Stupid Turkey Fryer Question

[bearymore]

Having the bug bad, I just bought a cheap Bayou Classic 30 qt. turkey fryer at Home Depot. I was planning to use the 10 lb. propane canister that is attached to my barbecue, not feeling overly comfortable with having a backyard full of propane tanks. When I got home, I opened the fryer and saw in the instructions that it is supposedly designed to work with a 20 lb. propane tank. That implies that the burner must use A LOT of propane. How much propane do these things use, and will I be ok with a 10 gallon tank shared with a small barbecue? I'd hate to run out of gas 1/2 hour into a boil.

On another totally unrelated note, SWMBO asked this afternoon whether bakers also use the term pitching yeast. I have no idea. Does anybody know?

 

[eriktlupus]

i usually get 4-7 full boils from a 20# tank(15-16#of gas). as long as the fittings match you can use your ten but you will prob end up getting an extra for backup anyway

 

[malkore]

I've never seen a bread recipe refer to yeast as pitching. Its a fairly different process for that use of yeast.

 

[david_42]

Most of the time I see the term "proofing" for baking. In baking, the yeast do not go through a growth phase.

 

[EvilTOJ]

You can use your 10 lb tank and it'll work just fine. Until you run out of propane with 15 minutes left into the boil. It really would be best to have at least a backup. You don't have to get a 20 lb tank if you don't want to, but it's cheap insurance between having a small snag in a brew day, or having a calamity coupled with a rush to the propane store 15 minutes before they close.

 

[Homercidal]

Pitching is when you put the yeast into the fermenter. I think proofing is adding a little bit of sugar in rehydrated yeast, and prove that it is alive. (The stuff will foam a bit). I don't think it's necessary today, if you use fresh yeast, but back in the day, you might wonder if your yeast was dead or not.

I used a 20lb tank this weekend, which was run on my "salamander" style heater. I didnt notice it losing anything over the hour of boil. I mean I'm sure it did, but I expected to notice the amount. I'd guess you could get a couple of boils out of a 10 pound tank, but seriously,a 20 is nice to have. Perhaps get rid of the 10 lb and use a 20 for both??

 

[bearymore]

Thanks for the advice. As it happens, I took a look at my 10 pound take which is starting to get a little worse for the wear. I ended up getting a 20 lb. tank which I will use for both. So, I got to use the new fryer for a full boil extract IPA on Sunday afternoon -- much easier than using an electric stovetop.

 

[CBBaron]

I definitely recommend getting a backup tank.
If you don't, you have to monitor the level of your tank and refill it before it is empty. If you are exchanging tanks this means you are throwing away gas.
With 2 tanks you can drain one then switch to the other mid boil if needed. Also you should no longer have the problem of being in mid boil and having to switch to a stove top because the tank ran dry and you can't get a replacement.
Ofcourse you do have to make sure you fill or exchange the empty tanks, and make sure the tank on your barbque is not nearly empty when you start a boil. Otherwise you end up like me an swap an empty tank 20 min into a boil and then have the second tank run dry after another 15min. Resulting in trying to finish the boil on a stove with just enough power to keep the boil going if the kettle is half covered. Its no fun.


Craig