185,000 BTUs

[BrewCityBaller]

I'll post a review of mine this weekend after I use it

Ditto. Brewing with it Saturday. Thanks Amazon Prime for free overnight shipping!

 

[thadius856]

Ditto. Brewing with it Saturday. Thanks Amazon Prime for free overnight shipping!

Isn't Prime free two-day shipping, or $4 overnight?

 

[BrewCityBaller]

Isn't Prime free two-day shipping, or $4 overnight?

I got free two day shipping, but it came overnight anyways!

 

[Hopper77]

Just played with mine. Wow is it badass! My keggle fits on it perfectly. Does LOOK a little flimsy but I think it will do. I will probably brew on it next weekend

 

[overflow]

I have a Bayou SQ14 @ 55k BTU and love it. From the gas sounds when I boil, I estimate I get up to boil using 45k BTU and boil using 40k BTU. Gave a great roiling boil on a 13.1 gallon pre-boil volume in a keggle. You sure you need 185k BTU?

Was thinking about getting a larger outdoor burner, but not for beer: for a wok!

I second this. I have several burners, and this one is by far my favorite. It's always consistent, never scorches, and I've never had a boil over. When the regulator on this broke (I left it outside all winter like an idiot) I went and got a banjo burner. Damn that thing is hard to control. I am constantly fiddling with the regulator, and it always seems I'm either not boiling or boiling so much I undershoot my final volume.

I should say I mostly do 5gal batches, the banjo burner would probably be great for 10gal batches.

 

[BrewCityBaller]

Brewed three batches this weekend. Considering I have been using my stove, this was a HUGE improvement. Got up to my mash temp quickly and held a consistent boil. Had no trouble holding my five gallon pot. My only concern was that the paint is clearly not flameproof and burnt off in most places within a few minutes. Also should note, used a 20 lb. cylinder (filled to 15 lbs.) and I did one 5-gallon and two 1-gallon batches this weekend with gas to spare.

 

[thadius856]

I should hope you had gas left over. I can usually get at least four 5-gallon batches out of a 20# tank filled to the top.

Indeed, 15# is about 325k BTUs worth of heat. Your burner could cut through that in 2 hrs, 5 min. My 55k will take a little longer at 5 hrs, 55 min on full blast.

I estimate I do my roiling 10 gallon batches (13 gal boil volume) at 40-45k BTU. That's usually about 4 extract batches from cold tap or 5 all-grain batches from mash temp for me.

It might sound silly, but you know that you can freeze your tank over with a huge draw on that small of a tank, right? Check out this chart.

http://www.flameengineering.com/Propane_Info.html

Note that they modeled it on a 100# tank, but the trend is clear: the emptier your tank is, the higher your draw is, and the colder it is outside, the more likely you are to freeze your tank.

I can't imagine you're using even a large portion of the available 155k to maintain the boil.

 

[aogg]

I have done 4 batches on that burner now. Still have fuel for another at least. I can't imagine ever having to run it at full bore for any reason. It maintains a boil on a 5 gallon batch with the valve opened just enough to get a blue flame.

 

[woknblues]

Just played with mine. Wow is it badass! My keggle fits on it perfectly. Does LOOK a little flimsy but I think it will do. I will probably brew on it next weekend

Make sure you crank it up for a few minutes outside your garage. Most of the paint will burn off and flake. The smell is not too pleasant, but goes away quick enough

 

[woknblues]

I have done 4 batches on that burner now. Still have fuel for another at least. I can't imagine ever having to run it at full bore for any reason. It maintains a boil on a 5 gallon batch with the valve opened just enough to get a blue flame.

+1 this.

I never understood the "it uses more fuel/inefficient" argument against this product. It is 185k max at full throttle, and I only go there to hit strike and to hit boil. The rest of the time it is whispering away at some lower setting, nowhere near 185k. I have done 2x10 gallon batches and a 5 gallon batch (90 minute boil) and I suspect there is enough to do at least another in there.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

It's my understanding that a 20# cylinder will only yield so much btu output per hour . No burner, regardless of factory rating, will yield even close to 185 k btu on a 20# . Iow, if you want the advertised output, you're gonna need a larger cylinder

 

[Hopper77]

Make sure you crank it up for a few minutes outside your garage. Most of the paint will burn off and flake. The smell is not too pleasant, but goes away quick enough

Too late. I made the mistake if burning it in the garage but I had the door open. Still haven't brewed on it yet. Next weekend hopefully

 

[woknblues]

It's my understanding that a 20# cylinder will only yield so much btu output per hour . No burner, regardless of factory rating, will yield even close to 185 k btu on a 20# . Iow, if you want the advertised output, you're gonna need a larger cylinder

In terms of our use here, I don't see how the capacity of the tank would matter, unless you are saying that you don't think that you can get 185k applied directly to heat the water. Like a volkswagon beetle having more HP than a Ferrari because it has a 2 gallon larger gas tank.

IIRC, a 20lb propane tank has around 430k of potential BTU. Whether or not it is efficiently applied to the item that you intend to heat is another story, but I think you should easily get 185k BTU's out of a 20lb tank, if not 430k. Why not?

I've already said more than I know, carry on..

 

[thadius856]

You lose some of those BTUs to wind, surrounding air, lighting the burner, etc.

But the big loss is from the BTUs that are never transferred to the kettle. Each pot/burner combo has a specific best efficiency, and decreasing efficiency above that.

In other words, if you crank up the gas twice as high, you get less than twice the heat transferred to the pot. It's not normally be a huge deal at lower BTU ratings, but

Running at 185k would be like drag racing your car everywhere you go. Your fuel economy is going to suffer, but you'll get there faster.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

In terms of our use here, I don't see how the capacity of the tank would matter, unless you are saying that you don't think that you can get 185k applied directly to heat the water. Like a volkswagon beetle having more HP than a Ferrari because it has a 2 gallon larger gas tank.

IIRC, a 20lb propane tank has around 430k of potential BTU. Whether or not it is efficiently applied to the item that you intend to heat is another story, but I think you should easily get 185k BTU's out of a 20lb tank, if not 430k. Why not?

I've already said more than I know, carry on..

I'm saying the mfgr.'s btu rating is inaccurate for a homebrewer's purposes unless the burner's owner properly sizes their propane tank with their burner. Sure a 20# tank has the potential of 430k btu, but that 430k cannot be accessed to yield 185k btu.

A full 20# tank can produce 90k btu/hr at 70F. The btu declines as the temps decline. e.g. a full tank produces 65k btu at 40F. That's why I suggested a larger tank. a larger tank will yield a better vaporization (vapourization for you Brits) rate. Better vaporization rate = higher btu.

So, in short, the best any burner can achieve using a 20# tank as a fuel source, assuming 70F temps, is 90k btu. The rest of the btu rating number is just d!ck waving.

Here's another's explanation. I tried to search for industry data but couldn't easily find it and I'm too lazy to search any further.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090124214947AAxUOqm

 

[thadius856]

I always assumed the "high BTU" numbers were only possible with a NG hookup with a decent WC.

Speaking of which, I'd really love to have a wok burner piped in. Think I'd need a bigger meter for something like that though. Somewhere in the 160k BTU range would be might fine.

This one's a bit overkill...

 

[woknblues]

I'm saying the mfgr.'s btu rating is inaccurate for a homebrewer's purposes unless the burner's owner properly sizes their propane tank with their burner. Sure a 20# tank has the potential of 430k btu, but that 430k cannot be accessed to yield 185k btu.

A full 20# tank can produce 90k btu/hr at 70F. The btu declines as the temps decline. e.g. a full tank produces 65k btu at 40F. That's why I suggested a larger tank. a larger tank will yield a better vaporization (vapourization for you Brits) rate. Better vaporization rate = higher btu.

So, in short, the best any burner can achieve using a 20# tank as a fuel source, assuming 70F temps, is 90k btu. The rest of the btu rating number is just d!ck waving.

Here's another's explanation. I tried to search for industry data but couldn't easily find it and I'm too lazy to search any further.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090124214947AAxUOqm

Hmm. Well, my 185k BTU burner still gets the water to strike and boil twice as fast or more than the last burner I used which was a 60k or 70k burner, both with a 20lb tank. I don't know where that fits in with what is actually harnessed to boil water as previously stated, but I suspect if people are looking for efficiency, they may as well go with a submerged electric element. I didn't know about vaporization. Thanks for the info. However, I have 4 batches so far on my 20 gallon tank and the only reason I would bother getting a larger tank at this point would be to decrease fill ups, rather than trying to eek out marginally better performance from a satisfactory $29 burner/reg set up.

 

[looneybomber]

This one's a bit overkill...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoPclRe66pw

My first thought was "Holy hell he is going to warp the Sh.. out of that pan", then I saw him use metal utensils in a teflon pan

 

[stompbox]

I have that burner, it works well but as noted kegs don't fit well on it. I am able to use the keg on it but it is slightly off level when I do.

I'd think for $20 or less you could weld 4 corners on it to facilitate a keggle.

I now use a blichman though and only use this one for heating strike water or the date to preheat the mashtun, etc

 

[HokieBrewer]

That burner might be the best brewing purchase I've ever made. I brew 10-12 gal batches and can get water up to strike temps in 10 minutes and to a boil in another 10-15.

I rarely have free time on the weekends so any extra propane I might use (which isn't much, as others have said you don't need to run it wide open the whole time) is worth the time savings.

 

[thadius856]

My first thought was "Holy hell he is going to warp the Sh.. out of that pan", then I saw him use metal utensils in a teflon pan

Mmmm. Nope, that's not teflon.

Woks are usually carbon steel. So that makes them cheap. Sub-$20 for a household size machine-stamped wok that can last decades. Like cast iron, it needs to be treated to prevent rusting.

The black stuff you're probably mistaking for teflon is the patina and conditioning the he has given the wok over years of use. Brand new woks come out dull grey, darker than polished aluminum. You have to scrub the machine oil off, then condition them.

Some use leeks and peanut oil to condition. Others use vegetable oil sprays (PAM) and bake it on in an oven. Woks are never washed, only wiped down.

My wife's Wok is arriving from China soon. Most are stamped, but since hers was her Valentine's present (she loves cooking Asian food), I'm getting hers hand-made by an artisan. The cost was several times more than an entry-level wok, but hopefully it's something we can hand down to our kids when we croak.

It takes one highly skilled worker 6 straight hours to make the diameter 36cm wok, 12 hours to make diameter 50cm wok, 2 workers 2 days to make 64cm wok!!!

 

[Hopper77]

I finally brewed using my new burner last night. It brought the strike and sparge water up slower than I thought it would. It did good in the boil. I opened it up full throttle and watched the temp jump 20 degrees almost instantly. At the end of my 60 minute boil I still had to boil off 1 gallon to get down to 5. Took the hops out and cranked the heat up. Boiled off in no time at all. Like 10 minutes. For me using a little more propane is worth it if it saves me time.

 

[stompbox]

Same here. As a parent of 9 month old twins. My time is worth way more than a few bucks

 

[onthekeg]

Yup, me too. Thats why I spent a dime and turned up my 5500w electric unit at the end for 20 minutes. I couldn't turn it all the way up as it would have thrown out liquid, but turned it up a little. It would have cost me .28 to run it for a full hour, but as it was only at 80% for 15 min, it was less than a dime. I pay .07/KWH here.

 

[thadius856]

Yup, me too. Thats why I spent a dime and turned up my 5500w electric unit at the end for 20 minutes. I couldn't turn it all the way up as it would have thrown out liquid, but turned it up a little. It would have cost me .28 to run it for a full hour, but as it was only at 80% for 15 min, it was less than a dime. I pay .07/KWH here.

Big difference. We heat the bottoms and sides of our kettles, hoping some of the heat makes it to the wort before it floats away into space. You heat your wort. The kettle gets warm as a side-effect.

Jealous of your 7c/KWH. I pay 10c/KWH, and I'm on the state's low income price tier.

I offset my propane costs by striking and sparging with natural gas on the stove top. 100k BTU of natural gas (1 therm) costs me $0.48. 100k BTU of propane costs me $4.23 (at $3.85/gal).

My $0.48 therm is equivalent to 31.8 of your $0.07 kWh, so your electricity is about 4.65x more expensive before we apply an efficiency co-efficient.

 

[Clef051]

I just ordered mine yesterday

 

[D_Nyholm]

Yup, me too. Thats why I spent a dime and turned up my 5500w electric unit at the end for 20 minutes. I couldn't turn it all the way up as it would have thrown out liquid, but turned it up a little. It would have cost me .28 to run it for a full hour, but as it was only at 80% for 15 min, it was less than a dime. I pay .07/KWH here.

I was considering using a heat stick to supplement stove top boils until I realized we pay .22/KWH here wish I had your price, it is going to be brutal this summer with the a/c and pool filter on!

 

[formula2fast]

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/brew_stand/brewstand_modular.html
Click on the tab that says burner data and see what Blichmann says about the BTU's of burners.

If you don't want to link to the page, here is what they said. There are also a few graphs on the page.

We weren't satisfied with selecting just any burner for the TopTier™, so we developed and tuned our own! While many manufacturers claim an impressive BTU capability, all they're talking about is the input energy -NOT- the actual energy entering the pot! Isn't the whole point to heat wort not the atmosphere?

Our requirements?
•High efficiency
•Fast heating
•Non rusting fume free stainless frame
•Excellent outdoor flame stability
•Quiet operation
•Great low setting performance without yellow flame ( blackens bottom of pot)


Our Result:

A 72,000 BTU/hr burner that is a great blend of heating power and efficiency - and does so whisper quietly! In addition, low flame combustion is clean, wind performance is outstanding, and the heavy stainless construction is built to last a lifetime! For operation on natural gas expect 15% less power and 15% longer heating times due to the lower BTU contelt of natural gas vs. propane.

We also documented that the published BTU of competitive burners varied wildly from actual measured results. And measuring the performance is straightforward: simply run the burner for an hour at full power and measure the weight of the propane used in lb. Then multiply the weight in lb X 21,000 to get the burner rating in BTU/hr. For example. the Bayou Classic has a published rating of 180 KBTU/hr but only measured at 68 KBTU/hr!

 

[Fordzilla]

So the Bayou classic, according to Blichmann, puts out 4k BTU less and sells for about 1/4 the price? Sounds like the Bayou is the smarter buy.

 

[Hopper77]

Update.


Still awesomeness. I love this burner not only for the price but for the time it saves. I don't mind one bit spending a little bit more on propane. And that's usually only when I crank it up wide open. I can say I've found my burner. Won't buy anything else