Burner Wind Shield Design Considerations...

I'm going to write an article for my homebrewing website about designing the wind shields around the burners in a RIMS or HERMS system. It seems that the wind shield design is something that can have pronounced effects on the burner's efficiency as well as heat transfer and its intended purpose of keeping the burners from blowing out from high winds.

I'd like to get some feedback from brewers that have tried different designs and based on actual performance, whether the designs worked or not. Any other ideas on wind shield design would be appreciated. I'll let the thread run for a while then compile the best data and write the article. Hopefully it will help others who may not have considered the impact the shields have on burner performance.

I made a wind shield for my turkey frier burner. It was a basic round stand on three legs and I made a metal cylinder the diameter of the stand that extends up about 8 to 10'inches and down to just above the burner tube. The bottom two or three inches is perforated metal. The perforated metal turned out to be very important as without it the flame blew out easier than without the shield. I think the perforated metal creates turbulence and keeps the velocity of the air down. Without it it let's wind blow at high velocity through the burner area. I got the idea from a zippo lighter. Now I can run the burner in very high winds and it transmits way more heat to the pot.

Do you have a picture?

Brewers hardware actually sells one.

When I added a custom shield it made a HUGE difference during cold winter days.

Crabnut said:

Do you have a picture?

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I will try to get one this weekend.

I just notched and wedged some chimney flue transitions into my BM frame and left them supported by the burner braces. Not an original idea of mine but I stole it nonetheless.

I got some 12" Galvanized duct work and fabed up some brackets to hold them under & around my burners. It's works great. they're about 12" tall. I'll try and get some pics.

perkins98 said:

I got some 12" Galvanized duct work and fabed up some brackets to hold them under & around my burners. It's works great. they're about 12" tall. I'll try and get some pics.

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Any issues with fumes from the galvanized? I remember reading that you don't want to weld galvanized metal due to the fumes, but I'm not sure if a burner poses the same issues...

I too used the duct work and cut notches so the crossbars of my burner stand hold it in place. For the first few brews I was brewing in my basement with a fan blowing on the burner and all the windows open, so never noticed any fumes. The wind shield seems to direct more heat and my boils started just a bit faster, definitely faster when I was able to brew outside. You can see a pic of how I did it.

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/king1122_/IMG_0447.jpg

KingKegII said:

I too used the duct work and cut notches so the crossbars of my burner stand hold it in place. For the first few brews I was brewing in my basement with a fan blowing on the burner and all the windows open, so never noticed any fumes. The wind shield seems to direct more heat and my boils started just a bit faster, definitely faster when I was able to brew outside. You can see a pic of how I did it.

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/king1122_/IMG_0447.jpg

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That is sweet! What size is the duct piece you used?

Schnitzengiggle, it was a reducer, 10" or 12" to 8" I think, can't remember on the high side since I cut it but it goes down to 8". Got it at HD.

Here is my modded turkey fryer.
I has seen many seasons of frying turkeys before being enlisted for making beer.
I originally didn't like the fact that there was not rim around the top and that turned into the wind shield and extra side shelf that folds over and can be used for keeping pots warm.

KingKegII said:

Schnitzengiggle, it was a reducer, 10" or 12" to 8" I think, can't remember on the high side since I cut it but it goes down to 8". Got it at HD.

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Thanks for the feedback! Sorry my replies lately are severly intermittent, 6month old, and full time student, at 34 years old...I'm getting my ass kicked.

But that is very helpful. Thanks!

I got two sheets of stainless, drilled holes in the corners, wrapped around the stand, and held it in place with some twisted wire. Perfect for wind, and I'm pretty sure efficiency is up since it directs all of the heat up around the sides of the pot (but watch out, the handles get hotter).

I think the bottom skirt on keggles plays an important role for efficiency. It could be extended further down by attaching a sheet around the bottom of the keggle. I think it also spreads the heat better underneath the keggle and may avoid hot spots. I burnt through the bottom of my boil kettle once before. Replaced it with the bottom part of a keg: was a lot of work! the bottom was flat before, where the keg bottom is now curved >>> larger surface area and because of its curve, the metal has somewhere to go when it expands.
The original flat bottom got work hardened and developed a bunch of hair cracks that cannot be repaired.
Too bad SS is such a poor thermal conductor.

KingKegII said:

Schnitzengiggle, it was a reducer, 10" or 12" to 8" I think, can't remember on the high side since I cut it but it goes down to 8". Got it at HD.

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Hmm, I may need that. I am going to be going outdoor brewing by this summer. I have my burner (Bayou Classic), kettle (Penrose 15 gallon), etc but haven't made the jump officially yet. I just hope outdoor isn't too cumbersome and I lose my interest in the hobby. I love it now, but I can do everything in the kitchen, but I want to do bigger batches than what I'm doing. So its part of making the step up.