[drmario47]

Anyone know of a good propane burner for a decent price that can boil up
10 gal of wort quickly? I was looking at the bayou classic kick a banjo, my only concern is that it will use up too much propane and may scorch the bottom of the wort wort because of the high btu. Any info would be much appreciated thanks

[Jimmy K]

Are you talking about this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-KAB4-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0009JXYQY

I have that one and the output is very controllable on the low end. I used it the other day to simmer corn on the cob in a gallon of water no problem. That burner design is supposed to be more efficient, so I felt it was a good deal financially. It is pricier than a jet burner, but the price difference equals about two tanks of propane. We use a lot of propane.

[dak0415]

I have a KAB4. LOVE IT! My first burner was (is) an SP-10.  The SP-10 is very loud but does a good job with my 44 quart kettle.  I bought the KAB4 after I got my 82 quart kettle (both Bayou classic).  The KAB4 is a little too much for the 44 quart pot as a lot of the heat goes up the sides.  The KAB4 uses just one pound of propane more for 12 gallon batches than the SP-10 does for 6 gallons.  Just control your flame, its real easy to overdo it since the KAB4 is so quiet.  What kind of pot are you using?  The diameter of the KAB4 is too small for a 15.5 gallon keggle, use a KAB6 for that, or a Blichmann burner.  That's going to be my next burner, if I don't go all electric .

[bigchicken]

I have a Bayou Classic SQ14 and like it, but wish it had a wind baffle. It heats 5 gallons with no problem. I would think with its wide top it would work with a 10 gallon with no issues.

[blatz]

I have a Bayou Classic SQ14 and like it, but wish it had a wind baffle. It heats 5 gallons with no problem. I would think with its wide top it would work with a 10 gallon with no issues.

I used to use that one and had no problems doing a 14gal boil (10gal batch).

I use a KAB6 now, but in 6months I'll be going electric...

[hugh_jass]

Anyone know of a good propane burner for a decent price that can boil up
10 gal of wort quickly? I was looking at the bayou classic kick a banjo, my only concern is that it will use up too much propane and may scorch the bottom of the wort wort because of the high btu. Any info would be much appreciated thanks

I use two KAB-4s on brew day.  I get ~3 11 gallon batches per 20# propane.  Don't believe what you read, though.  Unless you have a larger propane tank, you will get nowhere near 210K BTU.  For that reason, if I were to do it again, I'd opt for the SQ-14.

[gimmeales]

I've tweaked my KAB-4 till I'm blue in the face and have to say I'm underwhelmed.  I'm lucky to get two batches out of a tank of propane.  I knew it'd eat the stuff compared to my little turkey fryer unit, but thought the speed of heating would compensate a bit, no so in my case.

I have to open the vent fully to get a decent even, blue flame, but doesn't seem to be significantly faster to boil that my little 65k btu (10psi) unit.

For safety and efficiency's sake, I will eventually go electric but would love to have the banjo burner at least meet my expectations.

[drmario47]

Does anyone own a blichmann burner? If so how is it on propane consumption and is it worth the money?

[hopfenundmalz]

Does anyone own a blichmann burner? If so how is it on propane consumption and is it worth the money?

John Blichmann has data for his burner on this page, under the burner data tab.

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/brew_stand/brewstand_modular.html