propane burners

[quantum24]

im looking into getiing a propane burner so i can easily boil 5 gal+ of wort. for those of you who have one of these. what kind do you have and where did you get it. there are lots of them out there but im not sure what to look for. thanks

[toneyc]

I got mine at Wal-Mart. It is a Turkey Fryer that came with a 7 gallon aluminum stock pot that I used a few times but replaced with a stainless brewpot as soon as I could. I am very happy with mine. The only problem I had with it was after about a year, some spiders had created an egg sack thing in the cast iron tube part that caused it to burn very sooty until I cleaned it out. On a full tank of propane, it will bring 5 gallons of hot tap water (120-130*F) to a rolling boil in 7 minutes. Woohoo! I'm sorry that I can't remember the brand name or BTU rating.

:) Toney.

[paul84043]

Mine is a "Kamp King" brand from Cal Ranch, it cost 50$, I probably got ripped, but it's a good burner, really sturdy. It's a 30,000 BTU, will heat 4 gallons of water to boiling in about 15 minutes, but I don't usually turn it up on full. One 5 gallon propane canister will last me for about 12 batches of beer.

[S.F.B.]

Friend gave me a smoker that had the burner as part of it. He was going to sell it in a garage sale. I would recommend checking garage sales. You may find a good buy.

[sallad]

i got one of those turkey fryers at sam's club. real good deal: decent burner and stand with an 8.5gal stainless steel pot, 1.5gal (i think) stainless steal pot, plus various steamer, hooks, etc for frying turkeys. but no turkey will be cooked in my brew pot! i think its was under $80 including the pots!!

www.samsclub.com (http://www.samsclub.com)

[S.F.B.]

Top for ray m.

[danno]

get a cheap, 30 (or more) qt. turkey fryer. Remeber, inexpensive stainless steel pots will be very thin...

The Aluminum = Alzheimers argument is tenuous at best, and even if it does hold true, all you need to do is not use any metal to stir while you are brewing.

Aluminum is a highly unstable element, (digging waaaay back to the high school chemistry here, so forgive any terminology errors...), it needs to bond with something else to be stable. It does, nicely, with oxygen, forming aluminum oxide, that dull layer that forms on aluminum surfaces.

So, don't scratch that surface while brewing, and you don't have to worry about the miniscule possibility Aluminum is bad for you...

[Daren]

Over the past week, I have seen turkey fryers with a 30 qt aluminum pot on sale at local Wal-Marts in the KC area for anwhere from $37-40. I didn't see a BTU rating readily visible on the boxes though.

[sullydavid]

I just bought a fryer at Lowe's for $30. The burner is 170,000 and it comes with a cheapie 30 qt. kettle that is on of those blue/white coated ones. I have used both twice and am satisfied with the results for now. I will upgrade the kettle in the future, but I bought it mostly for the burner anyway, 170,000 btu works pretty well.

[goldtwins]

I bought a turkey frying kit with a 7g porcelan pot for 39 from lowes. Value city just had the same one advertised for $25. That would be good just for the burner and this has the pot too. Plus all the other stuff if you want to do a turkey

[paul84043]

You can get by with the aluminum pot for a few batches, but I'd still shell out the cash for a good stainless at some point.

And even if you get alzheimers...you're not going to know....
You only have to know one joke and it will be just at funny every time you hear it!

(kidding...have a grandpa with it...not very funny)

I got a "good" stainless pot at my homebrew shop (not polarware). Paid like 80$ for it...ouch...but it sure is good.

[ray m]

This particualr thread helped me decide very easily what to get. I believe that I ended up getting the same set-up as Sullydavid did...I went to Lowe's this evening and got a burner and kettle turkey fryer deal for $30. Burner was 170,000 BTU's. The kettle seemed OK (porcelain coated), but I will, as most others have, probably get a better stainless steel pot later on in life. I can't wait to use it to see how much faster this cuts down on my brewing time!

[MagTheGrate]

I bought a 7.5 gallon (thin) stainless pot with a burner from sam's club for about $60. It's worked GREAT for about 10 batches now.

The one thing I haven't seen anybody mention is that if you're going to do a full wort boil, it's time to invest in a wort chiller. the one that I got from morebeer (http://www.morebeer.com) cools my batch from boiling to 75 degrees in about 20 minutes.

-Mag

[b3s]

beginning to consider one of these turkey boilers...i have received a complaint or two about the smell of brewing (even though it is like mana from heaven to me), and i would like to have a one pot, 6 gallon boil going...very tempted...especially considering some of the prices quoted :)

[ray m]

I finally started using a wort chiller last fall...and wondered why the hell I didn't use one sooner. I took the "made my own" route. Just went to Lowe's, bought 20' o' copper tube, some vinyl tubing & hose clamps, and made a great functioning wort chiller for $18!

[w00kie98]

I guess I'm the lucky one on this thread. My Dad is the designated fish fryer at all of our family reunions and gatherings. He stumbled onto a little "greasy" spoon that was going out of business and bought their deep fryer, so I was given his propane burner. Its a real heavy SS unit with "Bass Pro Shops" on it. (I dont know the model) He bought the heaviest one they had. This thing will bring 5 gals to a boil in no time at all.

Cost: 40 years of putting up with my Dads practical jokes!!! ;)
Love ya Dad and thanks!!!!!!!

[Nacho]

How about this one on eBay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2334397987&category=20724&rd=1#ShippingPayment

(watch out, shipping is $20)

I bought a camp chef for $89 from the lhbs, and just felt that was too much (its $69 at kmart.com). I'm gonna buy one of these, and a keg from sabco to complete my all-grain setup (muhahahahahha).

nAcho

EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT

Nevermind that auction. I just picked up a King Kooker burner at Sportsmart for $25 (after tax)!!!!!!