How many brews for BBQ propane

[Christafer11]

Going to start brewing with my turkey fryer. I have made a kegel and will be doing 5&10 gal brews. I am just wondering how long this little propain tank will last aprox. Not sure of the btu just a regular turkey fryer. Thanks

 

[Hammy71]

I get 2-3 brews out of mine.....but it really depends on the burner and how open you have the throttle.

 

[AnonyBrew]

Some people get about 5 brewdays on one 20# tank.

 

[bigc3031]

Temperature comes into play as well but I usually get 3 brew days out of mine.

 

[Christafer11]

So for the long run would be better to hook into the gas line going to my water heater. There is a "T" and one end has a 5" pipe then a cap so I could just shut off gas remove cap and install my set up and hose. Then swmbo would not see the increase in cost even though its prob the same as the added stove time(also gas). I think while I am at it ill solder a hose fitting onto the hot water overflow pipe and get some rv/food grade hose to fill my pot with all ready hot water.

 

[Christafer11]

Oh one more thing I do have to have mine Wide Open Throtle. So are the larger burners more efficient? Or is that a larger expense than I would get back anytime soon since I all ready have a burner?

 

[bigc3031]

I am assuming your water heater is in the garage?

You could do what you say but it certainly won't meet code. If you do tap into your gas line you should at least add a good shut off valve. Your burner is also made for propane so if you have natural gas you will need to do a conversion.

If you do brew inside your garage make sure you have ventilation.

 

[Christafer11]

Yes water heater is in the garage. I have looked into converting the propane to nat gas or just buying a new burner not sure yet I will probe do some brews and see how it goes. I will build a nat gas burner stand set up if I go that way to keep cost down just purchase the burner. As far as code goes I don't think it's up to code now the pipe from the water heater just dumps on the ground in the garage next to the water heater. All I was gonna to is solder a hose fitting on the the end and keep it open expect when I hook up the hose for use. So it wont really alter the current set up. I know the gas install would not be "code but not to different from what is there now. I would have a valve and screw type fitting for the hose to the burner so when no in use only have a valve there and have it shut. I wold prob have some sort of cap off too for safety.

 

[nutty_gnome]

My nominal 20lb tank gets 4 to 5. I get nervous during brew #5 though and am sure to have a back up tank from the neighbors just in case.

 

[payton34]

i seen a thread on here somewhere that said water from your hot water tank is not good to brew with

 

[Christafer11]

Hmmmm I wonder why that makes no sense. I use hot water from the kitchen sink when I brew inside on the stove. As you know that comes from the hot water heater.

 

[payton34]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/water-heater-hot-water-tank-22039/ the bottom post said that hot water heaters release contaminants

 

[rweird]

. As far as code goes I don't think it's up to code now the pipe from the water heater just dumps on the ground in the garage next to the water heater. All I was gonna to is solder a hose fitting on the the end and keep it open expect when I hook up the hose for use. So it wont really alter the current set up.

that sir is a temperature/pressure relief valve,it should be piped to the ground. do not use it as a water supply, it is a safety device for the water heater. tie into the hot water line off the top of the heater if you need hot water. no need to recreate an episode from myth busters:cross:

 

[cklages]

that sir is a temperature/pressure relief valve,it should be piped to the ground. do not use it as a water supply, it is a safety device for the water heater. tie into the hot water line off the top of the heater if you need hot water. no need to recreate an episode from myth busters:cross:

Oh come on man, don't tell him that. That was by far one of the coolest rockets they ever made. I would love to see it again, maybe on one of those 'caught on film' type shows. You do have a cell phone camera don't you Christafer?

 

[Christafer11]

I just watched the mythbusters water heater video. The thing you guy's missed is they capped the pressure valve and disabled the controls. If I did use this I would be soldering a OPEN hose fitting no valve or cap off would always be open. I think if anything this would be good to check the pressure valve on a regular basis for function. But thanks for the concern and lack of it. haha

 

[rweird]

they tend to leak if 'tested'. if anything it will make the spring weaker, they aren't meant tone used as a valve. just glue/solder/etc a tee into the hot water outlet of the water heater

 

[Christafer11]

Update for everyone. I scratched the hot water hook up idea for now. Just put the tub on hot and let it run for a few then filled up my bucket. That water temp was about 145f so not much more needed to bring to steeping temps. That helped since the outside water is about 45f. I also weighed the propane tank (5gal tank) before it weighed 28lbs8oz. During boil I was able to turn it way down and keep a strong boil. When all done I re weighed it and it came in at 25lbs8oz so used 3lbs. On the outside of the tank it say's net weight 15lbs. I am guessing this is the empty tank. My boil was 60min took about 15min to get up to boil and about 15 for the steeping temp so total time wide open about 30 min and about 40%open 60 min oh and this was a 10 gal boil and the full 10 gal was in the pot the whole time. And again thanks for all your inputs.

 

[Ichthy]

5-8 beers. Make a heat shield and you'll save lots of $$ on gas.

 

[rosier9]

i get around 8 brews out of a 20lb tank... I use it for heating to a boil and the boil. so pry 10 hrs or so per tank. i used to get less out of a tank, but I had more boilovers... control is key

 

[cklages]

Your numbers look a lot like mine as far as how much gas to get to and maintain a boil. Icthy makes a very good point about a heat shield conserving a lot of fuel, especially if there is any wind at all. I plan on building a more permanent one when it warms up a bit.

 

[Christafer11]

what type of heat shield? the burner does have a 2" or so ring around it with some holes for air. Are you guys talking about enclosing it more like putting up metal around the legs of the burner? I know you cant completely cover so maybe put up some about 6" down or so?

 

[Ichthy]

what type of heat shield? the burner does have a 2" or so ring around it with some holes for air. Are you guys talking about enclosing it more like putting up metal around the legs of the burner? I know you cant completely cover so maybe put up some about 6" down or so?

Envision a chimney around your kettle and part of the burner. It will direct all the heat up and around the kettle. I just used some cheap roof flashing that was $8 a roll. It paid for itself after 2-3 beers.