Experience/reviews of Anvil burner

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GTaylor

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I am looking at getting a new burner and like the looks of the Anvil, if anyone has thoughts/experience with it that would be great. Was also considering the Blichmann or Edelmetal, but would like to try and keep the price down a little. Thanks for your help.
 
You do know that Anvil is made by Blichmann, correct? These are just to capture the brewers like me that can't see spending the huge $$ on the premium Blichmann stuff. John Palmer helped design and is promoting the Anvil equipment, so I can't see it as being junk.
 
CA Mouse, I did know that just wanted to see if it was comparable to it's pricier brother in terms of heating and propane usage. I would like to just get the blichmann but finding it a little difficult to justify the price.
 
Sub'd. Wanna see what people have to say about this burner. My bayou sounds like a freaking jet turbine so I would love to get something quieter and more efficient
 
CA Mouse, I did know that just wanted to see if it was comparable to it's pricier brother in terms of heating and propane usage. I would like to just get the blichmann but finding it a little difficult to justify the price.

If you need help justifying it - I've heard that the cost savings from efficiency can pay for itself fairly quickly!

I'd spring for one myself if I didn't already have a spare gas line stubbed out that's just dying for an indoor BIAB build...
 
I had looked at them too, but the review on Amazon made me change my mind.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018UQAY2O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Did you see the response though? John Blichmann responded and addressed all of the reviewers issues and is working to correct them.

Ill admit, after reading that review it bummed me out, but the response from Blichmann shows that the company is heading in the right direction. Definitely still interested in this product
 
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I haven't tried the burner myself, but I saw this review on youtube and thought it might be helpful. Anvil Burner - [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuWd45BPCFw[/ame]
 
I have an Anvil and ive used it once. I did not see the paint burn off experienced by the amazon reviewer. I have another thread open where I am trying to figure out whether my entire (new) propane tank was drained on a single brew, but its a pretty sturdy product and was easy to assemble. I did a full extract boil, and had 6 gallons rolling in about 20 minutes.
 
I just ordered the Anvil about an hour ago. I got it over the Hellfire because the Hellfire's leg extensions look really unstable and would hate to have boiling wort getting knocked over.
I was curious about the kettle height on the Anvil with the 24" leg extensions. Dunno if it's 24" in kettle height or to the leg mounts.

I'm sure the Anvil is a good burner. Either way, I have to make it work now that I bought it. haha
 
I just ordered the Anvil about an hour ago. I got it over the Hellfire because the Hellfire's leg extensions look really unstable and would hate to have boiling wort getting knocked over.
I was curious about the kettle height on the Anvil with the 24" leg extensions. Dunno if it's 24" in kettle height or to the leg mounts.

I'm sure the Anvil is a good burner. Either way, I have to make it work now that I bought it. haha

I bought the Hellfire in January, have done....I think six brews on it. The burner w/ the leg extensions is very stable. As in, there have been no problems or incidents with it. Stability is fine.

According to their website, the Anvil produces 45,000 BTU. I can't understand this; I have another burner that supposedly produces 54,000 BTU and it's not a banjo-style burner. The Anvil has to be producing more than that.

I'd looked at the Anvil, and between the 45,000 BTU rating and the reviews on Amazon, it was not going to be in contention.

*********

There were two main reasons I chose the Hellfire. One was that should I decide to go larger (I use a 10-gallon kettle), I already have a burner that can accommodate that. The Hellfire is a monster that way.

The other is that I'm trying to reduce the length of my brew day as much as I can. The faster I can heat water or wort, the fast the brew day.

*********

I get the money issue. I'm fortunate to be at a place in my life where I could afford the Hellfire; not everybody can. Ten years ago, kids starting college, no.
 
Did you see the response though? John Blichmann responded and addressed all of the reviewers issues and is working to correct them.

Ill admit, after reading that review it bummed me out, but the response from Blichmann shows that the company is heading in the right direction. Definitely still interested in this product

When I bought my Hellfire there was a snafu with the vendor and I was sent the wrong leg extensions; I'd mentioned that on HBT, and Blichmann contacted me directly and had the correct leg extensions on their way to me within 24 hours--from Blichmann, not the vendor! I sent the incorrect extensions back to the vendor.

It wasn't Blichmann's fault that I had the wrong leg extensions but they worked to make it right ASAP.

That impressed me. A lot.

************

I've had the misfortune to have needed to use insurance after several weather incidents, including a tornado. My insurance company, American Family, isn't the cheapest. However, when I really, really needed them, they were there--no bickering over what and how, didn't try to chisel me on cost of repairs, things done fast and right and no fooling around. I've spoken to others about how their insurance companies handled such things; it's why I stay with AmFam.

Blichmann? Same customer service ethic.
 
I put the Anvil together yeaterday. I didn't like the height with the extensions, also, the legs have play in them because some genius decided to use a single bolt through an oval hole.
I started taking the bolts out and could tell right away there was going to be a problem and sure enough the bolts started snapping off--2 of the 3 broke. I grabbed some grade 8 bolts from work, so no big deal.

I moved the leg extensions to the base because they use 4 bolts and that fixed the issue. So, the leg extensions ended up being a good idea to buy.

I tested the burner today, first thing I noticed was how low power it was. It is very quiet.
7 gallons of 49° well water set on the "high setting"; which was giving me an inconsistent flame.
0 minutes, 49° lid on
25 minutes, 122° lid on
45 minutes 176° lid on
60 minutes 204° lid off at boil
Max temp, 207° no lid

I did this outside with a slight occasional breeze. I would have done it in the garage but the burning paint smell was pretty nasty.

I paid $130 for the burner and leg extensions.
It will perform better in the garage I'm sure, but I still think it's really down on power. I wouldn't waste the propane on a larger boil. Fortunately for me, 7.5 gallon is probably the max I will ever boil. I do feel like I'll get frustrated with the Anvil and buy something else--probably the Edelmetall.

So... No, I wouldn't recommend the Anvil.
 
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