Burner Question

This is what I used for years and loved --> Bayou Classic SP10

I loved it so much that when I wend to build my stand I incorporated the burners into it.

 

I should mention that it can easily boil 15 gallons

 

I think the Blichmann burners are worth the price after buying one myself.

 

I recently bought a KAB4. It's awesome!

I will be honest though, it definitely is a serious piece of equipment. Use stick lighters or 1' matches etc to light. And make sure you read the regulator, it works opposite to the logic in my brain.

It's a great burner for a big pot.

Also make sure to burn off the paint on the stand!

You want to crank it until you start seeing orange tips on the flame, back it down a bit and that's your most efficient run. You can of course light the SOB up though! !

 

Totally agree with this. I've bought some crap over the past year, but this is the second best investment I've made next to a Ss Conical.

Love the amount of control and the power of the Blichmann.

 

If you're using standard 20# LP tanks you'll only get about 180 minutes of boil time with the KAB4. I switched back to the SP10 and I'm happy with the smaller sipping burner. I start the flame after I get 5 gallons in the kettle. I get the other 2 gallons in a stock pot and add it in while my main kettle is heating. I get about 360 minutes of boil time with this one.

 

I've owned a blichmann burner now for about 7 maybe 8 years and it has paid itself back at least once, but probably a few times over, in propane costs. It sips propane…and gets even 17 gallons of wort to a boil in good time. Blichmann definitely put the engineering element into the design of the burner since it seems like 90% of the BTUs actually get transferred to the wort (I totally made up that percentage). I don't get that from bayou burners at all...

 

Pretty much this.

 

I'm a little confused here. You say that the burner is not hot enough, so you crank the flame? Why not just turn it up all the time to speed up the boil? If 10 is not hot enough, and it goes to 11, then just turn it to 11.

If what you're seeing is scorching, then it's already too hot. A hotter burner will only make it worse. Do you brew outdoors? If so, do you protect the kettle from wind? Even the slightest breeze can make a huge difference. A few years ago before I got my monster 23-tip wok burner, I bought some sheet metal at Home Depot and built a sleeve that simply slipped over the keggle, leaving about 2" space around the kettle. It tamed the flame and also provided a path for the the flame to bathe the kettle sides with heat (that second part was an unexpected bonus). The difference was night and day.

Using natural gas, I can get years of boil time and save about 90% in fuel cost at the same time. Since the OP is shopping for a new burner, it might be a good time to consider switching to NG. If service is available and you're even moderately skilled with plumbing, it's a no-brainer, IMO.

 

I've seen numbers for the SP10 vary widely. Some say it's a 55k BTUs, others go as high as 150K BTUs. There may be different PSI regulators for the same SP10 burner that I'm not aware of. A 10 PSI sounds more like 55K BTUs and a 20 PSI sounds like it could get you up to 150K BTUs. The KAB4 is a 30 PSI and fickle to adjust for a boil--especially on a windy day. The KAB4 is rated at 220K BTUs.

I get a boil off rate of about 1.2 gallons per hour with the SP10.
I never really measured boil off with the KAB4. I'd think your boil off would be pretty consistent with how wide your kettle is.

For what it's worth, I'm able to get 14 gallons to a boil in my 15 gal kettle. It takes a few extra minutes, but I know I'll never go back to the KAB4.