Is a Blichmann burner worth the bucks?

[goosegrease]

Will this burner pay back in propane savings? Most of the reviews seem very positive, and I like the height with the optional legs. There are a lot of blichmann haters out there any admirers?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[foos-n-brew]

I have had one for about a year. It brings my keggle up to temp much better than the turkey fryer did.

It's quite sturdy and well built.

But I'm hoping to go electric and avoid having to buy propane for brewing. Someday ......

 

[day_trippr]

Haters gonna hate, but I've been very happy with my two Blingmann floor burners.

If you get the extension legs you might want to do this mod to give the result a wider stance...

Cheers!

 

[weirdboy]

I generally like mine. I have had some trouble with it blowing out on windy days, and it is whisper quiet, which you might think is a good thing, but I've had to double-check to make sure the burner was going sometimes. Especially when my propane tank is running low I spend a lot more time trying to see the flame.

Overall it's a nice burner, though.

 

[goosegrease]

The quiet absolutely appealed to me! I am an electrician in a very loud enviorment. I do not want to wear earplugs while I brew.

 

[goosegrease]

As I do not on a blichmann what mod are we talking about?

 

[day_trippr]

As I do not on a blichmann what mod are we talking about?

It's right there in the picture: the 24" legs normally replace the short legs, but the result looked tippy to me, so I drilled and bolted the long legs to the outside of the short legs to broaden the stance...

Cheers!

 

[goosegrease]

That which was cloudy becomes clear.
Thanks,
Jim

 

[VagabondBrew]

I'm not too sure about this burner but I found on amazon a patio cooker with dual buners. One being a jet burner. Came with a regulator and nice iron frame. Works perfect and only costed $130 or less + shipping. So it might be worth your while to look around depending what exactly you want.

 

[bumstigedy]

I upgraded from KAB4 Banjo Burners to the Blichmann ones and am still deciding. They definitely work better with the Blichmann Boilermaker Kettles; I don't have any boiling in the sight gauges. Dialing the the flame is a bit of an art, but I think with practice I will end up saving some time and propane vs the Banjos. It may take a few years to payback the investment.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

I'm a big fan of how (relatively) quiet my blichmann is compared to the old turkey fryer burner I had. That said, I can't compare its fuel performance to any of the other zillion-tip banjo style burners out there. I only use it to boil as my HLT is electric, but it certainly gets that job done just fine.


EDIT: ALSO, from looking at the "similar threads" at the bottom of this screen, this question may have been asked and chimed in on at least a few times, so check those out too

 

[micsager]

I have no clue on the propane savings, but I love all three of my Blichmann burners. I currently brew in sankey keggles. I just bought a new 30 gallon blichmann, and will be getting a used one, plus a used 55 gallon boilermaker soon. 1bbl at a time will be nice.

Daytripper: What size pot are you putting on that modified stand? I emailed John blichmann about your setup, and he certainly does not reccomend for the 55 gallon pots. (or any for that matter) I assume he says that due to liability concerns.

Annyway, I plan to do as you have done for my 55gl boil pot. Do you think it's tough enough for 35+ gallons of boiling wort?

 

[Aspenextreme]

I got one for Christmas and even though it is expensive it is totally worth the money. Much faster boiling times and eventually the cost savings from propane will even itself out. I also love the extensions. Just buy it.

 

[LuiInIdaho]

My first burner purchase was a Blichmann because I was interested in upgrading to the TopTier Brewing System in some distant future. My second burner purchase was a Camp Chef because I wanted something quickly, and I could by this locally. I never liked the Camp Chef as well as the Blichmann simply because it was too loud. And I would never have understood that without the Blichmann for comparison.

I recently built a brew stand (I did not go with the Top Tier after all) and I want two burners on it. So, I purchased a second Blichmann for the brew stand. I have not yet tried out both Blichmanns, but I am sure that I will just as pleased with the second as the first.

As someone said earlier, those who don't like them, won't. But those who do like them, LOVE THEM!

That is my two cents worth. Mark

 

[swackattack]

I have 2 on my top tier. Shaved some off brew day vs old burners. I like em!

 

[govner1]

Simply put, absolutely!

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Daytripper: What size pot are you putting on that modified stand? I emailed John blichmann about your setup, and he certainly does not reccomend for the 55 gallon pots. (or any for that matter) I assume he says that due to liability concerns.

I used that with my 10 gallon Boilermakers.

Compared to the stock extension setup, my mod is more stable with the much wider stance. And I used heavier hardware than what John supplies to bolt everything together, so I'm pretty confident about not having degraded anything in the offing.

Annyway, I plan to do as you have done for my 55gl boil pot. Do you think it's tough enough for 35+ gallons of boiling wort?

Well, Blichmann doesn't recommend using their 55 gallon kettles on their floor burner even with just the standard shorty legs (the burner manual tops out with the 30 gallon kettle).

Including the pot, a 35 gallon boil is going to weigh around 300 pounds, which far exceeds the 175 pound limit that Blichmann puts on the stock burner with the shorty legs.

So I'd say it isn't a good idea. Sorry...

Cheers!

 

[Barnesie]

One more note - besides performance, they're stainless which will last forever unless really abused and they hold most of their resale value if you ever get bored of the sport.

 

[OlieNH]

I love mine. I have two and they are so quiet and very effective at quickly heating up a 26 gallon MoreBeer kettle. WAY quieter than my banjo burner. I don't know if it is any more efficient (i.e. less propane) than the other burners. Build quality, stainless and quietness make me a very happy customer.

 

[Golddiggie]

IMO/IME, it's 100% worth it. Without any modifications it performs extremely well. Far better than other burners I've either seen used, or used myself. I have two right now and have no regrets. Well, other than not getting them sooner.

 

[fuzzy2133]

My Wife got me one for Christmas since she does not like the smell and wanted me to move out side. The side benefit I did not see coming was definitely a bit faster brew day. 11am to 3pm, setup to complete clean up.

 

[Hermit]

I upgraded from KAB4 Banjo Burners to the Blichmann ones and am still deciding. They definitely work better with the Blichmann Boilermaker Kettles; I don't have any boiling in the sight gauges. Dialing the the flame is a bit of an art, but I think with practice I will end up saving some time and propane vs the Banjos. It may take a few years to payback the investment.

In response to my musings once I think it was passedpawn did a test in his electric setup. My question was if the wort in the site gauge got hot enough to be considered sanitized. In an electric set up it turns out no. So, not having boiling in your site gauge may require extra precaution.

 

[Lab_Rat]

I think from the standpoint of propane use you have to think very long term to recoup the price difference. You are talking ~ 0.2 pounds of propane saved per 6.5 gallon boil (Blichmann's data). So if you are doing a 6.5 gallon boil you need to brew 100 times to save yourself a tank of propane.

I think you have to take everything into consideration to justify the cost.
-Stainless steel so you will probably never replace it.
-Has a low gap between burner and kettle so works better in wind and has better heat transfer to kettle.
-More efficient than most burners (Becomes more important as you go up in batch size).
-Plugs right into top tier system (if that's important).

As far as large batches go (1-2 barrel systems), Blichmann engineering has suggested that people use a commercial stock pot stove. Something like this from American range. The one linked sells for around $450 new.

 

[brick_haus]

I have three. I have no experience with any others but these are very effecient and built to last. As far as noise goes, my pumps are much louder...

 

[NewFreedom]

Haters gonna hate, but I've been very happy with my two Blingmann floor burners.

If you get the extension legs you might want to do this mod to give the result a wider stance...

Cheers!

This just saved me so much energy! Ingenious!