Burners

[jayhawk]

What is a good amount of BTU's for a burner? I will be expanding my capacity to a 15 gal stainless brew kettle. Thanks

[doggone]

Go for the highest BTU rating you can find. We started boiling 15 gal this past fall and found the time to get up to temp almost trippled. I think the burner we are using was rated @ 135,000-140,000 BTU. Would not want to attempt it with anything smaller.

[andytv]

Its my understanding that "turkey fryer" burners can only be used outdoors due to CO produced by incomplete combustion. Is this true?? I brew in my kitchen and would hate the thought of lugging a brewpot w/ 13+ gallons of wort out to the porch. I have a 135KBTU burner from my turkey fryer but I am still heating the wort by spanning all four of my stovetop burners. How do all of you out there use your turkey fryer burners??

[doggone]

We have been using a propane burner in the basement for more than 2 yrs now with no ill effects. Both winter and summer. I do crack a window once in a while in the winter.

[BillyBock]

Let me throw some #s out for your consideration. A BTU is the thermal energy required to heat 1 pound of fluid by 1F. So how many BTUs do you need if you want to bring 10 gals of water to a boil from 50F? If you want to do it in 30 minutes, you need about 25K BTU; 50K BTU for a 15 minute boil; 100K BTU for a 7-8 minute boil, etc. I can share the equation with you if you like. Please note these #s are for water. I don't know the specific heat of wort, which would alter the numbers slightly. However, it gives you a ball park figure.

So what does it mean in practical terms? As Doggone said, don't settle on a low power burner, ie. 30K BTU. Since this is a max. rating, you'd have to have the power cranked just to boil water in 30 minutes. If it were me, I'd get the most power available. This way you have plenty of headroom. I use a Bayou Classic (150K BTU?) to do 10-13 gal. batches. I've been pleased with it. Don't skimp, the cost difference isn't that much--you'll be miles ahead on the aggravation you save.

Hope it helps, cheers!
----
Bill

[jayhawk]

thanks bill, that is some good info. I just wasn't sure what kind of output was needed for a 10gal+ batch, but now I'll go looking for a burner in the 150-200K range.
Thanks
Chris