Can propane be used on an LP burner...

[jockmac22]

I've got a 14" jet burner rated for LP, with a 3/4" NPT connection. Can I use a propane fuel source with this?

If so, what kind of regulation should I use, and is there any documentation for how to do this?

Thanks ahead.
Jocko

PS - I live in a rental, and I want to build a portable system so I'm intentionally trying to avoid city infrastructure or fixed tanks as a fuel source. Any commentary on that would be appreciated.

 

[bradsul]

Welcome to HBT!

LP == Liquid Propane

Not sure about your fittings question, hopefully someone with some knowledge about that will post.

 

[jockmac22]

Welcome to HBT!

LP == Liquid Propane

Bradsul - Thanks for the educations and the welcome.

by LP I was intending to say that the burner is rated for Low Pressure.

Todays lesson has been learned, can't wait for tomorrow.

 

[Brewers Hardware]

If it's low pressure propane, then you're fine. You just need a regulator for it and you can probably find that at Lowes on the BBQ aisle. If you mean LP natural gas, then no. They're jetted differently.

 

[Catt22]

stolen from Wikipedia:

Propane is a three-carbon alkane, normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. It is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing. It is commonly used as a fuel for engines, barbecues, portable stoves and residential central heating.

When used as vehicle fuel, it is commonly known as liquified petroleum gas (LPG or LP-gas), which can be a mixture of propane along with small amounts of propylene, butane, and butylene. The odorant ethanethiol is also added so that people can easily smell the gas in case of a leak.

You need to be sure that the LP label is referring to low pressure and not LP(G). These are two very different things as mentioned above. You can buy low pressure fixed, high pressure fixed, and variable pressure regulators. The first thing you need to find out is if your burner is jetted for natural gas or LPG gas. After that, if it's LPG, find out whether high pressure or low pressure. Where did this burner come from? That could tell us a lot about what kind of gas and pressure it may require. Natural gas is a little easier because most all appliances operate at low residential pressure. It would be rare to find one rated for main line pressures.

 

[jockmac22]

Catt22, thanks for the details, that helps a lot.

I purchased the burner from Amazon.com:

Amazon.com: Multi-Jet Propane Gas Burner - Large: Home & Garden

I re-read the description, and it states that the burner is for high-pressure propane uses only.

Thanks again
Jocko

 

[Catt22]

Jocko,

I checked that link and now I know what you are dealing with. My advice would be to avoid those multi-jet wok burners. They do look cool, I must admit, and they have a high bling value, but they are designed to operate at or near full throttle and do not provide good flame control at the lower settings. There's another thread that discusses these problematic burners. The problem is that the air/fuel mixture is fixed. Most typical turkey fryer type burners have an adjustable air damper for this purpose. The wok burners have individual orifices located in each of the brass jets. The air inlets are holes in the base of the individual jets and cannot be adjusted for air flow. These burners will starve for oxygen at low settings, burn dirty and smoke. They will also sometimes self extinguish and fail to re-ignite. It's all due to an improper air/fuel ratio at less than wide open throttle. They might be good for a boil kettle or heating the sparge water, but for anything requiring precise flame control at low settings they will not work very well. I'm pretty sure that those who have them will disagree. They sort of have to I guess as they are pretty much stuck with them like it or not. My choice would be a high pressure cast iron ring type burner for the boil kettle or HLT and a low pressure one for direct fired mashing. These have a much lower bling value, but they perfomr much better in use.

 

[jockmac22]

-- For the enlightenment.

I'm building a mash/boil rig, gravity fed. I've already bought the jet burner so I figure if its good for the boil, I will employ it there.

I also have a banjo burner which I can control the temp on pretty well, which I can rig up for the mash.

Thanks for the info.