Got a new burner (Bayou Classic) need some advice on boiling wort!

[Washington_Brewologist]

Hello fellow brew nerds. I recently upgraded my propane burner from a Walmart turkey fryer(With a god awful cooking timer which required bypassing) to a Bayou Classic burner. With my last burner, I had to struggle just to keep the damn thing from shutting off during the boil and had no issue just cranking it on high and just letting er' rip. This new burner has been quite the challenge to get used to. On my first batch with the new burner, I realized real quick that turning the bayou classic on high (Blue flames to max thrust) was complete overkill.

I realized after the boil that the flame was burning so hot that it was imprinting the kettle holder part of the burner onto the kettle itself: (Also can see the hot spots you see here on the inside of the kettle, not black but it's obvious)

Is this normal for this type of burner? I'm starting to think that my aluminum kettle isn't cut out for the intensity of the burner.

Also, I'm curious about what your guy's methods for boiling are. Do you guys crank it to high, or just figure out how to get the boil going low and slow?

 

[day_trippr]

I expect you are looking at fried paint deposited on the kettle. Might just do a full burnout sans kettle to finish the job...

Cheers!

 

[RPh_Guy]

I have a bayou classic SQ14, which is probably different than yours to some extent.

It doesn't leave any marks on my stainless kettle.

I've never turned it to max. There's a threshold where it goes from silent to noisy. I turn to a bit past noisy when heating and set it a maximum silent when boiling. LOL this sounds crazy but it works pretty well for me.

EDIT: I also leave the air intake dial on minimum.

 

[Jtvann]

I agree with the above poster.

I’ve had a bayou classic before and know what you mean with the black marks. They’re not damaging your pot. You can probably scrub them off with some good elbow grease. The paint will eventually get burned off like day tripper suggested.

I now how a blichman hell fire. It’s more than enough needed for a 5 gallon batch. If it sounds like a key engine, you’re just wasting gas. Make sure the air flow is dialed so that you’re getting good blue flames. Max out the blue flames. When it starts roaring, back them off just a bit till it’s quiet then let it ride

 

[Manufacturedevolution]

I have a kab4 and use an aluminum kettle. I never have the burner high enough to burn the paint off it. I do crank it a bit higher until the boil starts then it's turned down to where you can barely see any flame at all and that keeps me rolling. Big change from the old turkey fryer that had to stay at full blast.

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

I have a kab4 and use an aluminum kettle. I never have the burner high enough to burn the paint off it. I do crank it a bit higher until the boil starts then it's turned down to where you can barely see any flame at all and that keeps me rolling. Big change from the old turkey fryer that had to stay at full blast.

That good to hear. I have the same model. I was just so happy to toss that turkey fryer that I didn't even think about the difference in flame intensity. That blue flame is no joke! Thanks for your input!

 

[Cyclman]

I like to turn my boil up to the point where I get fairly large bubbles, but past that not worth it. You just get more boil off.

 

[FunkedOut]

My aluminum pot (used to fry turkeys) is nowhere near flat on the bottom anymore.
Every time is use it, I’m waiting for it to crack and leak.

 

[Manufacturedevolution]

My aluminum pot (used to fry turkeys) is nowhere near flat on the bottom anymore.
Every time is use it, I’m waiting for it to crack and leak.

My turkey fryer pot is like yours now. I still use it as a hlt. The two 10 gallon "commercial quality" aluminum kettles I have are much more durable. I feel they will last me forever. Big difference in quality between them.

 

[aprichman]

One piece of equipment I splurged on was my propane burner. I went with a Blichmann (this was the original at the time) with the 24" leg extensions. It's the perfect height for using gravity to move the wort into a carboy.

I'm a pretty frugal guy but when it comes to the equipment that really makes a difference I don't mind spending a little extra to get quality gear.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hey don't knock the Bayou. It works great for 5 gal and I could buy a quality wort pump for the price difference!

 

[aprichman]

I strongly considered the Bayou and they seem like fine utilitarian burners that do their job well. I spent a lot of time researching burners and I read a lot of good things about them. Ultimately I decided against it for a couple of reasons. The first problem I came across people having was paint burning / flaking issue which isn't a deal breaker but sounds kind of annoying. Where the paint was removed I also read reports of rusting which caused me concern being in the Pacific NW where it rains from October - April almost daily. The second concern was the noise, I was brewing on an apartment deck and didn't want to cause a lot of excess noise. People say this burner gets LOUD when you start cranking it up and it's pretty noisy even at lower levels. I was worried people might complain. The final issue I consistently saw people talk about was the propane usage which most people reported as lasting for 3-4 5 gallon batches. In the same threads people using Blichmann burners said they were getting 6-7 batches out of a tank.

I agree that you could probably buy a name brand brewing pump for the difference, but for me the burner represented an elegant solution to what I was looking for. It's a quiet burner that sips gas (I get 7 batches out of a tank). I'd much rather open the ball valve and move the wort into my kettle than trying to mess with a pump which I'd also have to clean.

I guess I like to keep it simple, in many regards the way I brew is about as simplified and streamlined as possible. I BIAB that's heavily insulated during the mash. My only two real pieces of equipment on the hot side are my kettle and burner so it's probably part of the reason I tried to get something that was well built and well engineered.

I think people should brew with what works for them. Beer has been made for thousands of years so in reality all of us have infinitely better beer making equipment than almost any time in history and are capable of cranking out amazing beer.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I'm happy with my Bayou.

No paint burning or flaking and hardly noisy. I lift the kettle onto a table to gravity transfer. It's possible there's a difference in propane usage.

The OP clearly had some paint issues. Maybe my model was better somehow? Beats me.

 

[Manufacturedevolution]

The op, like me, moved from a low btu turkey fryer that had to run full blast to a much more powerful burner. If you crank the kab4 up it will burn paint. It's a beast. Most likely he ran it full blast like he was used to. I almost did the same when I test fired mine. My paint is still intact though. No rust. It is almost silent. Uses less propane than my last burner. I couldn't be happier.

 

[jpakstis]

I’ve had the KAB4 for a few years and after the paint burned off it’s been great. I also took a metal-bristled brush and scrubbed off the flaked paint. I’m not particularly fussy about my equipment so it never bothered me that there are some marks on the bottoms of my kettle.

As for noise, it is super quiet. Once it’s up to a boil I turn it down just to a nice rolling boil. Sometimes I feel like I have to periodically check to see that it’s still on.

I haven’t checked it’s propane usage because I use the same tank for our gas grill but I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.

 

[catdaddy66]

Hello fellow brew nerds. I recently upgraded my propane burner from a Walmart turkey fryer(With a god awful cooking timer which required bypassing) to a Bayou Classic burner. With my last burner, I had to struggle just to keep the damn thing from shutting off during the boil and had no issue just cranking it on high and just letting er' rip. This new burner has been quite the challenge to get used to. On my first batch with the new burner, I realized real quick that turning the bayou classic on high (Blue flames to max thrust) was complete overkill.

I realized after the boil that the flame was burning so hot that it was imprinting the kettle holder part of the burner onto the kettle itself: (Also can see the hot spots you see here on the inside of the kettle, not black but it's obvious)
View attachment 579665
Is this normal for this type of burner? I'm starting to think that my aluminum kettle isn't cut out for the intensity of the burner.

Also, I'm curious about what your guy's methods for boiling are. Do you guys crank it to high, or just figure out how to get the boil going low and slow?

I know the frustration of the timer! So annoying that I eventually removed it but I haven't been able to bypass it or rehook the line to the connector. Any ideas or suggestions for success?

It won't really matter as I have a spare, but having two is as comfy as a blanket when you are in preschool!

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

I know the frustration of the timer! So annoying that I eventually removed it but I haven't been able to bypass it or rehook the line to the connector. Any ideas or suggestions for success?

It won't really matter as I have a spare, but having two is as comfy as a blanket when you are in preschool!

The idea is that you want the complete the circuit inside the box that the timer is in. I'm pretty sure whats going on is that when you turn the timer on, it completes the circuit and once it's done, it closes the circuit. Inside the box, you'll see two wires coming down into the timer mechanism. Snip those two wires and simply connect them together with a wire cap. One thing to note is that the wire coming from the thermal coupler is thick and can be a bit harder to strip. Once the circuit is complete, no more turkey timer! Send me a pic of your setup if you still can't figure it out!