Convert Bayou Classic to Natural Gas? Is this possible?

[luckybeagle]

Hi all,

I am piecing together a 10 gallon system (15 gal kettle) and am leaning toward natural gas since I have it at my home. I can't find a reasonably affordable, uncomplicated way to do electrical, and I don't like the idea of constantly exchanging/filling up expensive propane tanks.

My questions are:

1. Can you convert a Bayou Classic Outdoor Camp Stove to Natural Gas with a natural gas burner replacement? I.e. is it threaded or adaptable to accommodate that burner? If so, is it possible to throttle it decently? I've heard some complaints of it being harder to dial in NG during the boil. These are images of the products I'm considering:



2. Is there any way (and is it inadvisable) to rig a simple switch up to a 5500w heater on 240v with GFCI to cut the power as needed during the boil? I recall seeing a youtube video of a guy saying his belgian tripel "worked him pretty good with the switch" to stop boilovers. I do not believe he has a control panel. I also want the option of doing 5 gal batches...

I don't want to give up on the electric brewing idea but am finding it hard to justify the cost of a controller and adding a GFCI to my house when I am having to buy everything at once. I used to brew extract but unfortunately sold the limited supplies I had so I'm starting ground-up. I'm estimating about $120 to go natural gas and splice into my home's supply line, and haven't been able to get the cost under $700+ with GFCI install for electrical. Am I missing something? Would you opt for electrical given the price discrepancy?

 

[S-Met]

I'v never undertaken this task myself, but they sell adapters/converters specifically for this for bbqs. Maybe check on some bbq or smoker forums. Or check out a backyard kitchen or bbq store.

 

[greyghost]

Yes you can. I did it with the same parts. You will have to drill some holes to mount the jet burner on the cross bar that you took the the burner off of or use a long bolt in the center with steel bar that will fit between the the jets to clamp to the center bar. A piece of 1/2" pipe will thread in the jet burner. Make it long enough to keep the valve away from the heat. I used a1/2" ball valve It works just fine. No problem controlling the boil even very low flame. I use it with a 15 gal. keggle.

 

[day_trippr]

So there are different issues involved here. One can convert a multi-tip jet from high pressure propane to natural gas or low pressure (11" WC) propane, but that means changing out all of the jets for ones with larger orifices.

As for the bg12, I do not believe that burner element is capable of low pressure operation.

fwiw, the most common burner element used in low pressure applications is the bg14 with the appropriate orifice...

Cheers!

 

[greyghost]

You can also buy a jet burner for NG

 

[luckybeagle]

You can also buy a jet burner for NG

Hello, yes! the one I found on Amazon was labeled "23 Jet Natural Gas burner." I can't find BTU ratings on that particular one, but some folks in the comments section specifically said they use it to boil 8-15 gallons, so I think I'm in the clear for my uses (I'm sure a majority of my batches will be 5 gallons until I find a recipe I want to scale up to 10).

So with an NG burner it sounds like no drilling is needed--just a little custom fab to get the burner to mount to the Bayou stand? Should I just weld up a steel platform to replicate the Bayou stand's function, since I won't need any of the propane components anyway?

I'll likely be running a chugger pump or equivalent and would ideally brew/mash/have my HLT all on the same level (for aesthetics and for gravity flowing from HLT to the carboys through an inline chiller). It would be nice to mount the frame of the burner to the frame of my stand for stability and safety, which is why I'm thinking custom fab might be better than spending $50 on an existing stand? What do you think? Here's my sketch:

For the pump I plan on using quick disconnect lines and silicone tubing. I plan to do all of my heating in the BK. The HLT and MLT would both be 70qt Coleman Xtremes, which I hope will accommodate big grain bills for up to 10 gallon batches. Can you see any flaws in my design or thinking?

EDIT: I only intend to batch sparge*

 

[bendog15]

Go to brulosopher’s website and check it out. He converted bayou classic burners to natural gas.
http://brulosophy.com/?s=Natural+gas&submit=Search

 

[jaybo]

I'm very interested in converting to NG, myself. I'm subscribing to this one!

 

[Bobby_M]

The bayou bg14 burner, which is found in the KAB4 and KAB6 can run on nat gas with the appropriate conversion orifice. I highly recommend staying away from the multiple tip wok burners. They run hot and extra hot only.

Don't trivialize the need for care when tapping into your gas line. These high btu burners may need a 3/4" branch tapped off at least a one inch trunk depending on distance and the usual size 3/8" flex line for grills is definitely too small.


No, you cannot run electric 5500 watts with an on/off control for boil. You CAN run dual 1500w elements on 120v and the boil will be about right with no control.

Having run propane, nat gas, and electric rigs I would spend almost any amount to go electric.

 

[Toastman]

The bayou bg14 burner, which is found in the KAB4 and KAB6 can run on nat gas with the appropriate conversion orifice. I highly recommend staying away from the multiple tip wok burners. They run hot and extra hot only.

Don't trivialize the need for care when tapping into your gas line. These high btu burners may need a 3/4" branch tapped off at least a one inch trunk depending on distance and the usual size 3/8" flex line for grills is definitely too small.


No, you cannot run electric 5500 watts with an on/off control for boil. You CAN run dual 1500w elements on 120v and the boil will be about right with no control.

Having run propane, nat gas, and electric rigs I would spend almost any amount to go electric.

I adapted my bayou burner and have been using it no problem for a year now. Got an adapter valve from Williams Brewing https://www.williamsbrewing.com/14-NPT-HURRICANE-NATURAL-GAS-CONVERSION-VALVE-P2214.aspx
Hope this helps

 

[beernutz]

The bayou bg14 burner, which is found in the KAB4 and KAB6 can run on nat gas with the appropriate conversion orifice. I highly recommend staying away from the multiple tip wok burners. They run hot and extra hot only.

Don't trivialize the need for care when tapping into your gas line. These high btu burners may need a 3/4" branch tapped off at least a one inch trunk depending on distance and the usual size 3/8" flex line for grills is definitely too small.


No, you cannot run electric 5500 watts with an on/off control for boil. You CAN run dual 1500w elements on 120v and the boil will be about right with no control.

Having run propane, nat gas, and electric rigs I would spend almost any amount to go electric.

I run two wok burners on my brew structure but connect the structure's BIP to my house's gas outlet with 25 feet of 3/8" flex line and it tames both of them pretty well. I removed about 10 tips from the 22 tip wok burner under my HLT and if anything it could use a few more BTUs.

To get water heating faster I supplement the wok burners using one of your heat sticks (love it) and can get 14 gallons to strike temp in less than 30 minutes. The wok burner under the boil kettle came with 10 tips and even running wide open is just about right for a vigorous boil. In 3 years I have never scorched wort in the keggle using it.

While I wouldn't claim my setup is optimal it does work pretty well.

 

[Bobby_M]

I had the work burners, removed tips, still hated them. The localized air intakes are sometimes the cause of a poor burn. The banjo with remote air intake is much better.

 

[eric19312]

I boil 20 gallons on my Low pressure banjo no issue. I’m using 3/4” pipe and hose to get the gas to my stand and then last 2’ is 3/8 inch flex.

It is slower getting to a boil than high pressure propane. I could address this with Bobby’s Hot Rod or similar but instead I adapted my brew day to the limitation.

First thing I do on brew day is start heating strike water. By time my grains are measured and crushed and my salts are measured and added to strike and sparge waters and my mash tun is assembled and in place for underletting strike water I’m at temp. I fly sparge and aim for 45-60 min to collect 20 gal. The burner is on as an on as soon as I’ve got about 3 gal in the kettle and I’ve got to limit it to about 60% flow to avoid bringing kettle to rolling boil before I’m done sparging. I bump I to 100% at end and by time I’m done getting pre boil gravity measurement recorded I’m at full boil.

If I were doing BIAB I’d probably invest in that Hot Rod to get from mash out to boil faster.

 

[bigdawg86]

For what it's worth I converted the Edelmetal Bru Burner from NB to natural gas and it does fine. I have to double check on what part's I used, but I am 90% sure I only used a NG needle valve with a simple custom touch on the orifice.

If interested I can list what I used / post some photos.

 

[luckybeagle]

I adapted my bayou burner and have been using it no problem for a year now. Got an adapter valve from Williams Brewing https://www.williamsbrewing.com/14-NPT-HURRICANE-NATURAL-GAS-CONVERSION-VALVE-P2214.aspx
Hope this helps

Sweet! It looks like just the adapter valve is all that's needed to convert it and be up and running? I really don't want to buy and retrofit a wok burner onto the bayou frame if i don't need to. It looks like this is all the brulosophy guy did. Is that all you did? Am I missing something?

 

[eric19312]

It will work

 

[luckybeagle]

Awesome... looks like my brew setup is going to be cheaper than I thought. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[luckybeagle]

One more question:

Is there any reason I can't Tee off from my existing stove gas line? I would have one line going to the kitchen stove, which would be cracked open all the time, and a valve with a quick disconnect on the other end of the T that I could connect the Bayou to on brew day.

Our gas meter is just on the other side of the kitchen wall, but if I don't have to drill holes in my home's siding to T off directly at the meter, that would save me a lot of hassle. Thoughts? (Pardon my crappy sketch)

 

[luckybeagle]

To the top

 

[helterscelter]

One more question:

Is there any reason I can't Tee off from my existing stove gas line? I would have one line going to the kitchen stove, which would be cracked open all the time, and a valve with a quick disconnect on the other end of the T that I could connect the Bayou to on brew day.

Our gas meter is just on the other side of the kitchen wall, but if I don't have to drill holes in my home's siding to T off directly at the meter, that would save me a lot of hassle. Thoughts? (Pardon my crappy sketch)

View attachment 574625

You're not planning on running your burner in the house are you? I doubt you have enough air flow in the house to allow you not to suffocate.. afaik these burners are not as efficient as a standard stove, the put out a lot more carbon monoxide

Just want you to be safe. [emoji41]

 

[luckybeagle]

You're not planning on running your burner in the house are you? I doubt you have enough air flow in the house to allow you not to suffocate.. afaik these burners are not as efficient as a standard stove, the put out a lot more carbon monoxide

Just want you to be safe. [emoji41]

I appreciate it, but I would be running it on Natural Gas instead of propane, and have a large wall of windows in the kitchen that could be opened. But I don't think CO is a concern with NG since it's meant for indoor residential applications and produces carbon dioxide & water vapor as byproducts once burned without heavy gases pooling or unsafe levels of CO. I'm not concerned about ventilation or CO, but mainly adequate flow of gas to reach the BTUs needed for up to 10 gallon boils.I would use my stove but the BTUs on the bayou with NG are much higher.

My main concern is whether or not a standard inlet for NG is sufficient flow to T off from for powering the Bayou, or if most people running NG conversions T off at the meter with larger diameter piping.

Thoughts?

 

[ancientmariner52]

I appreciate it, but I would be running it on Natural Gas instead of propane, and have a large wall of windows in the kitchen that could be opened. But I don't think CO is a concern with NG since it's meant for indoor residential applications and produces carbon dioxide & water vapor as byproducts once burned without heavy gases pooling or unsafe levels of CO. I'm not concerned about ventilation or CO, but mainly adequate flow of gas to reach the BTUs needed for up to 10 gallon boils.I would use my stove but the BTUs on the bayou with NG are much higher.

My main concern is whether or not a standard inlet for NG is sufficient flow to T off from for powering the Bayou, or if most people running NG conversions T off at the meter with larger diameter piping.

Thoughts?

Would you be comfortable turning on all the surface burners on your gas range and just letting them go for an hour? I think that would still be less heat than you will have escaping around the sides of your kettle. Gas burners are very inefficient thermally. There's also the gallon or so of boiloff vapor that has to go somewhere.

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, but there is a reason why indoor home brewerys are almost always electric, with a dedicated vent hood or condenser. I suggest you make a temporary gas connection and try it out before making any permanent installation.

 

[luckybeagle]

Would you be comfortable turning on all the surface burners on your gas range and just letting them go for an hour? I think that would still be less heat than you will have escaping around the sides of your kettle. Gas burners are very inefficient thermally. There's also the gallon or so of boiloff vapor that has to go somewhere.

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, but there is a reason why indoor home brewerys are almost always electric, with a dedicated vent hood or condenser. I suggest you make a temporary gas connection and try it out before making any permanent installation.

That is a good idea--I could run it through a brewday without drilling any holes in the countertop, and would be a good test run.

I would love to go electric, but it seems like it would be cost-prohibitive at the moment. It looks like I could set up the Bayou with converter and quick disconnects to my existing gas line for under $150. This is super attractive but I am also concerned about heat radiating downward. I suppose I could set it on a piece of sheet metal to distribute heat a little more evenly (butcherblock counters). I do have a large centrifugal fan I could mount in a box hung above the kettle, and run ducting out the window to mimic the function of a vent hood. This picture has encouraged me to do countertop Bayou:

Pulled from http://brulosophy.com/2014/05/12/propane-to-natural-gas-conversion-best-investment-ive-made/

I could use my nearby dryer outlet for electrical but I would need to have a GFCI put in (I'm guessing $200+) and then build ($300+) or buy ($700+) a control panel for the electric heater along with the element, cord, and plug ($100). Maybe I'm missing something...?

 

[ancientmariner52]

That is a good idea--I could run it through a brewday without drilling any holes in the countertop, and would be a good test run.

I would love to go electric, but it seems like it would be cost-prohibitive at the moment. It looks like I could set up the Bayou with converter and quick disconnects to my existing gas line for under $150. This is super attractive but I am also concerned about heat radiating downward. I suppose I could set it on a piece of sheet metal to distribute heat a little more evenly (butcherblock counters). I do have a large centrifugal fan I could mount in a box hung above the kettle, and run ducting out the window to mimic the function of a vent hood. This picture has encouraged me to do countertop Bayou:

View attachment 574829
Pulled from http://brulosophy.com/2014/05/12/propane-to-natural-gas-conversion-best-investment-ive-made/

I could use my nearby dryer outlet for electrical but I would need to have a GFCI put in (I'm guessing $200+) and then build ($300+) or buy ($700+) a control panel for the electric heater along with the element, cord, and plug ($100). Maybe I'm missing something...?

Yes, those numbers are about right. Eventually it all comes back if you avoid a 40 mile round trip to get propane refilled, but that's not your situation.

I used a piece of cement backer board under a propane burner, I was amazed at the heat damage to the supposedly heat resistant material. I don't think sheet metal would help, I'd suggest two or three 18" square ceramic tiles, stacked. Maybe with a piece of plywood under to protect from scratching.

 

[bigdawg86]

One more question:

Is there any reason I can't Tee off from my existing stove gas line? I would have one line going to the kitchen stove, which would be cracked open all the time, and a valve with a quick disconnect on the other end of the T that I could connect the Bayou to on brew day.

Our gas meter is just on the other side of the kitchen wall, but if I don't have to drill holes in my home's siding to T off directly at the meter, that would save me a lot of hassle. Thoughts? (Pardon my crappy sketch)

View attachment 574625

I ran a tee off of my water heater gas line (in the garage) and I have no problems with fuel starvation even with the heater on simultaneously. So yes it would work, although I wouldn't do it inside.

If using the inside gas source is your only option, why don't you get a flexible gas hose on a quick disconnect so you can take the burner outside and disconnect the gas when not in use?

 

[luckybeagle]

I ran a tee off of my water heater gas line (in the garage) and I have no problems with fuel starvation even with the heater on simultaneously. So yes it would work, although I wouldn't do it inside.

If using the inside gas source is your only option, why don't you get a flexible gas hose on a quick disconnect so you can take the burner outside and disconnect the gas when not in use?

Good to hear your flow isn't affected but... why wouldn't you do it inside? If you had adequate ventilation, would that change your mind? My living/dining/kitchen room is basically a long, open rectangle of 15' x 60' with 10' ceilings and lots of windows. With a high CFM vent hood, wouldn't that remedy heat and evaporation concerns?

My wife and I want to brew together. We have a toddler and, if I brew in the shed or on the deck, she can't really join me with one of us needing to keep eyes on the little one. Our house is open-concept (we can baby-gate off the kitchen) so being able to look out from the kitchen onto her play area/the living room is necessary for us to have our cake and eat it too. If she had no interest in doing it with me, I'd do propane or NG out on the deck, but finding a way to do it in the kitchen with the bayou on NG sounds like the ticket to keeping us both involved. Plus, the happier she is about it all means more brew days. Happy wife, happy life.

Definitely doing the quick disconnect so that I can break down the full setup and store it.

Yes, those numbers are about right. Eventually it all comes back if you avoid a 40 mile round trip to get propane refilled, but that's not your situation.

I used a piece of cement backer board under a propane burner, I was amazed at the heat damage to the supposedly heat resistant material. I don't think sheet metal would help, I'd suggest two or three 18" square ceramic tiles, stacked. Maybe with a piece of plywood under to protect from scratching.

Good idea and an easy one to do. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[John Murray]

Can I convert my Bayou 6 inch burner to run of NG?

 

[luckybeagle]

Can I convert my Bayou 6 inch burner to run of NG?

Check www.williamsbrewing.com for "1/4" Natural Gas Conversion Valve." They make an orfice that works with several Bayou burners. Check your model as best you can before buying.

I tried using one on a very small bayou, one that wasn't supported on their website, and it just blasted soot all over my boil kettle. Took a good hour to heat up 5 gallons to strike temp. I ended up buying just the new burner (a much larger one) and retrofitting it into my stand. It was a PITA as I don't know how to weld and had to rig up some brackets, but it worked for a good 9 months before I was gifted a KAB4 (or is it a KAB6?), which absolutely rips with NG. I can boil 5 gallons from hose temp in under 15 minutes. I'm usually not done batch sparging the second runnings by the time my first runnings reach boil, and I batch sparge pretty fast.

The burner itself:
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classi...rds=bayou+classic+banjo&qid=1573094117&sr=8-3

The complete unit:
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classi...ocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-274803714858&psc=1

Good luck! Natural gas is awesome and dirt ass cheap compared to propane.

 

[John Murray]

Check www.williamsbrewing.com for "1/4" Natural Gas Conversion Valve." They make an orfice that works with several Bayou burners. Check your model as best you can before buying.

I tried using one on a very small bayou, one that wasn't supported on their website, and it just blasted soot all over my boil kettle. Took a good hour to heat up 5 gallons to strike temp. I ended up buying just the new burner (a much larger one) and retrofitting it into my stand. It was a PITA as I don't know how to weld and had to rig up some brackets, but it worked for a good 9 months before I was gifted a KAB4 (or is it a KAB6?), which absolutely rips with NG. I can boil 5 gallons from hose temp in under 15 minutes. I'm usually not done batch sparging the second runnings by the time my first runnings reach boil, and I batch sparge pretty fast.

The burner itself:
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classi...rds=bayou+classic+banjo&qid=1573094117&sr=8-3

The complete unit:
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classi...ocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-274803714858&psc=1

Good luck! Natural gas is awesome and dirt ass cheap compared to propane.

Thanks Beagle, I hooked up my 6 inch Bayou burner to NG yesterday and thought it was working great, but not enough holes to produce a good boil. I am either going to drill some holes in the 6 inch cast iron along the top of the cross or just get a new 10" burner. Probably I'll just get the 10" and build a new stand so that I can keep the propane buner original and sell or keep for backyard brews.

Thank you and yes if anyone is reading this the 6 inch burner does not have enough holes and burner surface area to boil.

 

[luckybeagle]

Probably I'll just get the 10" and build a new stand so that I can keep the propane buner original and sell or keep for backyard brews.
.

Good call.

You might decide to use it later on to heat up your sparge water (via propane) if you find yourself using two (or three) kettles that can accept direct fire.