Propane turkey cooker for brewing inside

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Don't. It's a huge fire hazard, and also a carbon monoxide hazard.

Brew on :mug:
So i wonder why my LP stove doenst give off carbon monoxide? I was thinking about the fire hazard? just thought maybe some here is doing it safely or has a method? I was thinking of maybe tabletop LP stove meant for inside that has 2 burners that I can use for canning too. Thx
 
I know of some gas appliances with an ODS pilot that will shut off if the O2 concentration of the room drops below 20%. Generally, those are heaters that wouldn't have the BTU capability of boiling 5-7gallons of wort. If you're talking about a turkey fryer, I wouldn't recommend brewing indoors with it. The only exception would be if by "indoors" you mean in a shed or garage with the door wide open and a fire extinguisher close at hand.

Trust me, beer tastes better when you're conscious and have both eyebrows intact ;)
 
Here is what my Gas stove that runs off LP

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Here is what I was thinking for the basement

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I may in the end just find a old used Gas/ lp Stove full size. May be cheaper anyway. I guess I never really understood why a LP camp stove cant be used in side but my regular stove that runs off the LP tank can? Always wondered if I could use my LP heater inside if I lost heat, if my furnace runs off the same? Must be the venting a furnace does? But my regular stove doesn't? Im sure there is a Youtube vid explaining this for dummies like myself. 🤔
 
So gas appliances are all rated for different applications and it all comes down to the BTU output and the cubic volume of available room air. On every gas appliance, at least in the US, there is a rating plate or sticker that lists the BTU output, and room air requirements. Modern gas furnaces have what is called an ODS pilot. This pilot is designed to shut the system off if the O2 concentration drops under 18-20%. I would bet that if you looked at the rating plate of either of those appliances above, there would be a minimum room size stated, and most will not allow basement installation since CO is heavier than air and would have nowhere to go in a basement.

I'm going to be frank here, but only because people have been hurt or killed by this, carbon monoxide is nothing to mess around with. Gas appliances, when used for the application in which they are designed, are very safe. It's when folks try and operate them outside of the design specs that it becomes a problem. Unlike CO2, CO is not an asphyxiant meaning you can't just get to fresh air and everything will be okay. CO is a poisonous gas that accumulates in the bloodstream. There is a limit to how much you can breathe in and make it out alive. Even minor exposures can cause headaches, breathing trouble, vomiting, and fatigue that require medical attention.

Just because an appliance is rated for indoor use doesn't mean that it doesn't produce CO. All natural gas or LP combustion releases CO as a byproduct. However, indoor rated appliances have been tested based on cubic volume of room air versus the BTU output of the specific appliance. When in doubt, refer to the user manual of the appliance and do not operate it in a manner inconsistent with its design specs.

I promise I'm not trying to be an ass about this. Just want to make sure you brew safely my friend!
 
+1 @SouthForkBrew

I've got nothing material to add. Some things, like harnessing combustion or aircraft maintenance, should be done by the books. Manufacturer recommendations, regulatory certificates and codes, etc, etc.

Google 'Prometheus' and 'Icarus' for further info on how these two examples can go wrong.
 
FWIW, the hot plate you posted a photo of does include a regulator supposedly for indoor use. Chasing down exactly what they mean by it and in which conditions it is safe may be your satisfactory answer.

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I may in the end just find a old used Gas/ lp Stove full size. May be cheaper anyway. I guess I never really understood why a LP camp stove cant be used in side but my regular stove that runs off the LP tank can? Always wondered if I could use my LP heater inside if I lost heat, if my furnace runs off the same? Must be the venting a furnace does? But my regular stove doesn't? Im sure there is a Youtube vid explaining this for dummies like myself. 🤔

Furnaces and water heaters are vented to the outdoors because all open flame combustion releases a certain percentage of CO for a given BTU of output. In a typical stove, this amount is not all that dangerous because the total BTU is only a few thousand. "TURKEY FRYER" burners are on the upward of 80,000 which is like a furnace in terms of the amount of CO produced. That's not to say people don't die from CO poisoning from indoor rated appliances. They do, especially when the burner is malfunctioning and the burn is not so clean.

While those camp stoves may be OK to run for short periods of time indoors (when rated for it), the output is more for frying a couple eggs, not heating up 5 gallons of water.
 
Personally I don't like homebrewing enough to risk killing myself of anything in my house with CO to want to do this. Plenty of great electrical options for indoor use or take the propane burners outside. You can find enough posts here over the past fifteen years or so where people had turkey fryers running in an insufficiently vented garage and almost created a serious problem for themselves.
 
Furnaces and water heaters are vented to the outdoors because all open flame combustion releases a certain percentage of CO for a given BTU of output. In a typical stove, this amount is not all that dangerous because the total BTU is only a few thousand. "TURKEY FRYER" burners are on the upward of 80,000 which is like a furnace in terms of the amount of CO produced. That's not to say people don't die from CO poisoning from indoor rated appliances. They do, especially when the burner is malfunctioning and the burn is not so clean.

While those camp stoves may be OK to run for short periods of time indoors (when rated for it), the output is more for frying a couple eggs, not heating up 5 gallons of water.
that makes sense
 
Another point of concern about boiling indoors, is steam. I have had a fair bit kitchen work experience, and there is a reason for those high powered exhaust fans and vent hoods you see in restaurant kitchens. They not only suck out heat from your burners but they suck out all he steam that can weaken joists on the floor above. I did have the dream of a basement brew kitchen, but after talking to mechanical designer I gave it up for garage kitchen where I could throw open a ten foot door and get LOTs of ventilation.
 
OK so I my be rethinking the basement brew kitchen. And start doing smaller batches int he wintertime in the normal kitchen and bigger batches in the garage. So My next question, does anyone use a Turkey fryer burner for mashing and boiling? I can do my spring - summer- fall brewing outside. Is there a better method?
 
Turkey fryers work, however:

(A) the burners tend to collect trash over time (spillage, propane oil/carbon deposits)
(B) the flame is not all that great (clean vs dirty soot)
(C) the structure is not very sturdy, long boil periods and heavy kettles tend to cause fatigue over time
(D) BTU output is decent but could be better

If you brew a lot you might want to build a stand or get a burner that can support weight. With lots of people moving to electric you might be able to pick up some used burner(s) cheap on Marketplace or other outlets

There are stories (and some photos floating around) with turkey fryers bending under the weight and heat, some spilling hot wort. I used a turkey fryer for a while but ended up getting a hellfire burner and that has made a huge difference
 
I’m in the 1/10 who don’t. I brew indoors all year. I mostly use an Anvil Foundry. I have the 6.5 and I brew 3 gallon batches with it almost exclusively. It runs great on 110v, no need for 220v with this smaller size. Electronic temp control and being able to do step mashes is a nice built in bonus. No CO to worry about. I also do still have my cooler mash tun and my brewpot if I want to use those and brew in the kitchen. I like these little electric systems though.

Biggest drawback is being limited to a 3 gallon batch and 8 lbs total grain capacity. Can always supplement with extract or have to brew twice to get a larger batch. Right now I’m doing 6 gallons of a pre-prohibition lager to have over the summer. That will be 2 brew days for me.
 
I started exactly as you planned - in the garage with the propane turkey fryer. It was fine in the Spring and Fall, but summer brew days were brutal even with the garage door fully open. Plan on adding 10+ degrees to the outside temperature in the garage during the boil and dealing with flying insects checking out your wort. Winter brew days were also uncomfortable, even with the garage door partially closed.

Either way, I always had a CO alarm as well as a propane alarm running during those brew sessions. A cheap and wise investment to get both, in my opinion. As others said, I would not recommend moving that to the basement unless you had a way of venting CO and steam, which means you need a source of make up air to replace the air you're venting. Risks are significant if you get it wrong and if you damaged your home, it's also possible your insurance company would not pay since you're using a burner rated for outdoor use only.

I finally moved to electric brewing using a 220V induction burner and eventually an all-in-one unit such as a DigiBoil or Brewzilla. Since my breaker panel was in the basement, putting in a 220V outlet next to the panel was pretty easy and never running out of propane is an added benefit.

~HopSing.
 
An inexpensive turkey fryer is how I started in all grain brewing. It worked fairly well except the fryer kettle if I remember was only about 7 gallons which is pretty small for a 5 gallon batch. I eventually bought a converted keggle but used the same burner. After using a couple of different propane fired system over the years though I would definitely suggest going electric.
 

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I think it depends on where you live and the garage situation. I cook in the garage year round in Denver using LP gas from a quick disconnect at the water heater in the mud room. I open the mudroom bathroom window and the garage door 6 inches. I hang a CO meter head high where I sit at my computer while brewing. Meter never moves off zero, stove sits on concrete, no bugs. Been brewing like this at this house for 5 years.
 
Simply depends on your gambling traits. If the risk of dieing and damaging your physical property appeals to you more than staying safe and healthy, by all means take that risk. But with the info available regarding the dangers of propane burners inside the home, it simply makes no sense to expose yourself to such risk. And if you are contemplating purchasing new equipment for your homebrewery, look into all electric brewing equipment. The cost is relative without the concern for CO. Do you but do you safely.
 
Brewing in the basement using propane can be done. I know this because I have been doing so safely for over 10 years. There are 3 things you need to be concerned with. One is CO. Carbon monoxide is a 28 mole gas that is odorless, colorless, tasteless and deadly. It is slightly heavier than air but mixes so readily that settling to the floor is not a concern. CO must be vented outside. So an exhaust fan is needed. The larger the space the larger the fan. Second you must be concerned with is explosive gas, most of the burners used for brewing are not very efficient. LP is definitely heavier than air and will settle in the basement near the floor (this is why fire code says no LP appliances should be installed in the basement). So again good air flow out and in are needed. Third moisture from boiling needs to be vented. I use 20lb LP tanks that are stored outside and brought in only when in use. I also use 100,000 btu high pressure burners with controllable pressure regulators. I have a CO monitor and an LP Gas monitor and fire extinguishers. It all comes down to venting.

I use 89 cfm fan on a 6 inch duct directly outside and a 26 cfm fan on 4 inch duct bring fresh air in from the out side from the opposite side of the house. The brewing area is 77 cubic feet of space so the air changes once every 3 minutes. For 10 years I have brewing in my basement brewery and have never set off any of the alarms or needed the fire extinguisher. I have a safety checklist and I brew in early mornings and I do not drink while brewing. It can be done safely if safety in on your mind when your doing this.

for the record the insurance company was more concerned about the wood burning stove in the basement than they were the brewery. so much so I sold the wood burner and will be installing electric baseboard heating.
 
What you're doing is an extremely bad idea and you should stop using an outdoor propane burner in your basement immediately.


This stuff is my day job. I work on everything from BBQs and fire places up to multi-million BTU industrial process equipment. You're ignoring the safety instructions from the manufacturer and I 100% guarantee that you're in violation of your local fire code *and* building codes.

But if you don't believe me, call your local fire marshal and see what they say.


These things are the way they are for a reason, and that reason almost always has a body count attached. Ignoring this is foolish in the extreme.
 
Who said my burners were for outdoors? You can buy large indoor burners from restaurant suppliers.
I got mine from a restaurant gas range that was trashed. I changed the orifice to LP (from the mfg.) Then built a metal rack to mount them in. My point is you can use LP indoors safely, even in a basement.
 
Further your statement that CO is heavier than air is totally incorrect. CO is so close to the molecular weight of air that it mixes easily making it very dangerous.
 

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Further your statement that CO is heavier than air is totally incorrect. CO is so close to the molecular weight of air that it mixes easily making it very dangerous.
Okay, so you're saying that I claimed CO is heavier than air: Where did I claim this? It's basic science and something *every* licensed technician is painfully aware of.

But moving past you putting words in my mouth, let's stop and unpack something for a moment. You claim that your local fire codes say that LP appliances can't be in a basement because propane is heavier than air.

Then you tell us that you are using LP in a basement. Using portable cylinders that are definitely not rated or approved for indoor use.


I'm not aware of any jurisdictions that ban the install of LP burning appliances in basements whole cloth; but you're seriously telling us that not only is it against your local fire code to do what you're doing, but that you're doing so using LP cylinders which are *never* ok to use in an occupied residential structure. That's not even touching on the fact that most jurisdictions ban unqualified people from making modifications to fuel burning appliances.


Now, I can already hear you furiously pounding away at the keyboard to tell me how I'm wrong; don't waste your time, I'm not. Instead, please go ahead and call your local fire marshal or non-emergency fire department number and ask them if it's safe to operate a propane burner running on LP cylinders in your basement. Go ahead and tell them that you have a vent fan and that you modified the burner yourself. I'd put money on them telling you to immediately stop.


I'm n.ot responding further to you on this one; I've said my piece and I work too hard through the week doing this for a living to spend more of my free time educating you.

You need to stop putting yourself and others in danger.
 
I brew 10G all-grain batches outside on propane. If it gets below about 25F outside (and SWMBO is out of town), I will do an extract batch on the electric stove. I wouldn't even brew on propance in my the garage. It's "only" beer, no need to endanger your family or your home, in my humble opinion.
 
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