Edelmetall BRU Burner from Northern Brewer

[Vesteroid]

I have both burners. I picked up the NB when I got a coupon for 20% off and that sealed the deal for me. If I had it to do over I would buy the blicmann. In total its a better burner for 10 dollars more (but that 20% off got me).

Funny thing is I went with the mega pots 10 gallon all gran set up on that 20% off sale too and hade a blicman 10 gallon already for my boil kettle.

On the pots, the blickmann feels like a lighter gauge pot, or maybe its the bottom but its lighter....BUT the fitting on the blichmann are WAY better than what came with the mega pots. the bulkheads are so floppy I went to brewershardware and got real bulkhead and valves to replace what came on the mega pots.

I finally got them not to leak, but the darn thing moved all over the place when you worked the valves.

I am not sure how much more it would have cost them to upgrade the bulkheads, but say it was 30 bucks, it would have been money well spent.

 

[Trippel-A]

I got the Edelmetall BRU Burner with leg extensions. I need a brew day now to get it cooking. But my impression from assembly is, good design, good materials, poor craftsmanship. I really like the style and all, and all the metal parts are very sturdy and thick. Robust! But poor craftsmanship shows when the screw holes don't line up for the leg extensions, and things like that.

 

[Trippel-A]

I finally got a chance to use my new Edelmetall burner. It's great. I think the actual burner component is the same as in the Blichmann, so I'm not surprised that it's powerful and quiet and very easy to control with the needle valve. And the housing does a good job shielding from the wind. It wasn't terribly windy on Saturday, just a little gusty. It will be interesting to see how it does in stronger wind.

Unlike with my old turkey fryer, there is no constant flaring, no need to keep relighting, and no thick layer of carbon left on the bottom of the pot.

Also, in my garden, where the pavers aren't perfectly level, 3 spread legs are better than 4 straight legs. It is extremely solid and sturdy.

Finally, some of the copper near the flame did turn a little iridescent by the end of the day, which is pretty darn good looking.

I did learn that with a propane tank approaching empty, I couldn't get it hot enough to keep 12 gallons of wort at a full, rolling boil. I had to swap out the tank before the tank was empty. Which is kind of a bummer. But I'll use what's left in the tank to heat mash water or something next time.

 

[jpmess]

Question for you trippel. How were you using the needle valve? To fine tune the flame or to increase it? I did a test boil last night and it worked well but I just the left the needle valve open all the way. I used the regulator to increase or decrease the intensity of the flame. I agree with you, it has decent materials but poor craftsmanship. I tested it with 5.5 gallons of water at 62 degrees and it took 32 minutes to boil. Outside temp was 55 degrees. No black soot or anything on the kettle. The tank was low so I don't know if that made a difference or not.

I also did get a pretty wicked smell off the burner though. It smelled like the clear coat on the copper was burning off. I'm going to use it a few more times to burn anything else off.

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[Trippel-A]

@jpmess I agree about the fumes. Probably the clearcoat. I used the needle valve to fine tune and kept the regulator on the gas open. I also had issues with a low tank, as I mentioned before. It definitely didn't take me that long to get 12+ gallons to a boil, though.