When shopping for a Propane Burner, is there a minimum of BTU's I should be looking for? Thank in advance!!
How many BTUs is a function of a number of variables: · Volume of wort (larger volumes -> larger BTUs) · How quickly you demand the wort to reach boiling temperature · The ambient temperature (e.g., boiling wort outside in the winter) · Etc. Below is a ‘rule of thumb’ based upon volume: “Real Life BTU Scenarios While these exact calculations are nice, they don’t necessarily translate to real-world scenarios. Here are some more rough approximations that we have found to hold true. 5 gallons of wort will require at least 55,000 BTU 10 gallons of wort will require 100,000 BTU 15+ gallons of wort will require 200,000 BTU” https://www.beerandwinereviews.com/many-btu-need-brew-beer/ There are also ‘techniques’ that can be employed to make the overall burner/boiling process more efficient. For example there is an article in the Sept. 2020 issue of BYO on how to construct a heat shield to mitigate heat loss from the sides of the kettle; an interesting idea IMO. Cheers!
In addition to the advice provided by @JackHorzempa don't consider total BTU as the only factor. It is the most important, and generally more is better. But you will find some no name burners with outrageously high BTUs for a lot less money than a good 55,000 BTU burner. And all those BTUs are very good at heating everything near your kettle but not as good as actually heating your kettle, while wasting a lot of propane. A quality burner should be bought once. I'm not convinced that every manufacturer is completely honest in their stated BTU output. You'll also want to consider that high pressure burners can get fairly loud, and the higher the output the higher the volume. It can be fairly monotonous to be brewing next to a fighter jet ready for take-off. Cheers
Bill, I personally do not own a burner so below is based upon reading articles: How does aspects of the burner design (e.g., regulator(s), flame configuration, etc.) factor into a purchasing decision? Is the 'quality' of the burner design details contained within the BTUs spec or is this a separate consideration? Well, for the uninitiated (e.g., me) this presents quit a challenge. If you can't trust the vendor to present accurate information it sure make choosing a specific product to be problematic. Cheers!
@mikehartigan has good real world experience here. I do know that Blichman, for example, offers quality burners that do not match the total BTU of a Walmart cajun cooker. And the actual quality of construction cant be discounted either. My point being that there are a few things that go into a good burner, total BTUs being just one part. Cheers
if your brewing outside, i suggest making a sheet metal kettle house, lol, or that,s what the grandsons call it. anyways, i made a enclosure with sheet metal and a 2 piece removeable top, speeds up the heating process especially in winter.
How big is your kettle house? It sounds very practical but I hope it's not so big that you get in there too and breathe all that CO that's given off. Or is the purpose of the removable roof what gives you access to the kettle during the boil?
hey papa, thanks for the concern but ive had tooooo many confined space entry safety courses to do that. the kettle house is around 3.5 feet tall and a bit over 2 feet across both ways. the "roof" is 2 piece and slides to mostly close off the top, but i can acsess the lid to add hops , etc. its nothing special but i can get a boil going quick even at 0.
You bet it does. It's the best and worst place to brew depending on the day. In winter when the northwest wind blows it would take all the heat my burner could throw to get sorta a boil, even with plywood blocking some wind. Now it's a walk in the park,,,,, wearing my winter logging attire, hahahahahhha.
I think that having the fighter jet action going in my backyard is one of the cool things about homebrewing.
