Best gas burner to buy?

[Ralph]

Looking at getting myself set up with a gas burner for brewing. I will need to grab a 50L pot at some stage too, but figured the burner came first.

 

Having a look around it seems that the best choice for buying here in NZ is either the 3 or 4 ring burner that works with a standard regulator on a BBQ gas bottle.

 

I can find the 3 ring burners for about $70

 

I can find the 4 ring burners for about $130.

 

What I would like to know is if it is worth paying almost double for a 4 ring, or whether the 3 ring does the job just fine??

 

Are there any other options I could consider? I am quite happy to buy stuff in from overseas if it is cheaper and works better. Also not adverse to having to do some assembly or source some parts to make stuff work.

[Sam]

This guy on trademe often sells adjustable regulators:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=2835132

I asked him to put one up with a custom length hose, and he was able to do this. 

[Pilgrim]

Hi Ralph,

Here are some photos of my regulator. Not sure what the outlet pressure range is, it was supplied for me at no charge by a plumber mate of mine. He buys quite a few of them. Chen Fong Enterprises, made in China (obviously). I just kept screwing the adjustment screw down until I could get a nice clean burn whilst adjusting the burner air controls. I had to remove the air adjustment ring from the small inner ring altogether to get a blue flame. Has no trouble with 60Ltr boil with no soot left on the bottom of the vessel after the boil.

Cheers

Pete.

[Sam]

Hi Pilgrim,

I have a similar looking regulator to yours so might try the same thing.

I've moved from a 3 ring burner with a standard regulator to a 4 ring with one of those higher flow regulators and been noticing a few issues when compared to the old burner and regulator

The 4 ring seems to blow out very easy and the rings don't light each other well 

And not sure if the following are a bit dodgy (don't fancy being blown up)

Was doing a brew on a windy day (first use of 4 ring) and some / all rings would sometimes blow out leaving the gas outlet nozzle with a flame (where there isn't meant to be a flame)

Blue flames shooting back up the metal pipes, to the brass gas outlet nozzles which was sometimes very noisy 

Cheers

[Ralph]

Thanks for that info Sam.

Anyone know what the approx conversion between the psi of a regulator and how many kg/hour of gas this is delivering? Just having seen numbers out there for boiling times in kg/h I am curious.

[Hamish Jones]

I have got a 23 tip burner that pumps out 92000 BTU of what ever that means but it is serious and if I have my 1/2 inch ball valve open more than a crack it tries to melt the pot, I have one that has bad casting that just need some braising on a couple of pin holes if you were interested?

[Ralph]

Sounds interesting, I could be keen as. I have popped through a friend request asking for some more info

[Chris P]

So, I got a pretty sweet sum of cash land my way so I have ordered the Blichmann TopTier Burner. Pretty keen to get it cranking.. just not to the point that it rips my pot apart =P

[Rhyno]

I have one of those 4 ring burners with a bog standard regulator. Have been thinking of connecting another gas bottle to the other side of the burner to increase my flow rate.

Has anyone else been silly enough to do this :) Anything I need to watch out for? 

[Ralph]

If you want more heat just get a regulator with more flow. Those $60 adjustable regs on Trademe will put through more than enough gas when turned up.

[Rhyno]

I had just been warned by a friend is all who said that I run the risk of freezing up my gas bottle if I suck too much gas out of it at once. You guys have that problem?

I have looked at the burner and it has a port on the other side all ready to go, all I need is an old reg which is easy to find and I'm set. Was just a thought for an easy cheap way to fix my problem is all.

Will definitely look into those burners you guys have mentioned though :)

[Ralph]

Well if it has a port and is all ready to go and you have a cheap bottle + reg then that does sound like the easy solution!

My bottle has been getting a bit icy, but it did not seem to be a big problem. Still plenty of gas...

[John H]

Icing bottles - I've had that issue the last 2 batches. My problem is the gas output really drops and I end up having to give it quite a few shakes to keep the burners giving some grunt. This has only happened to me during my last 2 batches.

 

I have a 9Kg cylinder and a 4 ring burner with adjustable regulator. I've done some homework and it would seem that the fix is either:

-a larger gas bottle - higher gas demand may require a larger cylinder as more flow = colder temps.

-a warmer environment (I brew outside at night and the weather has been pretty cold the last 2 brews.) 

-some people recon a cyclinder blankie helps - may try that next time.