starrfish
Well-Known Member
I would only use a lid to get stuff up to boil, then remove. you want to boil off the diacetyl compounds
Propane is a pain
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sudsmcgee
Well-Known Member
I use a Bayou SQ014 with a wind screen and can bring 10 gals to boil in 35-45 minutes depending upon the starting water temp. I get 3-4 10 gal batches out of a 20 lb tank too.
Make sure you use full power when heating the water up, but use the minimal amount of gas to keep a rolling boil.
Make sure you use full power when heating the water up, but use the minimal amount of gas to keep a rolling boil.
starrfish
Well-Known Member
Have the same burner with homebrewed wind screen, just wish the adjustments where tighter.
40 min to strike temp and 20 mins to boil with this (8 gallon boil).
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...play?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=100000 btu&storeId=10051
rico567
Well-Known Member
This much propane for a single boil seems excessive......but then there are so many variables. I try to employ logistics to reduce the amount of expensive propane (the kind most of us buy in 20# cylinders) used.
1. What pot is being used? I use a 30 qt. pot, but it's insulated with automotive firewall insulation. This significantly increases its ability to hold heat, so it comes to a boil faster. I originally insulated the pot so that it would come to a boil at all on the cooktop indoors when I was doing extract.
2. Is the burner matched to the pot? I use the Bayou Classic SP-10, which seems a good match for this pot.
3. What is the starting temperature for the water? I do my preheat water in the morning on the kitchen cooktop, so I'm using much cheaper propane from our 1K gal. bulk tank. It takes me 30 - 35 min. to take 3 gal. preheat water from room temperature to 170F preheat temp (and this is with a pretty feeble 8.5 K BTU cooktop burner).
4. What temperature is the boil water when starting to heat over the outdoor burner? I take the 3 gallons of preheat water (by then 145-147F) and dump it in the boil pot and start heating. I add 2-3 gallons that has been heating indoors and in only a few minutes I'm up to my strike temperature. I then mash in.
5. At the end of the mash, I lauter directly into the boil pot. When it's got some wort in it, I start the burner, by the time I'm done sparging (I do a single batch sparge), the boil pot is within 10-15 degrees of boiling. Elapsed time from beginning lautering to boil @ 40 min.
These times are accurate, because I've used this method for several years now on 30-40 batches of beer. Doing it this way, I can easily get 5 batches out of a 20# tank.
NB: Would I like to be brewing electric? Well, yeah. Am I willing to make the up-front investment to do that? Not yet......
1. What pot is being used? I use a 30 qt. pot, but it's insulated with automotive firewall insulation. This significantly increases its ability to hold heat, so it comes to a boil faster. I originally insulated the pot so that it would come to a boil at all on the cooktop indoors when I was doing extract.
2. Is the burner matched to the pot? I use the Bayou Classic SP-10, which seems a good match for this pot.
3. What is the starting temperature for the water? I do my preheat water in the morning on the kitchen cooktop, so I'm using much cheaper propane from our 1K gal. bulk tank. It takes me 30 - 35 min. to take 3 gal. preheat water from room temperature to 170F preheat temp (and this is with a pretty feeble 8.5 K BTU cooktop burner).
4. What temperature is the boil water when starting to heat over the outdoor burner? I take the 3 gallons of preheat water (by then 145-147F) and dump it in the boil pot and start heating. I add 2-3 gallons that has been heating indoors and in only a few minutes I'm up to my strike temperature. I then mash in.
5. At the end of the mash, I lauter directly into the boil pot. When it's got some wort in it, I start the burner, by the time I'm done sparging (I do a single batch sparge), the boil pot is within 10-15 degrees of boiling. Elapsed time from beginning lautering to boil @ 40 min.
These times are accurate, because I've used this method for several years now on 30-40 batches of beer. Doing it this way, I can easily get 5 batches out of a 20# tank.
NB: Would I like to be brewing electric? Well, yeah. Am I willing to make the up-front investment to do that? Not yet......
I think you are right. I burn wide open at the start where its a blue/yellow/orange flame as that gets 8 gallons boiling in about 15 minutes, then I turn it way back to just a small blue flame as that is good enough to keep a rolling boil.
I use the Bayou Classic SQ14, it doesn't have a good windscreen, but I use it inside a shed and just keep the garage door open so there is plenty of air movement but no direct wind on the burner. I was able to get a 4th batch out of the tank yesterday afternoon, and then my brother in law brought over a turkey fryer pot with oil and we fried potato, chicken, and spring rolls for about an hour, and just as we were doing the last batch of fries, the burner cut out and I was out of gas...so I am impressed with the efficiency of gas.
