Burners
Moderator: slothrob
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Burner BTUs
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.
- doggone
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:24 pm
- Location: Prior Lake, MN, US
Indoor Use
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??
- andytv
- Double IPA
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2001 9:55 pm
Indoor use
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.
- doggone
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:24 pm
- Location: Prior Lake, MN, US
Numbers for Consideration
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
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
- BillyBock
- Imperial Stout
- Posts: 561
- Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2000 12:37 pm
- Location: Ohio
Sounds good
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
Thanks
Chris
- jayhawk
- Strong Ale
- Posts: 472
- Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2001 1:05 am
- Location: Vancouver, BC, CA
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