Hey guys, I'm looking to buy my first propane burner and just want to make sure the one I'm getting has enough BTU. I found this post which which talks about BTU needed which basically suggests that anything over 50,000 is going to be fine for a 5-gallon batch of extract. Is this correct? The burner I'm looking at is listed at 210,000 BTU. Is this overkill? Thanks in advance.
So what if you go bigger? Like 15 gallons? Just a thought, but it's better to have something that can support upgrading your hobby.
I wish I had. I went all grain and stepped up to 10 gallon batches, and my original burner didn't cut it anymore. Luckily I repurposed my 5 gallon burner for my mash tun. I don't need to boil a mash, just keep it warm.
Good advice and you'll find shopping around that the price difference between a decent high BTU burner (e.g. 10" banjo) might be a minimal increase over what you would settle for. There's never too much power you just have to be watchful with smaller batches. Good luck.
Thanks. Yea I've noticed that the prices don't very too much. Maybe $30-$40 at most between 50,000 and 200,000 BTU.
Around here Us Rednecks usually use or Burners for more than just Brewing Beer... Think Bigger is your gonna use it for more than just Beer and like stated in case your gonna Go Bigger on Pots later... When your Deep frying Turkeys, Do Shrimp Boils and Fish Fries a 50K just won't keep up.
I'd sell the SP-10. I'm very happy with the way it sips propane and I get about 6 batches per 20# (5 gal) LP tank. I can get 15 gal to a boil, but it takes an extra half hour on brew day. If you're unhappy with some of the generic turkey fryer burners then you can increase the intake to 20 PSI for a reasonable price too. Others, like @mikehartigan, will tell you that you can look into natural gas lines. A higher startup cost, but natural gas is a fraction of the cost of propane. It depends on how serious you want to get with this. For a case of beer he'll probably help walk you through the process.
Shucks! I'd do it for half a case! Startup cost is only higher if you don't already have gas service to your brew house and you're not handy with plumbing (you'll be using NPT, so there's no soldering involved). Mine is on the patio and I already had a hookup for my gas grill, so my startup cost was about $15 for a matching male QD and about 10' of gas hose and clamps from my local Home Depot clone. Buy a natural gas burner or modify a propane burner for NG - frequently as simple as drilling out the orifice, though you'd want to do some research before trying that or consult someone who knows what he's doing. I got a 23 tip wok burner a few years ago from Thunder Group for around $25, as I recall. I built a stand using bar steel that I also bought at Home Depot. It looks like an Erector Set project, but it gets the job done and, frankly, I kinda like the ghetto look. The price varies from month to month, but natural gas typically costs around 90% less per BTU than propane in my neighborhood. That means I pay about $1.50 to $2.00 for the equivalent of a 20 lb fill of propane. Obviously, this is an upgrade that will easily pay for itself in fuel cost saving, not to mention convenience -- you will never run out of gas in the middle of a brew session. Even if it was the same price, I would use it for the convenience alone. The only downside is portability. I use a propane burner for the rare off-site brew day. The annual Big Brew Day, for example.
