Concord Single Burner Outdoor Stove - Review Part 1

[brew-bandit]

Happy New Year all!

During a very windy brew day I had a very hard time keeping a good boil going so I decided to look for a new burner. I was using a Darkstar 1.0 which is NOT a banjo style burner. This burner has served me well and considered purchasing a Darkstar 2.0 with a banjo style burner. I was not fond of the idea for paying +$100 for a high end burner. I did a little searching and found that Concord Kettles offers an outdoor burner (see link below). I have not used the burner yet and will post an update after I do. I will also post some pictures later.

http://www.concordkettles.com/products/concord-single-burner-outdoor-stove-w-stand

What sold me was it is capable of 120,000 BTU and can hold over 400lbs or 200 qt kettle filled with liquid. And the price? $59.98! I did not have to pay shipping, I assume because I live in Southern California.

The burner came neatly packed in a single box with assembly required. They provide a screwdriver, wrench and really crappy instructions, kind of like IKEA, only with worse instructions.

The box consisted of the top, two legs, a burner and a regulator. Since the instructions are so uninformative you have to fiddle with orientation of the legs. There is a little mark on the leg that goes to the inside of the structure (I will post a pic). Other than that it is a snap to put together and all the screws and nuts are a single size. The only tool you need is a wrench to tighten the regulator flare fitting to the burner.

My impressions? This is a very stout unit. I could easily stand on this and jump up and down with no fear and I weigh 200 lbs! As of now I feel I got way more product than I expected and I am really looking forward to using it!

Pros: Great construction, price, tools included
Cons: Worst instructions ever

I have now purchased two items from Concord, this burner and a 60 qt SS kettle, and I am very pleased with both of my purchases.

More to come.

 

[brew-bandit]

Here are some pics.

 

[balto charlie]

I'm interested in how the burner smells as you boil. I had a similar system, powerful, inexpensive but the paint smell was so acrid as it burned, I cringed while I boiled. The nasty smell has subsided (after many many boils) but it is still present. If you do not have any nasty smells then you have done well, but please send me smell report

 

[brew-bandit]

Well I used the burner yesterday and it works great. As far as the smell test there was some bad smells for about 10 minutes. The main culprit was a plastic label that I had not removed prior to use. After that was removed the smell was gone.

Unfortunately my carboy broke as I was racking a beautiful Irish Red With no carboys left, I drilled a hole in the lid of my bottling bucket for the airlock and managed to save the 2.5-3 gallons left in the kettle.

I have had 2 carboys break on me in the past month. I think I am going to go to buckets.

 

[Jwin]

Well I used the burner yesterday and it works great. As far as the smell test there was some bad smells for about 10 minutes. The main culprit was a plastic label that I had not removed prior to use. After that was removed the smell was gone.

Unfortunately my carboy broke as I was racking a beautiful Irish Red With no carboys left, I drilled a hole in the lid of my bottling bucket for the airlock and managed to save the 2.5-3 gallons left in the kettle.

I have had 2 carboys break on me in the past month. I think I am going to go to buckets.

Sorry about your beer but glad you made it out alive.
This looks a lot like the $39 burner I got from a sporting goods store. But the burner may be bigger

 

[brew-bandit]

Could be similar Jwin. It looks very similar to one of the Bayou Classic High Pressure single burners.

If you got one for $39 then kudos! This Concord model has exceeded my expectations. It is very sturdy and you can really get it cranking out the heat.