Funkenjaeger
Well-Known Member
Got the KAB5 banjo burner for xmas, giving it a test run today, doing basically EdWort's Haus Pale Ale, but with ahtanum instead of cascade - got a bunch of them, figured a single-hop APA would be a good way to test them out.
Man, does the KAB5 rock. It got my first runnings boiling WELL before I finished sparging - and that was only 2 batch sparges, which doesn't take long - and that's without the thing cranked all the way up. It started melting the tubing I used to waterproof my probe thermometer, and that was a couple feet above the burner itself. I've got to learn my limits with this thing.
I poured in the rest of the wort and it had it boiling in about 4-5 minutes. Again, not cranked quite all the way up.
I am wondering how long it will take for all the stupid paint to burn off this thing - hopefully sometime during this batch, because it really reeks. Also, I am a little worried about my weldless valve. The rubberized grip on the handle was melting onto my heat shield, hopefully nothing important inside the valve is in danger of getting toasted. The silicone o-ring sealing against the keggle didn't show signs of damage, so I hope it'll survive.
I almost feel like I shouldn't be using the heat shield - which is just some aluminum roof flashing in a cylinder shape, that leaves an inch or two of clearance all around, and is 2 feet high... It's sure to conserve propane, but it won't do me too much good if it starts destroying my valve, etc...
Man, does the KAB5 rock. It got my first runnings boiling WELL before I finished sparging - and that was only 2 batch sparges, which doesn't take long - and that's without the thing cranked all the way up. It started melting the tubing I used to waterproof my probe thermometer, and that was a couple feet above the burner itself. I've got to learn my limits with this thing.
I poured in the rest of the wort and it had it boiling in about 4-5 minutes. Again, not cranked quite all the way up.
I am wondering how long it will take for all the stupid paint to burn off this thing - hopefully sometime during this batch, because it really reeks. Also, I am a little worried about my weldless valve. The rubberized grip on the handle was melting onto my heat shield, hopefully nothing important inside the valve is in danger of getting toasted. The silicone o-ring sealing against the keggle didn't show signs of damage, so I hope it'll survive.
I almost feel like I shouldn't be using the heat shield - which is just some aluminum roof flashing in a cylinder shape, that leaves an inch or two of clearance all around, and is 2 feet high... It's sure to conserve propane, but it won't do me too much good if it starts destroying my valve, etc...