Which Burner?

[Runyanka]

Which should I get, the Bayou Classic SP10 High-Pressure Outdoor cooker, or the Bayou Classic SQ14 single burner outdoor cooker?

Amazon.com: Bayou Classic SQ14 Single Burner Outdoor Patio Stove: Home & Garden

Amazon.com: Bayou Classic SP10 High-Pressure Outdoor Gas Cooker, Propane: Home & Garden

Also, If you know where I can find them cheaper let me know

 

[schweaty]

Are you using a keggle with a rounded bottom or a boil pot with a flat bottom? That would be the deciding factor. That, and how large are the batches you plan on doing? 5 or 10 gallon?

 

[TeufelBrew]

I was looking into both of these as well. Decision was made for me from CL find. Ended up with the SQ14 and it holds my 15G pot easily. The extra height of the SP10 would be nice for gravity feed into fermenters.

 

[Runyanka]

I will be using a 40 qt aluminum pot (flat bottom). Also, I will be doing 5 gallon batches, so boiling around 6.5 gallons at first. I am worried that the High output one isnt that sturdy, but the SQ14 will be more stable but less BTU's

 

[schweaty]

Actually the SP10 is quite sturdy so long as you have a flat bottom boil bot. If you use a keggle it would present a problem. I'd say go with the SP10 and higher BTU's.

 

[Runyanka]

Actually the SP10 is quite sturdy so long as you have a flat bottom boil bot. If you use a keggle it would present a problem. I'd say go with the SP10 and higher BTU's.

Just curious, with the SP10 being around 185,000 BTU's, how fast will I blow through a can of propane? What is your average life of a propane cylinder?

 

[schweaty]

Well, when I was doing 4 gallon extract boils and topping off to 5 gallons, I got 3 batches out of one 20 pound tank and probably could have gotten atleast 1 if not 2 more.

 

[Catt22]

I would choose the SQ14 primarily because it uses a ring type burner. The SP10 uses a diffuser type burner. Flame control at low settings is not very good for the diffuser style burners and IMO they are considerably less efficient. I have both types of burners, but mostly use only the SQ14. I also have a low pressure Camp Chef equipped with a ring burner that I like a lot. BTU ratings are frequently misleading. The manufacturers tend to exaggerate the ratings I suppose for marketing purposes and there are no government controls that I know of to prevent them from doing so. There is a limit to the rate of heat transferred to the wort and a burner with more horsepower may be able to get the wort to a boil more quickly, but the cost in excess fuel consumption probably isn't worth it IMO. It's one of those diminishing returns things. The SQ14 has plenty of power for my brewing purposes.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I can't speak for the SP10 because I have never used one, or know anyone that does. However, I have been using the SQ14 for quite a while and am very happy with it. I use a keggle, and the large surface area and sturdiness of the frame is much appreciated. I can heat up 15 gallons of brewing water in about 35 minutes, and sparge temp to boiling in less than 20 minutes. The SQ14 also has the advantage of being used by MANY people on this forum, and seems to be one of the chosen propane burners among home brewers.

 

[Runyanka]

I would choose the SQ14 primarily because it uses a ring type burner. The SP10 uses a diffuser type burner. Flame control at low settings is not very good for the diffuser style burners and IMO they are considerably less efficient. I have both types of burners, but mostly use only the SQ14. I also have a low pressure Camp Chef equipped with a ring burner that I like a lot. BTU ratings are frequently misleading. The manufacturers tend to exaggerate the ratings I suppose for marketing purposes and there are no government controls that I know of to prevent them from doing so. There is a limit to the rate of heat transferred to the wort and a burner with more horsepower may be able to get the wort to a boil more quickly, but the cost in excess fuel consumption probably isn't worth it IMO. It's one of those diminishing returns things. The SQ14 has plenty of power for my brewing purposes.

That is kind of what I am thinking as well. I will be using this for my AG setup, so if it takes a little longer to get the water to the right temps I am fine with it. I just dont want to be replacing my propane burner every two batchs. I also like the sturdy look of the SQ14.
I could do NG if they made a setup ready to go (burner, stand, etc) becuase I will be doing this in my garage, and my hot water heater gas line is right there ready to be T'ed off of.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Whichever yo go for, in my experience you won't get cheaper than at Amazon

 

[schweaty]

The SP-10 is a cast iron ring burner, not a jet burner. The picture below is a diffuser type burner. While the stands are similar, they do not use the same type of burner.

 

[cytokine]

Timing is everything. I came to the forum looking for burner advice, hoping to not have to search too hard.

This thread was on top.

Ordered the SQ14.

Dancing Banana.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

The SP-10 is a cast iron ring burner, not a jet burner. The picture below is a diffuser type burner. While the stands are similar, they do not use the same type of burner.

Interesting. So what's the difference, and which is better/worse for brewing purposes?

 

[Catt22]

The SP-10 is a cast iron ring burner, not a jet burner. The picture below is a diffuser type burner. While the stands are similar, they do not use the same type of burner.

Actually it's not. It is a cast iron burner, but not a ring type. The SP-10 uses a diffuser type burner that looks like this:

The SQ14 uses a ring type burner that looks something like this:

The burner you have shown is commonly referred to as a Jet type burner which is the least desirable of the these three. There are several variations of the ring burners available including the big 10" banjo or hurricane types. Then there's the more recently introduced multi-jet type burners. Those are interesting, but I have no experience with them or the large banjo type burners.

 

[schweaty]

SP1 and SP10
20 PSI Regulator

SP1
100k BTU/hr
Burner Mounted Higher

SP10
185k BTU/hr
Wind Shield
Ability to Control Oxygen/Gas Mixture
Burner is Mounted Lower

As far as what is better or worse, I'm not really sure. I have three of the cast iron burners from the SP-10 and I'm happy with their performance. Aparently the SP1 has a higher BTU output but that might be because of the mounting height.