topping up you should be fine.

Click to expand...

it would be a partial boil, but still 2 to 2.5 gallons...

the burner would probably be a good investment for me...

This is the one I just bought...




Overkill for partial boils, but get yourself a wort chiller and you can upgrade to full boils easily (big improvement in quality). I was shocked at how quickly it got me up to temp, and I actually like it vbetter that the Banjo Burner (this one is more easily adjustable and seemed to burn cleaner).

I love my Banjo and I highly recommend it. I typically bring 15 gallons up to 170 degrees then bring the 12 gallons of wort to a rolling boil in under half an hour.

Bird, think that would work well as a second burner for ten gallon batches? If so, what did you pay for it?

It SAID on the recipt it was 150k BTUs and I believe it; it's also bigger, so it's a better fit for a keggle. I was only doing a 5 gallon batch, but I think you'd be fine using it for ten.

EDIT: $45.

the_bird said:

This is the one I just bought...

Overkill for partial boils, but get yourself a wort chiller and you can upgrade to full boils easily (big improvement in quality). I was shocked at how quickly it got me up to temp, and I actually like it vbetter that the Banjo Burner (this one is more easily adjustable and seemed to burn cleaner).

Click to expand...

thanks man... that's exactly what I should invest in right there