Gas burner size

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HopWroester

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Hi,

I'm about to order a gas ring burner, the one i'm looking at is 5.3kw output.

Anyone on here use a similar size? i'm looking at max boil size of 40ltr and don't want to be under powered

thanks!
 
I recently got a 7.5kw one which is what I've seen sold for brewing. Your 5.3kw may be underpowered especially for 40 litres.
 
I agree with the above!

I got one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QYNUXE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It's rated at 7.5Kw but I'm assuming that this is using Butane rather than the lower Kcal Propane that I have to use in winter.

I can recommend them as yesterday (on a windy day with a low ambient temperature) it boiled up 30 litres of wort (at about 10 degree) in about 50 minutes. It then boiled it so vigorously that I lost almost 8 litres in an hour! (In summer I just use one of the two rings but yesterday was so cold that I decided to leave it be with both rings going.)

I have fitted these to the hoses so that I can easily switch between Propane and Butane depending on the time of year ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008R68QF0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The two rings make it very flexible. I use the inner-ring to heat up a variety of stuff in the garage using Butane. (e.g. Water for Hop Tea, water that has tins of malt sat in it, water for Yeast Starters etc.) Apart from using the outer ring for the Boiler is also doubles as a burner for my Chapati Pan, Wok and of course (if SWMBO relents and lets me buy one) a paella pan!

Assuming that you will be boiling outside (imagine putting nearly 8 litres of water vapour into the air of your kitchen!) you will need to build yourself a small windbreak to protect the flame on windy days like yesterday.

I suggest that, before buying one, you measure your Boiler diameter and then get a burner that has a slightly smaller diameter on the outer ring.

Enjoy! :thumb:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
............

Dutto, how long does a 13kg propane last?

Very much a "How long's a piece of string?" question. It all depends on the amount boiled (for me that is 30 litres to start with), the length of the boil (for me 60 minutes), what you regard as a "rolling boil", the ambient temperature and the wind strength.

I reckon I got over seven brews out of the last one. At about 40 minutes to bring the wort to the boil (this is when sparging directly into the Boiler) and then boiling it for 60 minutes (sometimes with just the one ring) this correlates with the Burner's maximum output which is rated at 7.5Kw/hr.

Regulators that deliver 1.5kg of Propane/Butane per hour (at 37 mbar and 30 mbar respectively) are perfectly adequate for one of these burners. Roughly, 1.5Kg of LPG = +/-18,000 Kcal which in turn equals +/-20Kw. At 7.5Kw/hr the restricting factor is the burner output rather than the amount of LPG supplied.

After running out of Propane gas (BP -44 degrees celsius) on the Oatmeal Stout boil just before Christmas, I changed over to Butane gas (BP -4 degrees celsius) and quickly discovered that the ambient temperature was too low to keep the Butane boiling! I then had to go to a local Caravan Site to find a replacement 13kg Propane cylinder before resuming the boil. This is why I now have 2 x Propane bottles (13kg and 7kg) in addition to the 4.5kg Butane one.

Hope this answers the question. :thumb:
PS
If my maths don't stack up I will happily accept major corrections. It's late! :laugh:
 
A cautionary tale.... To use these gas burners you need to be sure you have the right size cylinder. It seems that you can't use about 2.5KW or higher burners with a 4.5Kg cylinder.

This is because the burners are I3+ rated (whatever that is) and as such can ONLY be used with either 13Kg Propane or 15Kg Butane gas bottles...so I have found out.
 

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