Burners for 100L (26 gal) brewing

[erykroom]

Hello

I have been a long time reader of this forum and now it's the time for my first post. I plan to upgrade my 50L (13 gal) brewing system for a bigger one. I have a 130L (34 gal) stainless steel boil kettle that needs to be heated. My current heaters are all cheap banjo burners and they take too long to heat up 13 gallons. So a new and effective burner is needed for 26 gallon batches. Does someone have any experience with commercial burners for this scale of brewing.

A few choices that I have considered but im not sure about them.

• Edelmetall Brü burner with 72,000 BTUs
• Jet burners with ~100,000 BTU's
• Blichmann Floor Burner with 72,000 BTUs

 

[grathan]

Welcome.

Is there any electric outlets available?

Those aren't really commercial burners and you'll be disappointed in how long they take imho. I don't brew that big of batch, but my burner is at least that big. I think it's a KAB6 with 30 psi regulator and it still isn't great. It uses a lot of propane, maybe most of the 15# tank when on high for a single 6 gallon batch.


Here is some examples of commercial burner.
http://www.glaciertanks.com/Products-Jet_Burners.html

 

[jackyl]

I'm pretty sure the Blichmann and Edelmetall are just BG-14s with windshields / stands / etc. I don't know how long it takes you to heat 13 gallons now, but have you looked into adjusting your existing setup by adding in wind screens / adjusting height, etc?

 

[erykroom]

Currently I have two burners. One for HLT and one for BK. After mashing it takes around a hour for the hot wroth to get boiling.

Image of the current burners:
http://www.paradiisimesila.ee/files/IMG_0107.jpg

I guess a KAB6 would be a upgrade from my old burner but the more I think of it the more electric heating elements seem more suitable.

Would one of these camco elements be suitable for 30 gallons or should there be more?

Camco heater element:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BPG4LI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Rev2010]

This thing here is supposed to be 220,000 BTU's:

http://www.homebrewing.org/14-Propane-Burner--220000-BTU_p_1190.html

I have the Blichmann and love it for my 5 gallon batches, but personally no way would I try 20+ gallons on it. Seems like it would take forever to get to a boil and I'm not sure it would maintain it. Maybe others have done it successfully, and I know it's supposed to hold all Blichmann's kettles up to 30 gallons (which I would presume is for 15-20 gallon boils?), but at least when I use it I don't see it as having the power to be ideal for such a volume. Maybe it's because most of the year when I brew it's cold outside, maybe under warmer weather or some sort of wind/temperature protected open space it would perform fine for such volume, I dunno.


Rev.

 

[grathan]

You'll be impressed with the electric. I use one of them in my HLT. My orginal plan was to combine propane/ electric to get really fast, but just the Camco overheats my strike water before I can even weigh/crush the grains.

You can use both propane/electric if you use a heatstick style setup. I have a stainless pipe that is like 4' long that kinda leans back against the wall in the kettle and keeps the cord well away from the propane heat. I bet I could boil a 55 gallon drum with the 3500 watt element I have on it, if the drum had some insulation.

Though if you have access to electric. I would consider more than just a single 5500W. Though perhaps one to start and then keeping in mind for expansion as you see how quick things can be.

 

[purplehaze]

I do 15-20 gallon batches with my banjo burners with 30 psi regs outside. I don't use them anywhere near that pressure though.

It would help if you posted a pic of your brew rig/burners for some possible trouble shooting. Such as the height of the pot above the burner, wind screen etc. It may not seem like a big deal but these things matter.

 

[b-boy]

I boil 14 gallon batches. I use NG jet burners. They're rated at ~100K BTU.

I probably wait 30+ minutes to get a boil going after I sparge. It takes a long time to heat up that much liquid no matter how much heat you're pumping out.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

have a look at an industrial wok burner or an industrial stock pot burner if you can have access to natural gas. either of those suckers would get you to the boil real quick if you wanted to push them. maybe also have a look at either an electric or natural gas industrial steam jacketed kettle, also would have no problem screaming to a boil.

not sure about where you are but it shouldn't be too hard to find some old restaurant equipment for pretty cheap. restaurants fail all the time and that stuff lasts forever.

 

[mblanks2]

http://www.agrisupply.com/banjo-burner-and-stand/p/83715/&sid=&eid=/

These. 210,000 btu's

 

[ntempleton]

http://www.agrisupply.com/banjo-burner-and-stand/p/83715/&sid=&eid=/

These. 210,000 btu's

I have 2 of these on a 1bbl system. I heat ~50 gallons of 50° degree water in the liquor tank in 90mins or so. Boil is quick so long as I get the burner going during the sparge. I don't have any complaints.

 

[erykroom]

Sorry for the late reply. Had a lot to do during holidays.

I wanted to thank you guys for the help and knowledge you have given me. Im currently thinking more and more of the electric heating elements. Propably it will be cheaper and I dont have to worry about my gastanks getting empty.

Another question thats been troubling my mind is the mash tun. Im building a stainless steel mash tun that is heated by a gas burner underneath. I want to have a stainless steel false bottom and the wroth collecting tube should be right in the middle of the tun underneath the false bottom.

Whats the best geometry for the false bottom holes? I visited a local microbrewery and they said that slits are better than round holes. Is there any truth in there? I know that the holes/slits should be approximately 2-3mm in diameter and the more holes the better, because it does not disturb the fluid dynamics of the wroth.

 

[erykroom]

Also happy new year!!

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

I would seriously look into a RIMS or HERMS system for a mash tun that volume.

 

[mblanks2]

As far as the holes versus slits issue you need to consider that with holes you could have some grain/flour pass through and get to the bottom of the MT. On the other hand with slits you would have a higher probability of a stuck sparge.
I use a false bottom with holes and do get flour in the bottom of my MT. It hasn't caused any issues with off flavors or the like. I perform a thorough vorlauf and recirculate with a chugger pump and direct fire my MT to maintain mash temps.
This works well for me.

 

[erykroom]

Finally my brewpot is ready. 2mm stainless steel maximum amount of liquid is around 140L (36 gal). I attached also a picture of this beast. Now I have to make some plans for my mash tun. We plan to brew strong beers (OG around 1.1) and also some lighter beers. So I guess the mash tun should be at least 10% bigger than the boiling kettle?

 

[Spz123]

You know you can put a piece of metal mesh over the hole and grain won’t flow through it. You’re welcome.