Kettle Black on Bottom

How does everyone deal with the black bottom of their brew kettle? I am using a converted keg and washing the keg has become much more of a chore than I expected. I am obviously using propane and I don't burn it too hard, but the bottom ends up completely black. Should I put down some sort of grate or is it inevitable?

If so, what does everyone do to clean their kegs / kettles? Thanks.

Use BKF( bar keepers friend) it will clean it right up.

dwpumo said:

How does everyone deal with the black bottom of their brew kettle . . . . .

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I boil wort in mine, . . . . . . why clean it?

I believe it is caused by a yellow flame from the popane, which means too much oxygen getting to it ( If I remember correctly) so try cutting down the oxygen getting to the burner and it should go away

Sorry, sounds like your burner is not getting enough O2. Check your vent ports. Also, you can coat the bottom of your kettle w/dishsoap. It will still get black, but it will clean right off.

Rockape66 said:

Sorry, sounds like your burner is not getting enough O2. Check your vent ports. Also, you can coat the bottom of your kettle w/dishsoap. It will still get black, but it will clean right off.

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Yep, not enough oxygen in the mix, the black stuff is just not-fully-burned fuel. Like he said, clean the burner jets, make sure nothing is inside the tube, and open up the air vent all the way. We have tons of little lizards in Florida and they love hiding inside the tube, I have to keep the adjustable vents closed when not brewing or I'll have problems on brew day.

A good thing is that you'll get an even hotter flame if it's burning right (pretty much blue flame only, maybe the occasional yellow tip).

I can boil for 2 hours and have a shiny stainless bottom to my kettle...unless one of them damn lizards get in there. I can see them poking their head out of the air vent but they scurry back inside when I get close.

+1 BKF.

Once I discovered BKF, I polished everything up and kettles look great now.

This happened to me after I abused my burner by leaving it outside and letting it rust. It still fired, but burned with a yellow flame and blackened the kettle. This indicates incomplete combustion, like Spanish Castle mentioned, so you're generating a lot of carbon monoxide - hopefully you're doing this outdoors.

You're probably using up more propane than necessary as well. I solved my problem by replacing my burner and treating the new one right.

Bar Keeper's Friend is awesome.

That is all.

I appreciate all of the advice. I'll clean the kettle again with BKF and open up the vents. It's an old burner, and I live in Maine, so the weather is tough on it even if you keep it in the garage for the most part. Any thoughts on what to buy for a new burner?