Effective burner use?

[jayareo]

So I have been upgrading equipement slowly for a while now, and finally 'upgraded' the outdoor LP burner. I bought the bayou classic sq14, and am having fits getting this going.

First batch with the burner never got to a strong boil ... and almost melted my sight glass due to so much heat 'leaking' out from underneath the pot.

So I upgraded from the 5 psi regulator to a variable regulator (goes up to 30), and used a heat shield.

I noticed that many of the individual holes (?) werent running, so I have been tinkering with that a ton ... and think i now have them all working ... strong blue flame out of all of them, most of the time.

i just tried boiling 5.5G water from tap temp in the 60's - this took 58 minutes. that seems WAY TOO LONG to me - right?

i wonder if i need to modify the burner stand to install a shield - something a little bigger than the burner - to focus the heat more? maybe bring the burner closer (higher) to the bottom of the kettle?

anyone have any thoughts on this? seems to me this thing should be crazy fast, and it isnt at all?

 

[DrunkleJon]

I bought a roll of aluminum flashing from HD and screwed it into the outside of the burner to make a collar and it drastically reduced my propane consumption on my KAB burner. It seems that many of the Bayou Classic burners leak a lot of heat. Especially the high pressure ones.

 

[jayareo]

Thanks, Dunkle.

I now have a collar around the burner as well ... and tried another boil. I am starting to think there is something really wrong with this unit ... aside from the exceptionally poor design of the unit itself. maybe the burner isnt getting the right flow or something? the flames tend to go out really really easily on this unit?

 

[DrunkleJon]

Odd, have you adjusted to air intake? if it is going out it may need adjustment, though since you are getting all blue flame that may not be the issue.

How are you lighting your burner? Are you opening the regulator up before the propane tank? I have noticed that this will cause terribly slow flow. You want to open the propane tank, then turn up the regulator until you hear gas then light.

 

[jayareo]

hmmm ... i wonder what order i have been opening the tank and regulator ... i will play with it.

and yes, the air intake adjustment seems to be OK for a while, then the thing will blow out / snuff itslef out.

very annoying.

 

[brewingupward]

Are you sure you've got plenty of propane in your propane tank? Just a quick check there first. If you open up the regulator all the way and then open up the valve on the propane tank it can cause flow issues for sure. I believe it has to do with a pressure differential issues.

If you have propane and you're opening valves in right order then I think you got a crap unit. 58 mins to boil is absolutely insane and if you're wide open you should NEVER be snuffing out. The mere fact the flame is so low it was able to be snuffed out says you've got a problem. This isn't a shield or heat loss issue it's a gas flow issue.

 

[zolakk]

Not to hijack but i'm also having very similar with by BG14, except I also have a problem where if I turn up my 0-30 regulator more than 1/2 or 3/4 (really hard to tell) I can get flames shooting out of the air intake!

 

[dyqik]

How are you lighting your burner? Are you opening the regulator up before the propane tank? I have noticed that this will cause terribly slow flow. You want to open the propane tank, then turn up the regulator until you hear gas then light.

This is caused by the safety device on the tank which is supposed to prevent accidental leaks caused by opening the tank valve with no regulator attached or with a leaking hose. There needs to be backpressure on the tank when you open the tank valve i.e. the regulator valve needs to be shut, or the safety device will limit the propane flow to a trickle.

See http://barbequelovers.com/grills/caring-for-your-bbq/troubleshooting-low-flame-output-on-your-barbeque-grill

 

[jayareo]

now THAT makes sense to me, thanks!

i have dis-assembled the regulator/hose, then re-assembled now. seems to be running (for now). i am going to try another comparison boil.

thanks all

 

[Eucrid]

Not to hijack but i'm also having very similar with by BG14, except I also have a problem where if I turn up my 0-30 regulator more than 1/2 or 3/4 (really hard to tell) I can get flames shooting out of the air intake!

I had that on my burner until I closed the air intake a little.

 

[jayareo]

So, after much ado ... I am getting 5.5G water to boil in about 30 mins - still not great, but within acceptable limits (do I have a choice?)

I had to:

- Increase PSI regulator from 5 psi (come ON Bayou, seriously?) to something in the 15-20 range (30 max on regulator)

- Spend an hour rigging a combination windscreen / heat shield (note to self - wear GLOVES) out of an 8" duct connector.

Not impressed at all. I am now about $115 into this frickin burner, just was not a good investment. One un-satisfied customer here :-(

 

[grathan]

I have an sq14 and an hour seems about right to boil 5 gallons. It has great control at the low end of things (probably ideal for a RIMS). It also sips propane.

I just got a KAB6 bayou burner, now that thing is a beast on 30 psi...but not so good when dialed down.

Here is a picture of the size difference..

 

[dyqik]

Half an hour from 60f to boiling sounds about right. Remember you never need to do that in an all grain process. I figure 20 mins to strike temp, 20 mins to sparge temp and 20 mins from mash output to boiling on a 5.5 gal batch with my camp chef burner.