Using a propane grill to boil?

[Devasin]

Does anyone do this?

I just got a Brinkman 5-burner gas grill with the burners equaling 50,000 BTUs and one side burner at 13,500 BTUs. Would this setup work?

 

[dpatrickv]

I would just spend the 50 bucks for a bayou classic. A grill with as total output of 50k BTUs wont really work as its spread across a number of burners...

 

[Baja_Brewer]

You'd be wasting a lot of gas. Grills, by design, are meant to spread out the heat they produce- you want heat focused on the bottom of you kettle.

 

[tgolanos]

I've used my side-burner frequently with no issue. I wouldn't use the grill plates though. Not sure how much more or less efficient it is overall, but my wife prefers when I do this because I don't "stink up the house"

 

[TennBrewer]

I tried heating 3 gallons of tap water in a 5 gallon pot on the side burner of my Weber grill, the pot was slightly too large for the burner. It works if you have a pot that fits, but it takes a long time to boil. This was ok for my purposes as I was just heating the water in case I needed to top off the boil kettle or I needed some sterile water for some reason. Otherwise, I wouldn't use it brew on. I like a vigorous boil for brewing and this burner just didn't get hot enough to give me a good rolling boil.

 

[dpatrickv]

I tried heating 3 gallons of tap water in a 5 gallon pot on the side burner of my Weber grill, the pot was slightly too large for the burner. It works if you have a pot that fits, but it takes a long time to boil. This was ok for my purposes as I was just heating the water in case I needed to top off the boil kettle or I needed some sterile water for some reason. Otherwise, I wouldn't use it brew on. I like a vigorous boil for brewing and this burner just didn't get hot enough to give me a good rolling boil.

14k BTUS isnt nearly enough to boil 5 gallons of wort IMO, I get why you may have tried it though.

 

[C-Rider]

I've used my side-burner frequently with no issue. I wouldn't use the grill plates though. Not sure how much more or less efficient it is overall, but my wife prefers when I do this because I don't "stink up the house"

I don't understand the "stink up the house" complaint that some SWMBO'S talk about. Mashing grain has no smell and boiling wort smell "grainy" sort of like bread. Lucky my lady doesn't complain and besides I do it outside. But before I got the gas burner I did it inside w/a 15oo watt electric plate.

 

[Zepth]

+1 to pleasant aroma

Even my non-beer drinking friends can tell and comment on how my place smells like a bakery after I'm done brewing. That said I do try to brew outside as often as possible to keep moisture levels down.

 

[Spartan1979]

I tried using a grill once, it didn't really work and I was just trying to boil starters.

 

[brewcat]

I used a grill for an extract batch maybe twice. It seemed to work better than the stovetop for that purpose. Full boil wouldn't have worked though. Just buy a separate burner; will be better and less of a hassle.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

It smells like bread with out a doubt, but typically people like the smell of fresh baked bread. For each is own I suppose.

 

[Brew_G]

+1 to pleasant aroma

Even my non-beer drinking friends can tell and comment on how my place smells like a bakery after I'm done brewing. That said I do try to brew outside as often as possible to keep moisture levels down.

Same here.

I love the smell, but my wife would prefer not to have the place smell for hours on end. And the moisture thing is a big one. I don't have an exhaust fan that discharges outside, so 1-2 gallons of water vapor heads straight upstairs. No fun in the summertime!

I bought a Bayou Classic burner in the spring and have loved outdoor brewing ever since. And I should be able to brew outside even in the middle of winter since we rarely stay below 20F during the day in winter.

 

[Spartan1979]

I don't understand the "stink up the house" complaint that some SWMBO'S talk about. Mashing grain has no smell and boiling wort smell "grainy" sort of like bread. Lucky my lady doesn't complain and besides I do it outside. But before I got the gas burner I did it inside w/a 15oo watt electric plate.

My wife was fine with it until she got pregnant and then it really bothered her. So she bought me a propane burner and a 10 gallon pot for Christmas that year. 24 years later I still do most of my batches in that pot.

 

[DurtyChemist]

I am contemplating trying my camp chef for boiling water in a turkey fryer and possibly having my leg on the other burner. It's just two smaller banjo burners but the weight is the only issue I see.