King Kooker Dual Burner Cart...thoughts?

[jbaysurfer]

That's my brewstand!

I love it! Use it the same as you, but I have a pump and use a SS kettle rather then a keggle for my MT. I also just recirc with my pump and direct fire (keep the flame almost as low as it can go to prevent scorching) if I lose temp or miss my mash in temp, but I can hold temp in my kettle with a bunch of towels wrapped around it (mostly over the lid portion) for 90 minutes. I direct fire and recirc/vorlauf while I heat the sparge water, and I batch sparge and switch the BK with the HLT when I'm done moving the sparge water.

Pros: It works as I just described
Cons: Would like more heat control on the MLT without as much fear of scorching and faster heating. Jet burner (on mine) came with no flame distributor (the little piece of steel plate over the top of the jet flame that spreads it out) The top burner doesn't fit my ss kettle well, so it must tilt in one direction or the other. I alleviate this by using a BBQ grill grate over the top of it and my MLT will sit level. Your keggle may not have this problem. It doesn't have a 3rd burner (but I can deal with that..it's one quick lift of my BK to the jet burner from a plastic step stool right next to it). You can also get around that with a floor burner, though without replumbing you'll need a second propane tank.

LOL..enough thoughts for ya?

Edit: regarding scorching the wort, if I don't feel like stirring, I just recirc it through my pump. No scorching. Very little scorching in the MLT as well, though that's been a bit more challenging.

 

[Effington]

Enough? I can't get enough thoughts on it!

I'd really like to add a pump at some point, but what drew me to the King Kooker was its potential for an easy, gravity fed system. My HLT is a plastic bucket with a heating element built in. Strange, I know, but in testing it seems to keep water a steady temp, as long as I'm not trying to heat it from near freezing.

That said... I still haven't used any of this good stuff yet. Like I said in an earlier post, I'd like to do one batch of full boil extract before giving AG a go.

Do you have pictures of your rig, with pump?

 

[jbaysurfer]

Enough? I can't get enough thoughts on it!

I'd really like to add a pump at some point, but what drew me to the King Kooker was its potential for an easy, gravity fed system. My HLT is a plastic bucket with a heating element built in. Strange, I know, but in testing it seems to keep water a steady temp, as long as I'm not trying to heat it from near freezing.

That said... I still haven't used any of this good stuff yet. Like I said in an earlier post, I'd like to do one batch of full boil extract before giving AG a go.

Do you have pictures of your rig, with pump?

Just so happens I do. I have upgraded to a direct fire SS mashtun since this pic. The pump is mounted to a 1"x5" which I clamp to the stand.

 

[Tamarlane]

no idea why it wouldn't be good for a turkey fryer though...maybe because they didn't put the 15 min shutoff timer on it..? who knows..I hope it works out for you though!

There is some federal law that turkey fryers need to have an auto-shutoff timer so that is most likely the case

 

[TravisF]

Any updates on this? I'm considering the same King Kooker.

I've already got a Blickman burner, so I'm trying to figure out how to use it in conjunction with (or replacement of) the built in burners.

My plan is to stick with a cooler instead of direct fire, similar to the picture above.

Any lessons learned you can share?

 

[orion7144]

Any updates on this? I'm considering the same King Kooker.

I've already got a Blickman burner, so I'm trying to figure out how to use it in conjunction with (or replacement of) the built in burners.

My plan is to stick with a cooler instead of direct fire, similar to the picture above.

Any lessons learned you can share?

If you already have a blichman burner I would stay away from this. I wish I would have spent the money I did on this originally on a blichman burner. Since you are looking at this you have a couple options since you already have the burner. You could get another for about the same price as this and just add the leg extensions and you have a two tier system or just build something to hold your cooler. I was lucky enough to be able to get the top tier (replaced the king kooker) and could not be happier. The amount of gas I am saving is nice as well as the shortened brew day. I think the jet burners are over rated. They are loud and waste a ton of gas.

 

[Effington]

If you already have a blichman burner I would stay away from this. I wish I would have spent the money I did on this originally on a blichman burner. Since you are looking at this you have a couple options since you already have the burner. You could get another for about the same price as this and just add the leg extensions and you have a two tier system or just build something to hold your cooler. I was lucky enough to be able to get the top tier (replaced the king kooker) and could not be happier. The amount of gas I am saving is nice as well as the shortened brew day. I think the jet burners are over rated. They are loud and waste a ton of gas.

I'm in agreement with this. For the budget minded, the King Kooker is not a bad choice. But orion is right - the jet burner is loud and guzzles propane. Blichmann is the way to go.

That said, I've done a few full boils on the jet burner with great success. It certainly works and will fit my needs.

 

[OleGoatBrewing]

I have one of these ...did some mod's, installed reinforcement bars (for 10 Gal batches) and mounting brackets. I'm pretty happy with it right now. Still have some items to add, but its ready to go like this.

 

[norcalgiant]

The burner is bad ass. For a buck 50. Talk about steal. I'm confident it could handle a 25gallon brew pot. For under a 1000 bucks, I'm super happy with the system. Those are 16 gallon bayou classic kettles. A 20 pound propane take last 2 brews. No problem get 16 gallons rolling in 25 minutes on the bottom buner, 35 on the top if not less. For the price it is a steal.

View attachment 1417654425288.jpg

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ It does handle a 25G brewpot. I use one when doing double batches.

 

[jbaysurfer]

I have one of these ...did some mod's, installed reinforcement bars (for 10 Gal batches) and mounting brackets. I'm pretty happy with it right now. Still have some items to add, but its ready to go like this.

You willing to share what you've done with your gas line? I'd like to add my free standing 3rd burner the way you have, but up until now I've had to use a 2nd propane tank for it.

Edit: NM, I see you still only have 2 burners there. My bad.

 

[OleGoatBrewing]

You willing to share what you've done with your gas line? I'd like to add my free standing 3rd burner the way you have, but up until now I've had to use a 2nd propane tank for it.

Edit: NM, I see you still only have 2 burners there. My bad.

No worries...You could easily plum the gas line across for two to three burners. That is my plan (unless I go all electric). I've seen several brew stands with this set up. Can be easily done. I can post some examples if you want.

 

[jbaysurfer]

No worries...You could easily plum the gas line across for two to three burners. That is my plan (unless I go all electric). I've seen several brew stands with this set up. Can be easily done. I can post some examples if you want.

I'm a pretty smart dude, but for some reason this exists in a blind spot on my psyche. I can do plumbing, but specifically what I need is a parts list for that regulator. I can see how I could get a "cross" (4 way) and use one leg for input and the other 3 for burner outputs...but what size, where to get the 3rd propane line, etc...that's where I get stuck. Any help to cure this blind spot issue I have would be very welcome.

 

[OleGoatBrewing]

Sounds like you and I are of similar capability! This is where I'm stuck to. Hopefully somebody will come in and show us the way.

 

[GeorgeH2013]

I'm thinking about one of these for my keggle set up. Seems like they can handle the weight of the keggle, while doing 10 gal batches?

Everyone still liking theirs?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks, guys.