What's the best burner to use for a 50 litre keg

[Sam]

Hi, was going to do a brew today but noticed a hole in my 3 ring burner as I was setting up (Bugger!). 

My old burner took a while to heat up the liquor, and left a thick layer of soot on the keg, what's the best option for a 50litre keg? I was thinking of getting a 4 ring burner, but I guess the soot would still be a problem, I was also considering a high pressure burner. 

My milled grain is now a week old so would prefer to source a burner in Wellington so I can use it up next weekend

Cheers

[Chris Banks]

One of the big things with the ring burners is getting them enough air in and giving the burnt gas somewhere to go I pulled mine apart and gave it good old port and polish to remove all the casting dingleberrys around the air openings where the lpg nozzles are this made a big difference.

The other thing was sitting a keg straight on top of it tends to smother the flames a bit ithink the shape of the bottom rim captures the burnt gas so its a bit like having a blocked chimney
Raising the keg up of the burner 100mm or so made a big difference here also.

With all that done I now have no soot

If you think its the burner itself try running it on its own it should be possible to get a nice blue flame by adjusting the collars on each nozzle.

 

Bunnings sell both 3&4 rings.

[Sam]

I have a three ring burner, and had a bit of trouble with the regulator that came with it. At times it would be fine, but it would often burn poorly, leaving plenty of soot. It also took a long time to get up to a boil, and only achieved a light boil. I eventually replaced the regulator with an adjustable one. Using this I can tinker around and get it right, and it works really well! 

As Chris says, you need to give it some air. I usually prop the keg up on several bricks, on their side, leaving enough of a gap to allow air in. 

[Sam]

Cheers for the info, I got a 4 ring burner, and a higher flow regulator to try and get a better flame today - apparently the same kind of regulator used in houses for stoves etc (although it says for outdoor use on it and has a vent so a bit suspicious about if that's true). 

A couple of questions;

Noticed a couple of the gas outlet nipples haven't formed properly (one split in half - no side, and one is basically just a straight hole, irritates me but is this a problem and should I take it back and swap it for another one while I still can, or does it make no difference

Also I don't have a stand for the keg yet and I think the extra ring will mean I won't be able to fit bricks under the keg to prop it up anymore, while not ideal, will I be ok sitting the keg directly on the burner for now?

Cheers

[Adam Sparks]

Probably a little late now that you've got a burner, but for anyone else thats looking... I got one of these form Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B...

after shipping etc I think it cost me about $120

Best burner Ive ever had, brings 80 litres of water to a boil in about half an hour