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Author Topic: A burning question  (Read 3033 times)

Offline dunngood

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A burning question
« on: March 06, 2011, 08:01:00 am »
Two brewers in my area are having the same problem. Both have 20 gal. brew stands indoors that run on natural gas. Both are having problems with the flame turning the pots black with shoot and a yellow flame.
Both have tried different nozzles with no luck. One says his flame is ok till he puts a pot on it. It sounds like a gas to air problem but with natural gas there is no regulator. Both have fans for air in and air out. Anyone have any ideas cause I really like drinking there beers.

Offline bluesman

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2011, 08:08:45 am »
This is somewhat common but is a cause for service repair.

Flame is yellow and/or causing sooting on kettle.

Possible Causes:
 
Insufficient primary air.
Blocked primary air shutter.
Oversized burner orifice.

Corrective Action:
Adjust primary air shutter.
Clean primary air shutter & adjust for proper air-gas mixture.
Replace burner orifice.

These are the typical repair/conditions.
Ron Price

Offline tumarkin

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2011, 08:18:41 am »
Can't help on fixing this, but it sounds like Bluesman has some good info.

Just a reminder of a great way to make soot cleanup acey easy. Learned this camping, but great for brewing. Just turn the pot/kettle upside down, pour on just a little liquid dish soap, rub it to coat the bottom & maybe up the sides a bit. That's it. Any soot will wash right off.
Mark Tumarkin
Hogtown Brewers
Gainesville, FL

Offline euge

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2011, 12:03:37 pm »
Two brewers in my area are having the same problem. Both have 20 gal. brew stands indoors that run on natural gas. Both are having problems with the flame turning the pots black with shoot and a yellow flame.
Both have tried different nozzles with no luck. One says his flame is ok till he puts a pot on it. It sounds like a gas to air problem but with natural gas there is no regulator. Both have fans for air in and air out. Anyone have any ideas cause I really like drinking there beers.


What type of burner and how close? If it's a jet-tip type the distance might need to be increased.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline dunngood

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2011, 01:36:20 pm »
Both burners are the 20 nozzle 200,000BTU burners. With the natural gas set up there is no shutter or regulator. The air source is a hole at the base of the nozzles.
I was thinking about adding a regulator and adjusting the gas to get a good clean flame like propane but don't know much about natgas
Also one guy tried to go to propane and still had this problem..

Offline euge

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2011, 02:03:11 pm »
I have the 32 and 23 tip NG ring burners. No regulators. With NG 200k btu is quite large and consumes a lot of gas. If these guys are getting good flames without a pot, I suspect they are somehow closing off the air supply by placing those pots on their rigs. Maybe the fans aren't up to the task.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline gordonstrong

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2011, 06:24:15 pm »
Check to make sure some bugs didn't crawl in the air intakes. If you can blast them out backwards with compressed air, you might clear out what is in there.
Gordon Strong • Beavercreek, Ohio • AHA Member since 1997 • Twitter: GordonStrong

Offline dunngood

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2011, 06:37:48 pm »
Euge, is your burner outside? And Gordonstrong Thanks I will try that after all I am trying to work the bugs out.  ::)

Offline euge

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2011, 01:39:44 pm »
Euge, is your burner outside? And Gordonstrong Thanks I will try that after all I am trying to work the bugs out.  ::)

No in the garage, though I will be moving the operation outside this year. Puts out too much heat.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline ronrock

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2011, 08:39:14 am »
They could try raising the pots up off the burners a bit to allow more air flow. Maybe some angle iron laid across the burner grate.

Offline tom

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2011, 03:20:21 pm »
or lower the burners. How close are they to the pots?
Brew on

Offline weazletoe

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Re: A burning question
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2011, 09:55:49 pm »
Yellow flame definatly sounds like a lack of air. Like already been said, check the burners for bugs, and raise the pots. I had the same issue with mine. I raised my kettle about 2 inches, and it works like a charm.
  Thing with a yellow flam, you are not getting all the potential heat, and wasting fuel. THe hottest part of the flame is the white / blue. So, too much yellow, = wasted fuel.
A man works hard all week, so he doesn't have to wear pants all weekend.