Switching to from Propane to natural gas

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Any opinions on drilling out the orifice a little larger? I'm hesitating a bit because I of course don't want to screw it up by opening it up too much.

The flame does not roar like it did with the propane.

What do you think? Should I be happy with the flame that I have or open it up a little more to see if it increases performance?

 

[helibrewer]

I know there is stuff on the web about how and what size to drill out the orifice.

 

[FuriousE]

Did you try heating water yet? Natural Gas burners generally don't "roar" - its one of the benefits.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Did you try heating water yet? Natural Gas burners generally don't "roar" - its one of the benefits.

Not yet. I suppose that would be the best way to test it.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I agree you need to test it. That flame look perfect to me. As FuriousE stated, NG does not roar like propane does, rather it's very quiet. This is due to NG being low pressure and LPG being high pressure.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

I agree you need to test it. That flame look perfect to me. As FuriousE stated, NG does not roar like propane does, rather it's very quiet. This is due to NG being low pressure and LPG being high pressure.

Yeah, maybe the lack of roar is throwing me off. I just need to test it and see what it does.

 

[satph]

My SQ-14 on NG doesn't roar at all. Your flame looks good. I agree do a test boil with 5g of water. If you're still not happy, drill out one numbered drill size larger and test again.

 

[MrNatural]

I know there is stuff on the web about how and what size to drill out the orifice.

Here's a couple for low pressure LPG and Natural Gas:
http://www.joppaglass.com/burner/lowp_chrt.html
http://www.hvacredu.net/gas-codes/module2/Gas Orifice Capacity Chart.pdf

and one for high pressure LPG:
http://www.joppaglass.com/burner/highp_chart.html

Also, anyone know a good source for needle valve fitting between 3/8 female flare hose and 1/8 or 1/4 MPT going into orifice?

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Here's a couple for low pressure LPG and Natural Gas:
http://www.joppaglass.com/burner/lowp_chrt.html
http://www.hvacredu.net/gas-codes/module2/Gas Orifice Capacity Chart.pdf

and one for high pressure LPG:
http://www.joppaglass.com/burner/highp_chart.html

Also, anyone know a good source for needle valve fitting between 3/8 female flare hose and 1/8 or 1/4 MPT going into orifice?

I suppose it would be best to know the W/C coming out of my supply line.

I believe that the BG12 produces 55k BTU's when operated on propane. Since NG produces 15% BTU's compared to propane, we are looking at 46,750 BTU's.

Depending on supply pressure, according to these charts I should have a hole somewhere between roughly 0.11"-0.13. Right now my hole is measuring 0.08". This give a little wiggle room.

Am looking using the chart correctly?

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Also, anyone know a good source for needle valve fitting between 3/8 female flare hose and 1/8 or 1/4 MPT going into orifice?

Are you looking for one like the one that I purchased?

 

[MrNatural]

I suppose it would be best to know the W/C coming out of my supply line.

I believe that the BG12 produces 55k BTU's when operated on propane. Since NG produces 15% BTU's compared to propane, we are looking at 46,750 BTU's.

Depending on supply pressure, according to these charts I should have a hole somewhere between roughly 0.11"-0.13. Right now my hole is measuring 0.08". This give a little wiggle room.

Am looking using the chart correctly?

I read it the same way, dependent on supply WC. I must confess I don't know squat and haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn Express for many moons.

Are you looking for one like the one that I purchased?

This one.

I have this orifice:
http://www.agrisupply.com/Orifice-For-Asc/p/72051/
On this burner:
http://www.agrisupply.com/cast-iron-burner/p/64494/

 

[LLBeanJ]

This one.

I have this orifice:
http://www.agrisupply.com/Orifice-For-Asc/p/72051/
On this burner:
http://www.agrisupply.com/cast-iron-burner/p/64494/

That needle valve is the one supplied in the Blichmann NG conversion kit for the Floor Burner, which uses the same cast burner that you linked.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

That needle valve is the one supplied in the Blichmann NG conversion kit for the Floor Burner, which uses the same cast burner that you linked.

Or for about the same price ($19.95 including shipping) you can get this one from tejassmokers.com - model number CVO250 I believe.

I'm not sure if one is better than the other.

 

[MrNatural]

Or for about the same price ($19.95 including shipping) you can get this one from tejassmokers.com - model number CVO250 I believe.

I'm not sure if one is better than the other.

Have a couple in transit. It looks like it is the same as CVO125, with a free bushing thrown in.
Thanks for the tip

 

[bob1852]

So how's this working for ya, OrdinaryAvgGuy?

I don't speak plumbing, so I've never really looked much into LP to NG conversion for my SQ-14 (despite brewing right next to my NG Weber ).

Looks like all I'll need is this (CVO125) http://gashosesandregulators.com/brassfittings.html or (CVO250) http://www.tejassmokers.com/products/brassfittings.htm

And this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VAXQYY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Right?

Any special instructions for the CVO250 from tejas?

 

[QuercusMax]

I have a SQ14 and just realized there's a natural gas hookup on the corner of my deck. Can anybody who's converted their SQ14 confirm what parts they used, and if it required any drilling? There's a lot of suggestions in this thread (and elsewhere), but nothing that says "I bought these parts, hooked them up, and everything is good". (Or conversely, that you tried some stuff and it didn't work out.)

 

[aangel]

I bought the Blichmann LP to NG conversion kit for my Banjo burner. Worked perfectly. It's the right orifice size for any LP burner to run on NG.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I have a SQ14 and just realized there's a natural gas hookup on the corner of my deck. Can anybody who's converted their SQ14 confirm what parts they used, and if it required any drilling? There's a lot of suggestions in this thread (and elsewhere), but nothing that says "I bought these parts, hooked them up, and everything is good". (Or conversely, that you tried some stuff and it didn't work out.)

Honestly, I'm not even sure anymore. I've also seen conflicting reports and even had one forum member make some snide remark to me in another thread about giving incorrect info on this very subject. Evidently, he had a 10" burner casting (same size as the Blichmann), but the thread size was too small to accept the Blichmann LPG to NG adapter, so he was all bent out of shape because he followed the advice given on the forum and it didn't work straight out of the box.

Here's the deal: all the cast burners from Bayou Classic will work with NG. The correct orifice size for NG is Ø.125" (as opposed to Ø.061" for LPG). The parts you need will depend on the thread size in your burner casting, which will be either 1/8" NPT or 1/4" NPT. I have no idea what the ACTUAL thread size in your SQ14 casting is, so you will need to check.

If the burner has a 1/4" NPT thread, you will be good to go with the Blichmann Floor Burner LPG to NG conversion kit and the Brinkman Quick-Disconnect hose from Amazon that AZ_IPA linked to a few posts up. The only other thing you'll need will be the fitting(s) to connect the QD from the hose to your gas plumbing.

On the other hand, if your casting has the smaller, 1/8" NPT thread, you will also need any one of the following:
1) a step-down adapter (1/4" NPT female to 1/8" NPT male), to attach the Blichmann valve from the converstion kit to your casting.
2) drill out and tap your casting to 1/4" NPT (not recommended unless you are familliar with drilling and tapping tapered pipe threads)
3) Instead of using the Blichmann kit, you can buy one of the other needle valves linked above that already is sized to fit directly into a 1/8" thread. If you do this, just be sure to specify that you need the orifice sized for NG (Ø.125").

Before you can actually know what you need, you should verify the thread size in your casting. Maybe you have a 1/4" NPT or 1/8" NPT fitting lying around that you can use to match it up? If not, go to the hardware store and pick up a 1/4" NPT nipple and see if it fits in your casting, assuming they have American pipe thread sizes available in The Great White North.

 

[bob1852]

One of those links I posted said to call with your burner model and they'd tell you what you need.

I've been too lazy to call, but not too lazy to keep driving around filling up propane tanks.

 

[QuercusMax]

Thanks! That's super helpful. It looks like my SQ14 is 1/8" NPT, so I'll likely just get the 1/4" FNPT to 1/8" MNPT adapter and the Blichmann part. It looks like it will be super easy to switch out (based on how easy it was to unscrew the existing line), too, so if I want to make my burner portable again that should be totally doable.

 

[QuercusMax]

I picked up a 1/4"->1/8" adapter from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BOAA6O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) and purchased the Blichmann conversion kit, along with a quick-disconnect extension hose, and hooked everything up; all the pieces connect up appropriately.

Now my problem is that I can't get a nice blue flame; I get 2-foot-high yellow-orange flames, which doesn't seem right. Even when I adjust the needle valve all the way down, the flame is still orange. I've adjusted the air intake on my burner so it's wide open, and it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Do I need a different burner? Or maybe a smaller orifice?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Is there a valve on your gas line? Have you tried closing it some to reduce the gas flow from the house? Sounds like the mixture is way too rich.