Ok so I did my first all grain brew on my stovetop in between the two burners. I don't think the boil was strong enough and I'm looking into getting a propane burner like the banjo or just a regular bayou burner. My question is do these burners make it tougher to brew because they are too strong if not adjusted properly? any suggestions on others I would appreciate and I'm also not closed off to using an electric burner so I could still brew indoors. Any feedback is appreciated! Cheers!
Propane burner to purchase?
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Blichmann Burner w/ leg extensions. One of the best pieces of equipment I ever purchased.
unviewtiful
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Most (if not all) burners will have a fine-adjust knob on the manifold that connects to the propane tank. The adjustments are very quick and easy, and they can be done on the fly. The bayou classic KAB4 is what I use and it works very well.
according to amazon, i purchased the bayou classic sp10 almost 3 years ago and have probably done 60+ batches on it (5 and 10 gallon). it hasn't let me down yet and when it does, i'll buy another.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000291GBQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000291GBQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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check the btu, the highest the btu the faster its gonna come to a boil.for keeping a good boil you dont need many btu , 55000 is fine.
paperairplane
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I have the SQ !4 - which I think has the best base / stand for a heavy pot. I use a keggle and it fits perfectly. I can turn it way down for 5 gal boils and it runs really quiet. Cranked up It is powerful enough for 10gal.
I also have 2 cup style turkey fryer burners which are just fine for 5 gal - maybe a little weak for a keggle, but worked great with a stadard 9 gal pot.
Don't overthink it - just get a burner. Even if you change later, it's handy to have a second burner.
Also the cup style used less gas, but was slower. For 5 gal batches, a true banjo may be overkill.
I also have 2 cup style turkey fryer burners which are just fine for 5 gal - maybe a little weak for a keggle, but worked great with a stadard 9 gal pot.
Don't overthink it - just get a burner. Even if you change later, it's handy to have a second burner.
Also the cup style used less gas, but was slower. For 5 gal batches, a true banjo may be overkill.
Ditto, with some reservations.
1. The leg extensions make it difficult/impossible to adjust the kettle supports inward for a smaller (5 gal) pot. I have to use a camping grill grate to keep my sparge water from falling over.
2. The regulator on mine basically fell apart one day, causing the flame to trail back to the choke. After I added a small nut+bolt arrangement, it has been ok.
Still a good buy, but I had expected more from the most expensive burner setup available.
I love the Bayou SQ-14. Very affordable, sturdy, and burns hot and quiet while being very easy on gas usage. I used the SP10 a few times and it was noisy, wasted a lot of gas and took forever to get up to a boil.
MarshmallowBlue
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I have a DarkStar Burner. I've only done one batch with it, but it was good for my 5 gallon batch.
maybe yours was defective. i can do 4-5 batches on a 20 lb tank. 10 min from sparge to boil for a 5 gallon batch. i don't care much about the noise...the music is louder...
dkevinb
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Another Bayou SP10 user here. I've done 12 5-gallon batches on it without a problem.
FrozenWinter
Active Member
I have the same one for the same time and it is ok. I have a hard time regulating the flame so that it doesn't go out during the boil. Seems finicky to me.
I like the looks of the SQ-14, but the KAB4 has the burner that most brewstands use, but almost twice as much.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JXYQY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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aviator01
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Buy bigger than you intend to use that way you can scale up without having to purchase another burner when you decided to upgrade.
I have the KAB6 and a "Dark Star" style burner from King Kooker. The KAB6 is a beast and I don't think I'll ever outgrow it.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=kab6
The KAB4 or the SP-40 would be good options as well.
I have the KAB6 and a "Dark Star" style burner from King Kooker. The KAB6 is a beast and I don't think I'll ever outgrow it.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=kab6
The KAB4 or the SP-40 would be good options as well.
gratefulfloyd
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I have the same one and I can say that it works quite well
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Exactly
I keep forgetting to mark it down for an actual batch count, but I'm getting around twice as many with the SQ-14. Also, when I used the SP-10, I was heating strike/sparge water on my stovetop so it would be even less if I used it for everything. It was way less efficient than the 14 for me. Maybe youre right, might have been something wrong with mine. I dunno, but I'm plenty satisfied with the 14.Exactly
For the record, other folks have reported as few as 3 batches per tank on the sq-14. Without a controlled experiment or manufacturer's information it is hard to tell whether the burners really do use a different amount of gas.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/how-many-batches-per-propane-tank-248121/
TheOrlandoGuy
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I would be very interested to know if someone on this thread can chime in on this as well. Gas efficiency would definitely be my biggest deciding factor when I buy a burner also.
Must have had the wrong regulator on it, running full blast in a wind storm to only get 3 batches. Maybe they were 3 bbl batches. Mine performs significantly better than that.
Updating everyone... I went with the bayou sq 14 and did an Irish stout on it last week. It worked awesome. Was up to boil in 20 minutes or maybe even a few less. Easy to adjust the flame and it wasn't too windy of a night but I did it outside in about 20 degree weather. Overall very satisfied so far with the purchase for 53$ so far. I will comment back as soon as I run out of propane. I started with a full tank I'll let you guys know how many batches I get out of one tank. Cheers!
grrickar
Well-Known Member
I have a cheap 45k btu burner that gets the job done but REALLY soots up the bottom of the pot. No amount of adjusting the airflow helps either.
How are the larger diameter Bayou Classics and Blichmanns in this regard?
I can easily clean the kettle at the end of the day, but would be nice to have one less thing to worry with.
How are the larger diameter Bayou Classics and Blichmanns in this regard?
I can easily clean the kettle at the end of the day, but would be nice to have one less thing to worry with.
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