Propane Burner Tips

[wittmania]

SWMBO came home from Wally World today with a 30 qt. turkey fryer that was unpackaged and on clearance for $35. As far as I can tell, it's this model:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/King-Kooker-30-Quart-Turkey-Fryer-and-Outdoor-Cooker/10661034

I switched to all grain brewing a couple of months ago but I've always used my kitchen stove for heating water and wort. I played with the burner today a little and while it's no banjo burner I think it will be fine for my 5 gallon batches.

So, any tips on how to brew with fire? Should I run it wide open? Try to find a sweet spot where the flames don't go past the edges? Are there benefits to using the tall, skinny kettle it came with vs. the shorter, fatter kettle I've been using? Anything else I need to know?

Looking forward to brewing outside tomorrow!

 

[wittmania]

Sorry for the quick repost, but if it matters I think it's actually this unit:

http://www.bimart.com/skudetail.aspx?loc=k.557533_s.701A_c.156A_d.56&nm=Outdoor%20Products

It's 58,000 BTUs vs. 38,000.

 

[Catt22]

You did OK for $35. I can't tell what type of burner it has, but most any of them will work for a boil kettle or HLT. The bummer is that it's equipped with a safety timer, meaning you have to keep resetting it every so often. That could be a major PIA, but maybe not and you might be able to hack it somehow. Any burner is better than the kitchen stove by a long shot and you should be able to boil even a 10 gallon batch no problem

No need to run it wide open. It's a diminishing return type thing, meaning you use a lot more fuel for less and less benefit as you open it up. You can heat things up faster with a higher flame, but you waste a lot of fuel when doing so. You will find a happy medium and depending on the circumstances there may be times when you do want to accelerate things for some reason. A wider kettle will heat liquids faster, but it will also have a higher boil off rate. Most any kettle will work if it's big enough. The 30 Qt kettle is on the small side even for 5 gallon batches. The solution is to do a slightly concentrated boil and tiop up with extra water near the end of the boil. I did that a few times before I invested in a larger 10 gal. kettle. I find that a medium high flame height of about 2/3rds open works well for heating water or bringing wort to a boil. Maybe wide open for part of the way if I am in a hurry. You can tell by the boil rate where to go from there. Adjust the air damper so you get a nice strong blue flame running quietly. There should be little visible yellow color to the flame, but not very much. These burners are very simple appliances and they are easy to use. Beware of heat radiating downward on the shorter stands. This can scorch a wooden deck sometimes. Use common sense and don't leave it unattended while in operation.

 

[wittmania]

Awesome reply. Thank you so much. Can't wait to fire it up tomorrow and I feel better with your input.