My burner crapped out

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jefft

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Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, I'm new to this forum.
But anyway, things were going well today until boil time. Took forever to reach a boil, but it was rolling nicely when I tossed in the 60 min addition. I checked back about ten minutes later, and it was just below boiling. I messed around with it for about an hour, then came to the conclusion that the burner is just tired and rusted out. I finally just got it as hot as I could, which was just short of a rolling boil, about 206°. I continued on with my hop schedule, which was 15, 10, and 5 min and flame out. It wasn't stagnant, but not the violent turbulence I would like to have seen.
Started with fwh. It's an IPA. Any predictions?
 
Wow, a burner crapping out...those are pretty basic, if it is just some rust you should be able to salvage it. I think you will be alright. A good rolling boil helps drive off some things like DMS, but if you didn't use pilsen that shouldn't be much an issue. My prediction is tasty beer in a month or two.
 
Sure it wasn't just a frosted propane tank? That happened to me last use, the entire side of the tank had a thick coating of frost on it. About half way through the boil, I had to turn the valve up to get more flow to keep it boiling. Also had to cover most of the pot.

Issues we face when using propane burners outside, in the cold, in the more northern areas of the country... People in the south probably have no idea what it's like... :drunk:
 
The burner is in pretty bad shape. It might have been left out in the rain once or twice :drunk:. It was 60 here yesterday, and I don't think the tank was frosted up. I'll take the burner apart and see if I can salvage it.
I didn't panic. I got past that stage a long time ago. I was just curious about what the effects of not having a true boil would be on hop utilization. I guess I will find out.
 
Most likely is that the tank got frozen. We had a couple of "dead soldiers" at the Utopias brew fest that I've brought home, and still have a good amount of propane left in them.

Second most likely, have you had any boilovers? The orifices can get filled with old wort and not burn as well, but you can clean that out. That's probably what I would do anyway, get a strong cleaner of some sort and try and clean them out. There really isn't much to break or fail on a burner.

EDIT: I see that it wasn't that cold. You're doing the right thing, take it apart and clean it as best you can. Hop utilization comes mostly from temperature, not from the physical agitation of the boil, so you should be OK.
 
Could also be a faulty safety valve on the tank. Might be worth trying another tank before you chunk the burner. Also, it's not uncommon for insects to find their way into the burner and stop it up.
 
Second most likely, have you had any boilovers? The orifices can get filled with old wort and not burn as well, but you can clean that out. That's probably what I would do anyway, get a strong cleaner of some sort and try and clean them out. There really isn't much to break or fail on a burner.

I really don't want to comment on that and jinx my perfect record.

The burner was all clear and everything seems to be in order. My gas man/buddy, who is wise in all things propane, says I need a new regulator. I suppose I'll just watch craigslist and pick up the next $20 turkey fryer that comes along.
 
I really don't want to comment on that and jinx my perfect record.

The burner was all clear and everything seems to be in order. My gas man/buddy, who is wise in all things propane, says I need a new regulator. I suppose I'll just watch craigslist and pick up the next $20 turkey fryer that comes along.

What you described is how my regulator went out.

Burner would light but couldn't turn up the flame.
 
Happy to live in my ignorance. :)

Happy in ignorance pretty much sums up ~90% of the population in Florida... :D

The closest people will get is in the northern 1/3 of the state, during the middle of winter, when they get a 'cold snap' and it's in the 40-50F range that day. Personally, I'll deal with the cold winters, just so I don't need to suffer through the 6 months of summer... With at least 4 months of that being too F'ing hot... Yeah, I lived there for a while... Zero desire to ever move back...
 
You can buy a replacement regulator and hose if you wanted to save the one you have. My local Home Depot sold them in the grill section last Summer.
 
Lowe's lists some of them for under $20... All depends on how long, and if you want 'heavy duty' or not...

Check out your local hardware store (or HD or Lowe's) and see what they have for options... I would look to get a brand new one over an used one if it was me...
 
Regulator for a grill won't work. Need a high pressure, adjustable regulator. I'll find something cheap. I probably won't brew for a month or so.
 
I FINALLY bottled this batch today, and yeah, no worries. It's a little sweeter than I would expect for such a low FG (1.004), so maybe utilization of bittering hops isn't quite there, but flavor and aroma are perfect.

I still haven't messed with the burner. I found a new regulator for $20. I'll probably give it a try in the next couple of weeks.
 
Take your regulator apart and clean it, it's not hard to do and you might be surprised at the amount of dirt and rust in it.
 
I'll probably see what I can do with it. At least I know I won't ruin a batch. I hate to buy something new. I'm pretty cheap, which is why I started brewing in the first place.
 
Good thing that's not the reason I started brewing. Fail.

Hah. I'm cheap in that I hate paying ten bucks for a six pack of good beer. I've actually only made two major purchases of equipment, a mill and a ten gallon Igloo. Everything else I've 'acquired' on the cheap, mostly garage sales and craigslist. My first kit was two buckets, a carboy, capper, etc, never used, $5 at a garage sale. I'm on the hunt for some kegging equipment now. I feel like I'm getting close...;)
 
Jeff, was it windy on your brew day? If it's really windy, I notice that my bayou sq-14 (I think that's right) is not nearly as efficient, as if the heat is dissipated by the wind. A windshield helps.
 
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