yellow flame/dark star

[zacko]

i searched this site & found several threads on this topic. i have an older dark star burner that only burns yellow no matter how it's adjusted. on one site it's mentioned that dark star acknowledged & replaced the banjos. mine is too old for any warranty & they no longer stock those banjos. in one thread a replacement banjo from agri-supply did the trick. so i have a few questions.
-how interchangeable are these banjos? are modifications required with replacements?
-on one thread the fix is to add washers for spacers to increase the air flow. where would these washers go?
i need a working burner soon & would like to fix this or buy a new one. dark star offered me a $45.00 credit towards a new one but if it has the same issues there's no point in buying a new one. i see that the bayou classic SP-10 has good reviews. if i buy new i'd like to keep the price at $100.00 or less.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I bought a Bayou Classic KAB4 for less than $100 about six months back. I've been very pleased with it for my five-gallon batches.

 

[zacko]

that's another one i'm considering. i'm also thinking about the bayou classic set with the pot & strainer. i'll mostly use the burner for cooking mash & making sugar syrup for feeding my bee hives.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]
-how interchangeable are these banjos? are modifications required with replacements?
-on one thread the fix is to add washers for spacers to increase the air flow. where would these washers go?
i need a working burner soon & would like to fix this or buy a new one. dark star offered me a $45.00 credit towards a new one but if it has the same issues there's no point in buying a new one. i see that the bayou classic SP-10 has good reviews. if i buy new i'd like to keep the price at $100.00 or less.

The Darkstar 1.0 was indeed a soot-generating horrible design. It's too bad you didn't take advantage of the straight-up replacement program when new. The 2.0 version solved that thoroughly using a much better burner element. I would consider taking up the $45 offer as being the least expensive out.

Iirc the 1.0 burner element mounted with a single bolt into a centered boss on the underside. I don't know if that's common to what appeared to be a bg12 "kinda clone" used in the 1.0 vs a legit Bayou Classic bg12 element, so one would need to check that aspect closely.

As for the washers, they would go between the air damper and the cast metal face of the element. The idea is to force large gaps by spacing the damper away from the burner throat so the element can breathe better...

Cheers!

 

[zacko]

i was unaware of the replacement program or i'd have jumped on it with both feet. so looking straight down at the burner there's a bolt in the center & what looks to be a separate steel plate. would the washers go under that plate?

 

[day_trippr]

Exactly. It might take a few...

Cheers!

 

[zacko]

i'll try that. so the 2.0 version is a decent burner? is the bayou classic sp 10 better than the d.s. 2.0?

 

[day_trippr]

I expect there are literally hundreds of thousands of SP-10 burners out there in the hands of home brewers. It was pretty much the entry-level burner so lots of folks bought 'em.
As long as you keep the spider webs inside to a minimum they simply work, but are known to be hella loud...

Cheers!

 

[zacko]

northen brewers has the D.S. 2.0 for 65.99 so with the 45.00 credit i can buy it for 20.99 shipped. if i don't like it i can return it under warranty & get a bayou classic. this is the time of year i boil sugar syrup & mold it into blocks to feed hives over the winter. i need to mold around 60 3x14x19" blocks. i'll still try adding spacers to the 1.0 & maybe end up with a 2nd burner. these burners will work for making mash, sugar syrup, or mead but i'll have find something better once my still is up & running.

 

[zacko]

i finally got back to this project. i took the burner apart & found that under the center piece there was a lot of burnt & hardened crud from a spillover. i put 1/8" washers under the center, tightened everything down, fired it up & had a blue flame. when i went to reinstall the burner in the base the washers fell out. i guess the way the center piece sits in the burner allows for a gap. if i wanted more space i'd need more washers. thing is it's burning blue without any washers so it looks like the built up crud was blocking the airflow.