Edelmetall BRU Burner from Northern Brewer

This new NB burner looks like it has some of the same features as a Blichmann floor burner but only has 3 legs instead of four. It is priced $10 less than the Blichmann but I cannot see anything that would make it better than the existing Blichmann floor burner. However, I would love to hear other opinions. This kind of reminds me of how Sears will contract with Amana (or another appliance company) to put out the same basic washing machine with just a few different features and call it made by Kenmore.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/edelmetall-bru-burner.html

 

I am interested aswell

 

Why clad it in copper instead of steel legs like the Blichmann? Will the copper give any kind of advantage over stainless steel for the legs?

The hose does look to have the additional feature of a needle valve but does this give much more control of the boil?

 

Looks pretty, but the hardware is under-sized compared to the brute construction of the Blingmann burner.


The openings in the air damper seem really small - way smaller than the Blichmann (see image) and generic BG14 and Hurricane burners of the same size. Assuming they are sufficient for the burner to function on high pressure propane, I wonder if that would require a mod for anyone who might want to use these on natural gas or low pressure propane (for an automated burner system, for instance).

As for the needle valve, I don't see how that offers any advantage over an infinitely adjustable regulator.

Absolutely nothing else to be found about the burner or the manufacturer to be found on the web.

The 7% premium for a proven product of clearly more rugged construction would be well worth it, imo...

Cheers!

 

Looks like they dressed it up to sell to the "high class social crowd" that I don't hang out with.

Norther Brewer is working on trademarking Edelmetall.

http://www.legalforce.com/edelmetall-86031142.html

 

Nice detective work there.

The burner is pretty, but so are my Blichmanns. I also enjoy my leg extension option on the Blichmanns.

 

Not me just the all mighty google search.

 

I completely disagree, Look at the pot mounts on the Edelmetall, way more beefy then the Blingmann. the blingmann is just a bunch of stamped metal POS.

 

LOL! If you want to measure by stamped content, the Edelmetall is the clear winner. That copper colored piece running around the rim wasn't carved out of a block

On the Blichmann design a pot actually rests on top of the massive legs, transferring all the weight straight down to the ground. The adjustable brackets don't carry any weight at all if properly installed, they simply keep the pot centered. It's a smart solution well executed.

The Edelmetall's major structural components are held together with philips head screws that look like they might be 1/4-20 or even smaller. Meanwhile the Blichmann is held together with M8 hex bolts.

For $10, I don't see a contest here...

Cheers!

 

I think the only item that is stamped on the Blichman is the pot centering tabs. Blickman took the time to weld the seams to box the top, bottom and side of legs for strength.
I am a bit concerned with how big of a pot you can put on the Edelmetall with the legs bent out for what I assume is stability.

 

Your points are valid, I guess I have never been a fan of Blingmann for the price.

 

This stood out for me also. They are pre-kinked. Apply a little heat and 10-20 gallons of wort?????

I'll stick with my $45 SP10.

 

me too it boils my 13 gallons boils in a flash

S_M

 

That's a fair complaint, there's no doubt that Blichmann products are at the upper end of the price range for pretty much everything they sell.

There are functionally equivalent alternatives that can be found for lower cost, especially if obtained during a sale. The Bayou Classic KAB6 sells for around $30-$40 less than the Floor Burner and considering it uses what appears to be the same BG14 burner it should perform pretty much the same.

But like nearly all burners, it is painted steel, and will put out a stink until the paint burns off - at which point it will slowly rust itself to death. The likely longevity of heavy stainless steel versus unprotected mild steel, for some folks, would rationalize the premium for the former...

Cheers!

 

Looking at the Edelmetall versus the Blichmann I don't see that the Edelmetall can have leg extensions or be mounted easily on a vertical brew stand.

 

Last night as I flipped through the NB Catalog I started wondering how much more of a cost the "genuine copper finishes" added. Copper wiring keeps getting more expensive each year.

 

Can't blame NB for hopping on the Hipster Steam Punk wagon. Hell, I'm thinking about mass producing a Honda CB350 (cafe racer) brew stand. That would sell like crazy to the skinny jeans kids. LOL!

It looks cool.
I'm sure it will function well for 5-10g setups.
Not as heavy duty as Blichmann.

I like it, but won't be buying it.
I want to go electric.

 

I too was curious about this burner. I got my NB sale flier in the mail the other day and at first I was all OOOOOHHHHOOOOO and AAAAHHHHHHAAAA and SHINNNEEYYYY. But then I started looking at the Blichmann, and for ten bucks more it looks like a much better built piece of equipment. Sad to say, but it looks like NB is trying to sell this on the pretty factor vs the functionality.

Just my $0.02

 

Hey guys, we heard your concerns regarding how much weight the new burner could hold. So, we we decided to put it to the test. How many brewers can dance on the head of a Bru Burner?

 

I'm shopping for a burner and their price for the Bayou Classics are good, but they are out of stock. I guess there's more profit margin with this one and the dark star. Amazon has them though.

For this burner, I didn't like the stamped areas the pot rests on. I'd pay more the Blichmann Top Tier burner. It's heavy duty and very stable. I think this would compete better at the Bayou Classic price point. Drop the copper and and get the price lower. But I guess if I had any balls, I'd be making and marketing my own burner.

As a consumer with money to spend, I'm looking at the KAB4 and the Top Tier. Since I'm middle aged, I'm leaning to the top tier because I'm tired of owning crap stuff.

 

Apparently some Blingbuyers are pretty defensive of their purcha$es!

 

^ LOL.

^^ Do the math. There's a clearly superior build, and then there's an also-ran. For $10, which would you buy?

Cheers!

 

Could not edit my post on phone.


How big of a kettle fits? 71,000 buts seems low however it is not far off from the other monster burners on the market.

 

I agree.

This burner needs more info to sell it on what makes it more appealing to buy over the blechman for the $10 difference. Most people looking to spend closer to top dollar will be doing plenty of research.

 

I am sure there are pro and cons for both the Blichmann and the Edelmetall burners. I like the price point of the Edelmetall and it very pretty! Don't know about its looks making it snobby - someone mentioned earlier.

But option for leg extensions with the Blichmann is definitely has a slight advantage since I am 6.2 I find myself leaning over to read the temp gauge in my pot. Having the pot raised up a little higher would be good for my back. The other aspect of that is I don't want the pot to be top heavy.
So the question comes to mind how many people actually use the leg extensions on the blichmann?

HUMMM I need a new burner mine sucks take for ever to bring 35L to boil! A side by side brew session to really compare the efficiency would be a real test.

my 2cents....enjoy the day.[/FONT]

 

I think the Edelmetall looks cool, but I'd be concerned about the copper tarnishing pretty quickly, especially once you've done a few boils on it. I've recently cleaned up my Blichmann and that was enough of a pain. How does copper compare with SS with respect to keeping it clean? This is not much of a brewing issue, but if you like to keep your gear nice and shiny, this could be an issue. BTW, it looks like NB will be putting out other items under the Edelmetall brand, at least according to the trademark filing. This could be interesting.

 

I think it's beautiful, and that doesn't bother me. But if it's going to be on the ground all the time, hiding under the shadow of a kettle, how good looking should it be?

I'm not a fan of Blichmann prices, either, but I think $10 extra would be worth it for all stainless and the ability to mount it on a stand or legs.

 

Agreed.

 

One, at least...

Cheers!

 

2, I need to get mine bolted on. Tired of having to lift and pour the wort from the kettle.

 

I like the leg mod you did there...using the stubby legs in addition to the extensions. I am going to copy you for sure! Probably a nice stability gain?

 

No doubt, though I don't know how to quantify it. The span increases from 17.25 to 23.25 inches (35%) and the footprint increases by 83%, without changing height or the center of mass. So there must be an increase in resistance to being bumped over by some amount, and I suspect it's substantial.

I used a jig on a drill press to get the holes consistent, and at that point it made sense to drill all 16 holes at once rather than try using the existing holes on the 24" legs...

Cheers!

 

I use the tall legs too.

 

Why couldn't you use the existing holes on the leg extensions, and then just drill out the 8 holes to match these on the short legs? Seems like it would work just fine and be less effort. Drilling through all of that thick stainless seems like it would be a pain, even with a drill press. I do like the idea though. I've always been concerned with the stability of a 20+ gallon kettle of hot wort standing up on those leg extensions. This looks like the perfect way to go, short of building a custom stand.

 

You could certainly drill holes in the outside of the original short legs to match up with the stock holes in the long legs. The spread is a couple of inches less than the way I went but I doubt that'd be any less secure. I have a set of boron bits which cut through stainless like it's aluminum, so once I set my jig up it only took minutes to drill all 16 holes and have them all line up perfectly...

Cheers!

 

I was looking at both of these burners and went with the bilchmann. The price hurts since you can get the same burner for significantly less. But I too am middle age ( lower middle) and would like my stuff to last and be nice. Buy it once has become my philosophy. If you have to wait a little while to buy the better product, it will be less expensive in the long run. All that being said... It's still expensive.

 

Ah, got it. I'll need to get some of those boron bits for this! Thanks...

 

I was in the NB store over the weekend and heard one of the employees tell a customer "basically it's our knock-off of the Blichmann burner".
At least he was honest!

 

I will third that on the longer legs on the Blichman burner. I love mine. 20 gallon kettle dumps right into to two 6.5 gallon carboys after immersion chilling.

 

Sure, see how that attitude works for you old man