High pressure or low pressure burners?

[Andysam]

Well, I am going to be upgrading to keggles! I am stoked that I can finally brew a 10 gallon batch, so that It might laste me and my buddies more than a weekend. So, I have decided to go with a 3 tier rig, with two keggles and a 10 gallon water cooler for the Mash Tun. Right now I have a turkey fryer that uses high pressure, i think. It has about 60K Btu's if I remember right. Should I use high pressure burners or low pressure or does it not matter?
Thanks!

[maltbarley]

Your 10 gallon mashtun will be your limiting factor for batch size. If you are doing 2 keggles, you might as well get a third and insulate it if you are worried about heat loss during the mash.

I don't know the difference is between high and low pressure burners but it sounds like it may be the difference in orifice size which relates more to the type of fuel.

[jward]

I think to some extent higher pressure means louder. Some burners roar like jet engines. Style of burner has lot to do with the noise too.

[oc eric]

Congrats on the equipment upgrade.

[lars]

I have three high pressure burners on my stand. Two of the regular turkey fryer style burners and one Banjo style burner. The turkey fryer style burners are kind of loud, but the banjo is whisper quiet, and kicks out some major BTUs. I think the hp burners are more common (B3 and Sabco use them on their sculptures). This doesn't make them better, but does mean that more people have knowledge of how to make them work right... ymmv

[Andysam]

[quote="maltbarley"]Your 10 gallon mashtun will be your limiting factor for batch size. If you are doing 2 keggles, you might as well get a third and insulate it if you are worried about heat loss during the mash.[quote]

Yes, the loss of heat was one of my concerns. The second concern was cash (as always, right?). I would have to get another keg, the insulation, another burner, and plumbing for the burner. This which would cost me about $100 I am guessing. I know that is not ton, but still a very big concern for me.
Also, I was worried about having to keep watching the temp, but I guess with the insulation that would not be a big deal.

Another Question, I was going to follow the guys build that I have the pic of posted. He used 2"x2" square tubing. Would anyone recommend otherwise? Or does anyone have this tubing they would like to sell, or know of a place locally that sells it cheap?

Thanks!!!

[JonGoku]

I'm sure Derrin will speak up here in a bit, but check out this old post where he was selling his old rig which he built.
20 gallon Brewery For Sale (again)
Derrin is now building a bigger err... smaller badder setup (Linky) that better fits his needs. Point is, I'm sure you will get some good advice here.

Good luck!

[dhempy]

Another Question, I was going to follow the guys build that I have the pic of posted. He used 2"x2" square tubing. Would anyone recommend otherwise? Or does anyone have this tubing they would like to sell, or know of a place locally that sells it cheap?

Thanks!!!

I bought tubing at Industrial Metals ... that place is a candy store if you're a metal worker. Are you going to do a Brutus style or a gravity feed type of system?

Dan

[Andysam]

I was going to do a gravity system because it is cheaper.
Thanks for the metal shop, ill look into it!

[lars]

I bought the metal for my Brutus at Benner metals in Anaheim. It is at the corner of State College and Orangethorpe... Just up the street from the Bruery

[bwarbiany]

Yes, the loss of heat was one of my concerns. The second concern was cash (as always, right?). I would have to get another keg, the insulation, another burner, and plumbing for the burner. This which would cost me about $100 I am guessing. I know that is not ton, but still a very big concern for me.

I use a 15.5 gal non-insulated keg for my mash tun. I really don't lose any appreciable heat throughout the process. YMMV, of course, but we're not in North Dakota where we have to deal with sub-zero temperatures... Kegs are typically thick-walled as it is, and usually after mash-in I put a makeshift cover (lid from my 20 gal kettle) over it to manage heat loss, but it's never really seemed to lose enough heat to be an issue.

So as long as you don't plan on insulating or adding a burner (up front), you're out anywhere from $20-40 for the keg, about the same as you'd spend on a 10-gal igloo cooler.

[Andysam]

[quote="bwarbianyI use a 15.5 gal non-insulated keg for my mash tun. I really don't lose any appreciable heat throughout the process. YMMV, of course, but we're not in North Dakota where we have to deal with sub-zero temperatures... Kegs are typically thick-walled as it is, and usually after mash-in I put a makeshift cover (lid from my 20 gal kettle) over it to manage heat loss, but it's never really seemed to lose enough heat to be an issue.

So as long as you don't plan on insulating or adding a burner (up front), you're out anywhere from $20-40 for the keg, about the same as you'd spend on a 10-gal igloo cooler.[/quote]


Thanks for the insight. I was always under the impression that over the course of an hour or so that a keg would loose a lot of heat.

Lars, Thanks for the metal shop. Ill look into that one too as I am close. I live right by CSUF.

[backyard brewer]

I use 2x2 in my stands but I use .065 wall. In vertical structure like that that is going to have the load transferred to a single upright structure, I'd go .120 wall.

The only real reason to go with low pressure propane burners is if you intend to automate your system: The easiest gas valve to use that has some sort of flame detection and feedback is a furnace vavle and they are only designed around low pressure propane (or natural gas). High pressure burners are indeed louder but they're easier to find and usually cheaper.