I've decided to give a detailed explanation of how I went about converting my banjo burner from propane to NG...it took me a good bit of tinkering and experimentation because of the relative paucity of information available online, so hopefully this will help you experiment and tinker less.
It also was more expensive than I thought it would be, so if you read this and decide not to make the conversion, you're welcome.
I'll list the parts I used (I won't list all the parts I bought and had to take back because they didn't work or weren't the right size, etc.)
I'll also post some pictures of the completed project.
1 - Banjo burner
1 - 8 foot length of 0.5 Inch ID Low Pressure Appliance Hose with a 0.5 inch Model 4 plug on one end and a 0.5 inch Female SAE gas flare swivel fitting on the other end. ($45.95 - buy this from Tejas Smokers)
1 - Low Pressure Quick Disconnect 0.5 inch ID x Model 4 Female Socket x 0.5 inch Female NPT ($39.95 - also buy this from Tejas Smokers - free shipping!)
1 - 3/4" MIP x 1/2" MIP hex nipple ($5.83 - buy this from www.fittingsandmore.com)
1 -1/2" male FLARE X 3/8" Female FLARE Adapter ($6.78 - www.fittingsandmore.com - plus $7.50 UPS shipping)
1 - Blichmann Natural Gas Conversion Kit ($14.99 at Great Fermentations + shipping) - this contains a natural gas orifice and a needle valve. Yes, the Blichmann orifice fits the banjo burner. Yes, you can drill out your propane orifice but then you can't convert back to propane, and the Blichmann one fits perfectly.
1 - gas line ( I called the gas company and they were out in 2-3 days and put a 3/4" female MIP outlet with shutoff valve in my garage. ($120 - or at least that's what they tell me, haven't seen the bill yet.) The gas guy was the one who told me that I needed AT LEAST a 1/2" hose to get the BTUs I wanted. The Tejas Smokers site has 1/2" and 3/4" hose. The 3/4" hose is more expensive, and is rated at 140,000+ BTUs, more than I need...so I went with the 1/2" hose.
OK, so...
A) put the 3/4" to 1/2" reducing nipple on the gas line.
B) put the female quick disconnect on the gas line.
C) take off the propane orifice from your banjo burner.
D) put the new gas orifice in place of the old one. Don't overtighten.
E) put the needle valve on the gas orifice.
F) put the flare adapter onto the needle valve.
G) put your 1/2" hose onto the adapter (1/2" female to 1/2" male flare)
H) the other end of your hose is a male quick disconnect. Hook that up to your gas line complete with female quick disconnect and you're ready to fire up your new NG banjo burner.
Now for the pics (sorry they're sideways):
my gas line with hex nipple reducer and quick disconnect attached.
the banjo burner with hose attached.
close-up of hose attachment to burner - the gas orifice goes first, then needle valve, then flare adapter, then hose.
the hose attached to the quick disconnect.
Total for the project was ~$245, not including the cost of the banjo burner (yikes). Quite a bit more than I expected, but I had to place a gas line in my garage, and from what I'm told, there's no way to get around having to buy an expensive hose. Don't go with the 3/8" grill hose from your local hardware store, it will starve your banjo burner.
Hope this helps. I may calculate the actual BTUs and if so, I will update with my output...I'm brewing a Boston Lager clone in a few days.
Primary: Dubbel Trubbel
Keg: nothing currently
Bottled: Royal Funky Blonde Ale, All Hopped Up IPA, Nighthawk 5708 Imperial Stout, Zeller Altbier, Munich Dunkel, Olde Friendship Barleywine.
It also was more expensive than I thought it would be, so if you read this and decide not to make the conversion, you're welcome.
I'll list the parts I used (I won't list all the parts I bought and had to take back because they didn't work or weren't the right size, etc.)
I'll also post some pictures of the completed project.
1 - Banjo burner
1 - 8 foot length of 0.5 Inch ID Low Pressure Appliance Hose with a 0.5 inch Model 4 plug on one end and a 0.5 inch Female SAE gas flare swivel fitting on the other end. ($45.95 - buy this from Tejas Smokers)
1 - Low Pressure Quick Disconnect 0.5 inch ID x Model 4 Female Socket x 0.5 inch Female NPT ($39.95 - also buy this from Tejas Smokers - free shipping!)
1 - 3/4" MIP x 1/2" MIP hex nipple ($5.83 - buy this from www.fittingsandmore.com)
1 -1/2" male FLARE X 3/8" Female FLARE Adapter ($6.78 - www.fittingsandmore.com - plus $7.50 UPS shipping)
1 - Blichmann Natural Gas Conversion Kit ($14.99 at Great Fermentations + shipping) - this contains a natural gas orifice and a needle valve. Yes, the Blichmann orifice fits the banjo burner. Yes, you can drill out your propane orifice but then you can't convert back to propane, and the Blichmann one fits perfectly.
1 - gas line ( I called the gas company and they were out in 2-3 days and put a 3/4" female MIP outlet with shutoff valve in my garage. ($120 - or at least that's what they tell me, haven't seen the bill yet.) The gas guy was the one who told me that I needed AT LEAST a 1/2" hose to get the BTUs I wanted. The Tejas Smokers site has 1/2" and 3/4" hose. The 3/4" hose is more expensive, and is rated at 140,000+ BTUs, more than I need...so I went with the 1/2" hose.
OK, so...
A) put the 3/4" to 1/2" reducing nipple on the gas line.
B) put the female quick disconnect on the gas line.
C) take off the propane orifice from your banjo burner.
D) put the new gas orifice in place of the old one. Don't overtighten.
E) put the needle valve on the gas orifice.
F) put the flare adapter onto the needle valve.
G) put your 1/2" hose onto the adapter (1/2" female to 1/2" male flare)
H) the other end of your hose is a male quick disconnect. Hook that up to your gas line complete with female quick disconnect and you're ready to fire up your new NG banjo burner.
Now for the pics (sorry they're sideways):
my gas line with hex nipple reducer and quick disconnect attached.
the banjo burner with hose attached.
close-up of hose attachment to burner - the gas orifice goes first, then needle valve, then flare adapter, then hose.
the hose attached to the quick disconnect.
Total for the project was ~$245, not including the cost of the banjo burner (yikes). Quite a bit more than I expected, but I had to place a gas line in my garage, and from what I'm told, there's no way to get around having to buy an expensive hose. Don't go with the 3/8" grill hose from your local hardware store, it will starve your banjo burner.
Hope this helps. I may calculate the actual BTUs and if so, I will update with my output...I'm brewing a Boston Lager clone in a few days.
Primary: Dubbel Trubbel
Keg: nothing currently
Bottled: Royal Funky Blonde Ale, All Hopped Up IPA, Nighthawk 5708 Imperial Stout, Zeller Altbier, Munich Dunkel, Olde Friendship Barleywine.
