Is this a good burner to buy??

[Paul Fraser]

I am looking to upgrade my 3 ring burner. With my birthday a month away i am thinking of getting this (http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-KAB4-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0009JX...) Bayou burner from the U.S. Has anyone else got this? , what do you think of it?, if you recommend then where do you recommend i buy from? and also if i get from the U.S, do i need to do any converting to make it suitable here in NZ??

 

Cheers

[Ralph]

When I was looking into this a while back I had decided that something like this mounted in a stand was a pretty good plan http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B...

but then I found another burner being sold locally and bought one of them. It is one of these http://bayouclassicdepot.com/619ng-23-jet-natural-gas-jet-burner.htm which works well, but it is hard to turn it down low enough sometimes...

There is a crowd here in Sydenham called Gas Link that have a good selection of burners. Ask Douglas about them. He really likes the burner he has from them. They look like this http://beerbelly.com.au/images/ITAI.gif  

Cant remember pricing off the top of my head, but it was $60 or so for the adjustable reg and hose and another $90 or something for the burner?

[Paul Fraser]

Your one looks like a beast. Too much for my 23L batches i think. I have seen Douglas' one in action. Might check them out. Cheers

[Ralph]

They are open normal sort of business hours, or sat mornings. They have a good range of fittings in there too...

[Ian]

Hi Paul,

As long as you can tweak it down to stop boilovers. It looks like a brute and once you get boiling you'll need to be able to regulate your heat I think. I bout a castiron one with inner and outer rings of burners from Mitre 10  and I knock the centre one back once the boil commences and it works a treat - gets 30L boiling on 35 minutes in a converted 50L beer keg.

Cheers,

Ian

[Paul Fraser]

I popped in today and they said $95 for burner and $105 for reg and hose. Seems a bit much considering cost of ones in US. I think $150 is about my limit. Thinking of bayou SP10. Do you know what amazon charge for shipping to NZ?

[Ralph]

Putting it into my account sp10 + shipping is

Items:	NZD 62.71
Shipping & Handling:	NZD 72.10
Total Before Tax:	NZD 134.81

[Michael van Wijk]

I have one of these burners and am very happy with it. I get about 3 brews out of a gas bottle.

[Ian]

I have found with certain items that Amazon won't ship to NZ. This has happened to me a few times now, though it might not apply to the burner you want. Have you checked out suppliers closer to home in Aussie? I have bought several items from suppliers there including my grain mill and the freaight isn't very scary at all.

[Dougal]

One thing I will say about the spiral burner/adjustable reg combo is that it's economical- I get 7-10brews out of a gas bottle. Paul, I've messaged you about some cheaper regulators.

[Druid]

If you are still using the standard regulator, try using an adjustable regulator first. 

It completely transformed my green 3 ring burner into a beast.   Plenty of spare heat for fast heating and easily adjustable down for gently rolling boil.

Here's the same item on trademe

[Paul Fraser]

Cheers for info. It is the green 3 ring I have with standard regulator. Is the adjustable regulator suitable for all burners? That way I could always upgrade burner at a later date if I want to.

[Druid]

I have the green 3 ring burner too - and yes, the reg is suitable for this.  You just have to learn how to adjust it to get the blue flame instead of the dirty yellow flame.  Upgrading the burner at a later stage if still required and keeping the adjustable reg was my plan too as it has standard LPG connections, just like you'd find on your BBQ or gas heater.

Somewhat paradoxically, using the adjustable reg to push more gas through the existing burner results in it sucking air more efficiently per unit of gas - so it actually makes it easier to get a nice clean blue flame using the threaded mixing discs on the burner as well as more heat. 

You do need to watch how you use the extra heat though as it will burn through your gas faster if you go too hard out!

Also, I put my burner up off the ground on small part bricks - this lets it breathe better from below with the result being a better flame.  If you do this though, it won't make the burner very stable for resting your pot directly on the burner supports - instead, I prop my pot up on 3 concrete blocks surrounding the burner.