New Burner with low heat problems

[scottkist]

hi guys! I am new to all grain brewing and I just got the Brewers Best Element burner that is rated at 150,000 btus and claims it can boil 20 gallons of water in under an hour.. well I just tried it this weekend and it took over an hour to boil 4 gallons of water. After much research I’m thinking maybe it’s the regulator? Has anyone had this problem? I watched some videos for resetting the regulator but all the videos are for grills and you are supposed to disconnect the line from the tank for 30 seconds then slowly open the tank valve and then turn all the burners on the grill then off... well I have no valve on the burner so are there a way you have to reset the regulator for a brew burner? Or will just disconnecting it and opening the tank slowly do it? I hope this was my problem because it seems crazy it would take that long to boil 4 gallons. Any advice would be a huge help!! I am a newbie here! Also forgot to mention my regulator is a fixed 15 PSI regulator.

 

[GoeHaarden]

Try turning everything off. Disconnecting. Reconnecting. Make sure your tank is turned off, and your regulator is turned off. Open the tank (speed doesn't matter - just open it all the way). Then open the regulator and try to light the burner...

That's what I have to do, but mine has a needle valve so I have another step that doesn't apply to you. But I have to fully open the tank, then the regulator, then the needle valve. I think it has to do with pressure, but I'm unsure. Maybe it'll work for you.

 

[mongoose33]

I've had instances like GoeHaarden says with my gas grill. I disconnect the regulator from the tank, reconnect, and it's fine.

 

[Nokt]

With mine, I have to open the valve on the tank slowly otherwise, I get low output. There is a Overflow Protection Device on propane tanks (I think thats what its called). It took like 4 hours to boil 6 gallons. On my regulator, I adjust the flame that I need

 

[scottkist]

With mine, I have to open the valve on the tank slowly otherwise, I get low output. There is a Overflow Protection Device on propane tanks (I think thats what its called). It took like 4 hours to boil 6 gallons. On my regulator, I adjust the flame that I need

Sounds like everyone has a control on the regulator or a needle valve. I wonder if I could attach a valve or if I would need to get a new regulator. It would be nice to have a control to adjust the flame.

 

[scottkist]

Well I e-mailed the manufacturer because after looking at the item description on a couple different sites it sounds like mine was supposed to come with an adjustable regulator and didn't so they e-mailed me back and said they had sent out some units with the wrong regulator so it sounds like they are going to send me the correct one. hopefully that solves a lot of my issues.

 

[GoeHaarden]

Sweet! Hopefully that fixes the problem. Hurray for decent customer service...