Another Burner Question

[Lab_Rat]

New to the forum and looking for advice. I am putting together a list of equipment for All Grain Brewing and I need some advice on a propane burner. I know there are a lot of burner threads on here but I have yet to see a post recommending a burner that solved everyone's problems for a decent price.

As I see it I have a few choices:
1) KAB 4/6
Nice sturdy stand
Lots of BTU's
Decent Price
Way too much distance between the kettle and the burner

People have had trouble with the distance to burner (especially with a keggle). I have seen some decent mods to the stand to bring the burner closer to the kettle. However, I have no welding experience / equipment and I don't realy want to add another $20-30 in mods to a brand new burner just to get what I want.

2) Blichmann Burner
Nice sturdy stand
Decent BTUs
Short distace between kettle and Burner
Way expensive

I can't justify in my mind the cost of a Blichmann burner. Even their data on efficiency is unconvincing. They want $100 more for a burner that saves you 5 min of time and 0.2 pounds of propane. At that rate I would need to make ~500 batches to brake even.

Has anyone found a burner that has decent BTU's, a windscreen, a short distance from Kettle to burner, can fit large kettles / keggles, AND for a decent price.

 

[Barnesie]

You can make beer with a $40 turkey fryer, the question is how much do you want to spend and how much quality do you demand. Like anything, if you have a ton of variables, you can't really have a proper comparison to figure out what's right for you.

If I were you, I wouldn't even bother thinking about BTU's. Just about any propane burner will get a pot boiling regardless of the BTU rating, so it's a question of how long it takes and how much propane do you burn through. If you really care about how long it takes to boil something, get the highest BTU's you can find - but remember you're just trading propane for time.

I like the blichmann because it's stainless and very well designed. There are no concerns about how much weight it can take or what size pot will fit. It will take anything you can find. With a blichmann, you're getting about the best burner there is and you're paying appropriately.

I also have an old trusty-rusty turkey fryer in the corner with a nearly rusted through jet burner. It still works, just needs regular rust treatment to keep it from turning to dust.

Both of them boil wort. The blichmann is top notch, the turkey fryer is a set of compromises. Only you can really understand which compromises are acceptable to you.