Burner Help!
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Score a used Turkey fryer on craig's list.
csurowiec
Well-Known Member
Not sure where you are in the country but there might be one of these restaurant supply stores in your area. This is the best price I have seen on 210,000 btu which should be plenty for a keggle.
https://www.therestaurantstore.com/items/39336
https://www.therestaurantstore.com/items/39336
I know you said you are on a budget, but I had a turkey fryer that worked good for extract brews but when I went to BIAB it was not safe with my keggle and 8-9 gallons of wort. With that being said, make sure you get something that is very stable like the Blichmann burner. It's a little pricy, but it will bring your wort to a boil faster then a small turkey burner and its much more stable for a larger pot and boil.
That^
The listed 210k BTU is way overrated.
IIRC, that design burner, the cast iron part, cranks out 90k BTU max. Blichmann uses the same banjo cast but with a better windshield, and very sturdy legs.
The listed 210k BTU is way overrated.
IIRC, that design burner, the cast iron part, cranks out 90k BTU max. Blichmann uses the same banjo cast but with a better windshield, and very sturdy legs.
Murphys_Law
Well-Known Member
I used a Bayou SP-10 for the past year. I believe it is a fairly popular burner for home brew. $50 on Amazon. I brewed 9 gallon batches with a 15G Bayou Kettle and didn't have any real issue(s) with my BIAB or the sturdiness of the legs.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000291GBQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
That said, I did upgrade to a Blichmann a few months ago and while expensive, especially on a college budget, it's one of the best investments in the hobby I have made. Very quite, sturdy, and efficient.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000291GBQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
That said, I did upgrade to a Blichmann a few months ago and while expensive, especially on a college budget, it's one of the best investments in the hobby I have made. Very quite, sturdy, and efficient.
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![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I'd pass the hat and tell your buddies you'll be making some beer, and if they want some of the goodies, now is the time to pitch in.
The Bayou SP-10 is solid, value priced and affordable.
The Blichmann is expensive and worth every penny of the cost. Once in a lifetime purchase if you take care of it.
I have both and there is no comparison. BUT if you don't have the funds, SP-10 will get you by til you upgrade.
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Uts
Member
i had a turkey fryer, and upgraded to the blichmann. it was one of the best upgrades i've made. it might be a bit more expensive up front, but in the long run, you'll save money by the gas you'll save. not to mention the time savings by getting your wort to a boil faster.
I bought my Bayou Classic when I was in college and it's still going strong after 4yrs. I get about 6 brews out of a 20lb propane tank with an all grain setup.
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-Single-Burner-Patio/dp/B0009JXYQ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473282224&sr=8-1&keywords=bayou+burner
https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-Single-Burner-Patio/dp/B0009JXYQ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473282224&sr=8-1&keywords=bayou+burner
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ElChangoGuero
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Bayou jet burner 210k btu, 60 bucks on amazon
Justintoxicated
Well-Known Member
You can easily heat like 40 gallons with the SP10 (although it might not hold your kettle) but I have seen them used for this with kettle supported by a brewstand. Quality control for their products sucks though (IMO), so use a place you can return easily if you have a problem like a local shop or amazon. Not sure if the blichmann can handle 40's but it might save you some gas I dunno, I'm sure it's nice and all. Nothing wrong with the SP10 though, it will get the job done.
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unviewtiful
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Nice find. That's $20 below the best delivered price I found for a KAB4...
Cheers!
Two notes on that burner versus the KAB4:
1. KAB4 comes with the stainless braided hose.
2. These burners are built for flat-bottomed pots. The Bayou Classic can be modified to raise the burner to be more efficient with keggles, but it doesn't look like the restaurant store version can be modified in the same way.
That being said, I use a keggle on a KAB6 with the modifications mentioned above. It works great and is extremely efficient with propane, I can get four 10 gallon batches on a single 20 lb tank. The burner itself is identical to the Blichmann, but is mounted on a different stand. But for $85/$90 on prime for the KAB4/KAB6, it's a great deal.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I {jokingly} told my wife I would be saving enough in propane efficiency to buy the Blichmann; in other words, it would pay for itself at some point. I was actually appeasing myself since I wanted one but needed to justify the expense.
Well, darn, that Blichmann has proved that I am a truth teller! It is getting FAR greater efficiency than my Bayou, and much more efficient than I anticipated. I'm not bashing Bayou as I have one. But I can't believe how long a 20# tank of propane will last with the Blichmann. AND darn...that thing is super stable with a 20G kettle of boiling wort sitting atop....and this is with a leg kit I added.
UndeadFred
Well-Known Member
Depends. If you are a science or engineering major, I'd say an electric element or two from Home Depot is the cheapest burner. For a portable college setup, that, some sort of controller on one element and an extension cord to plug into two circuits is probably pretty cheap since likely you are not going to pay for electricity. Use GFCI circuits, like the kind you'd have in a bathroom or add it to the dorm circuits.... Or.. drop down to 2.5-3 gallon batches and use one 115V element... I assume you are in America.. sorry if not... But you are looking at $10 for a 115V 1500W element, and you can manually cycle it with a thermometer monitoring temperature if you really want to go inexpensive.. like I said GFCI though... so another $10 plus a box to mount it in per element (if you do 2, then 2) if you can't hook it up in a bathroom or kitchen... Boil control: Router speed controller from Harbor Freight or Menards/Lowes/HD... $about $15
Uts
Member
i wasnt expecting it to be such a huge difference in efficiency either. i just knew that the fryer i was on took too long to get 6-7 gallons boiling.
i didnt even mention how quiet the blichmann is in comparison. it's a whisper compared to the jet engine my fryer was
Morrey
Well-Known Member
i wasnt expecting it to be such a huge difference in efficiency either. i just knew that the fryer i was on took too long to get 6-7 gallons boiling.
i didnt even mention how quiet the blichmann is in comparison. it's a whisper compared to the jet engine my fryer was
I thought about doing an efficiency comparison between the Bayou and Blichmann but I hate to use the Bayou (waste gas and loud noise) to make an effective comparison. All I can say at this point is the Blichmann is an awesome burner and a tremendous addition to any brewing system.
If I was making a stab at the efficiency improvement over the Bayou, I'd say 20-25% increase based on fuel consumption. Quicker boil times, lower flames to maintain boil and whisper quiet operation makes this burner hard to equal.
You can easily do a test of the efficiency of a system. You need a scale, and bring, say, 5 or 10 gallons of water to a boil (or any temperature for that matter). Time how long it takes to reach that temp, and weigh how much fuel it used. Then plug the used fuel amount into a formula. The time is just a 2nd measure for you to know.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
Good idea. I had considered the way to test would be to use a full tank of propane and see how many batches it would brew. Your evaluation is much more straightforward.
It's much better and easier this way, as you'll know exactly how much actual energy it takes (lbs of propane and the associated BTUs it can generate) to heat x gallons of water, vs. the theoretical BTUs needed tyo heat that amount.
There are always losses in the system and to environment, which you now also know, the difference between theoretical and actual. The same setup under similar conditions should give you comparable results.
The windshield and the proximity of the burner to the bottom of the kettle are crucial! Some have reported over 50% savings in time and energy by just improving those 2 factors. The Blichmann burners are quite well optimized, many others are not (Bayou, and generics), too far from the kettle bottom which needs to be heated and missing an effective windshield, that's placed way too low.
Please, don't perform this experiment without putting that hot water to good use, like strike water for your mash or to heat x gallons of collected wort from xF to yF, etc.
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