100 Pound Propane Setup

[parasonic]

I'm currently building a simple three-tier brewery. I spent four hours at the bandsaw yesterday cutting my metal, and it's going to be a really nice stand, but I have some questions about heating it.

Seeing that I'm looking at turning out some fairly substantial batches, and my schedule doesn't permit me to get out during business hours, I'm looking at configuring my setup with a 100 pound propane cylinder. It should be cheaper in the long run, and I won't have to waste the time and gas constantly getting more fuel.

I've been trying to find information on 100 pound propane brew setups online, but I haven't seen anything yet. My main unknown is the difference with the regulator and the pressure with a larger cylinder. Would someone mind helping me out here and point me in the right direction? Some links might be nice.

Thanks!

 

[david_42]

There is no difference between a 10 lbs tank and a 500 gallon tank. The regulators are identical. Since you buy propane by the gallon, you probably won't see any savings with a 100 pound tank. I have two 20 pound tanks and when one is empty, I just stick it in the van and fill it whenever. I generally get 5-7 5 gallon batches out of a tank, so unless you are planning on using a "blow torch" burner, I think you'd be ok with the same arrangement.

Another plus with 20 lbs tanks, you can swap them at places that would not be able to fill a 100 lbs tank.

 

[Brewiz]

There is no difference between a 10 lbs tank and a 500 gallon tank. The regulators are identical. Since you buy propane by the gallon, you probably won't see any savings with a 100 pound tank. I have two 20 pound tanks and when one is empty, I just stick it in the van and fill it whenever. I generally get 5-7 5 gallon batches out of a tank, so unless you are planning on using a "blow torch" burner, I think you'd be ok with the same arrangement.

Another plus with 20 lbs tanks, you can swap them at places that would not be able to fill a 100 lbs tank.

I'm with you on the filling a 100lb'er, my HD is only a few miles from my house and rhey exchange for 18.00, that makes it a lot easier than driving to the other side or town and also their hours are better..

 

[Genghis77]

A 100# tank is certainly heavier. According to my past experiences, I cannot get a 100# tank filled in a gas station. Only Ferrell Gas will fill them up. They are sticklers for the regulations and it must be racked in my 1 ton truck. When the Feds required 40# and less tanks to be equipped with an OPD (overfill device) in 2000, the refill setup changed. Gas stations were not equipped to refill with the old style. The OPD device is crap as the fillup has a device that vents excess gas anyway, making them impossible to overfill.

In Oregon, it is illegal to transport tanks larger than 40# in a car or passenger vehicle, only truck or permanently installed RV tanks. Or at least this is what the sign says at the various places I fill up. But some will break the rules in spite of it.

My recommendation is to stick with 30# tanks (or 20#) and they're a lot easier to handle, cheaper too. Less you go to a 250 gallon or larger tank and home delivery. I rarely use my 100# tank as I have to travel about 27 miles to get it filled. The smaller tanks are just within a mile. And Ferrell costs more than competing service stations.

Bi-Mart carries the 30# tanks for $ 34.95 when on sale. Good for 7 years till recertified. But, you can buy new tanks cheaper than recertifying. I now have just about enough old tanks to float a houseboat.

 

[parasonic]

I'm now looking at regulators and burners. Are there any recommendations on what and where I should buy? I'm willing to spend the money on a decent regulator and a set of burners. I see a burner on ebay for $6 dollars, but could that really get to 165k btu, and would that take 20-30 psi? My old fish fryer takes well over an hour to get ten gallons anywhere near a boil, so I'd like to step up a bit.

 

[Genghis77]

Standard Marshall regulator available anywhere. All RV regulators are set to 11 inches of water column. Expensive gauges are pretty much a waste as a good blue flame is what you're after..

 

[parasonic]

Hmm...What is all of this PSI stuff that I see then? I see a lot of regulators at "9psi" or "20psi" or "30psi," but that standard of 11 bars that they use in RV's is like .4 psi.

Thanks a lot--

 

[Genghis77]

I think the real key with burners is how it mixes with air for hottest flame. Might as well get a 200,000 btu burner. I have a water column gage for setting RV regulators. Never bothered with other propane applications. Still have a 6 column mercury gauge for syncronizing the 6 carburetors on my old Honda CBX motorcycle. That was fun.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I don't know about them all being set the same. I have used a "low pressure" burner setup where the regulator was labeled 10psi and now I use a "high pressure" setup with a 20psi regulator and there's a world of difference. I haven't seen a low pressure unit over 85k btu. My new one is 185 (although I think they might have corrected it to 150 now).

It used to take over 17 minutes for me to bring 3 gallons of water from 65 deg up to 155. I timed my last brew and it took less than 10. Another thing I've noticed is that I used to have to fiddle with the air valve (at the inlet of the burner) on the low pressure unit and now I don't. Makes no difference on the new one.

 

[parasonic]

I don't know about them all being set the same. I have used a "low pressure" burner setup where the regulator was labeled 10psi and now I use a "high pressure" setup with a 20psi regulator and there's a world of difference. I haven't seen a low pressure unit over 85k btu. My new one is 185 (although I think they might have corrected it to 150 now).

It used to take over 17 minutes for me to bring 3 gallons of water from 65 deg up to 155. I timed my last brew and it took less than 10. Another thing I've noticed is that I used to have to fiddle with the air valve (at the inlet of the burner) on the low pressure unit and now I don't. Makes no difference on the new one.

How long does it take you to get to a boil with that rig?

 

[DrewsBrews]

Not sure... I didn't time that part. But I'd say less than ten minutes. Of course, we're talking about a concentrated boil.

DeRoux's has similar burners in his AG setup, I believe. Talk to him about times related to bigger volumes of water.

At any rate, the high pressure systems put out a ton more heat and require little or no fiddling, other than adjusting the gas flow.