Brew Stand Plans, Burner and Gas Regulator Preferences

[KyleWolf]

Hi Everyone,

So, it seems like everyone and their mother are building brew stands now-a-days and I am planning out my own as well. The Brewgeeks Doghouse Brutus System will basically act as my instruction manual. However, there are a few changes I want to make that will save some time, headache, and money. for the TL;DR crowd, this is going to be a 3 burner style stand for a HLT, direct-fire recirculating MLT, and BK.

The original design from the link has both the BLT and MLT having low pressure regulators and gas furnace valves with pilot light and thermocouples. I think I am going to forgo the low pressure/furance valve system on the HLT and just have a direct line running into the burner from the high-pressure regulator at the tank.

My question and request for knowledge/insight/experience is...Which burners should I go with? I know there is a LOOOONNNGGGG list of threads over dozens of forums going back and forth, but considering I would like to incorporate equipment that I already have, I figured it warranted more than just guessing.

I have the bayou classic KAB4 burner as my sole burner for my current set-up. I love the power, but hate its lack of efficiency (which may be user error/being impatient), as I only get 2 brews from a 20lb LP tank. For the brew stand, I am thinking that the Large Cast Iron Burner should go under my boil kettle (will be 16gal Bayou SS stock pot), and I will get 2 Smaller Cast Iron Burners to go under the MLT (converted Keggle) and HLT (16gal Bayou SS stock pot). This will be for 5 and 10 gal. batches.

I would love some opinions on whether is will be efficient or if the larger burner is just overkill/not needed and change it out so all burners are the smaller cast iron, or if changing it out for the smaller burner will save on gas. (switching to natural gas isn't an option right now)

So thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Kyle

 

[cubalz]

subscribed. :beard:

 

[JonW]

Going to smaller burners and fewer BTU's will save gas, but it will also take longer to heat. The burners you have are likely the best choice for the job.

You say switching to NG isn't an option right now, but is that because you don't have NG available or it would require plumbing to get it where you need it? I know people who don't switch to NG because they think extending the plumbing to where they need it is expensive. Doing NG plumbing is both easy and cheap, so if you have it available in your house, I would highly suggest you look into making it work. You'd recoup the plumbing expense immediately.

 

[KyleWolf]

NG isn't an option at the moment because it would require additional plumbing and I rent the house I am in. The landlord has made it clear they are not interested in making changes to the house.