propane experiment 1... still alive!

[zorak1066]

got a tank.. hooked it up.. checked for leaks... all good.

big pan.. approx. 2.5 gallons of water. cranked up the gas... lighted flame and ... where's the flame? theres supposed to be a blue flame??? turned gas higher got tons of yellow fire which means too much gas.. so backed it off.. fiddled with air damper... no blue flame.

shoved the lighter in and just released the gas...poof! lit the lighter. so there IS a flame. why cant I see it?

is a propane flame invisible like race car fuel? anyway... tried uncovered pot to see how long it took.

fiddled with gas flow and air damper... and... uncovered managed to get a low boil in about 50 minutes. got a better boil a little later so yay! I can use propane!

I will cover it til it nears boil next time to save fuel and time.

the question remains: HOW CAN YOU USE VISUAL CUES TO ADJUST FLAME PROPERLY IF PROPANE BURNS INVISIBLY IN DAYLIGHT?

[teutonic terror]

A propane flame should burn blue to be efficient.

50 minutes is a long time to wait for 2.5 gallons of water to boil. That's alot of fuel.
What type of burner are you using?
What I've done is after dark, fired mine up just to see if all the jets were clear and check the
mix. But, I do brew at night sometimes, with the light off to keep bugs away.
I'm like you, on a sunny day, even under the deck, it's hard to tell what's what!

Once you get this tuned in, you're gonna love propane as compared to the stove.
I only brewed inside, after starting to steep grains, and doing AG, once. It took forever!

[braukasper]

A propane flame should burn blue to be efficient.

50 minutes is a long time to wait for 2.5 gallons of water to boil. That's alot of fuel.
What type of burner are you using?
What I've done is after dark, fired mine up just to see if all the jets were clear and check the
mix. But, I do brew at night sometimes, with the light off to keep bugs away.
I'm like you, on a sunny day, even under the deck, it's hard to tell what's what!

Once you get this tuned in, you're gonna love propane as compared to the stove.
I only brewed inside, after starting to steep grains, and doing AG, once. It took forever!

agreed

[berryman]

One thing you can look for when adjusting the air mix, "you shouldn't turn the kettle black" Propane is clean burn and with the right air/fuel mix it can be more efficient. I have a side burner on my propane gas grill that I sometimes use and it works ok, but most of the time I use my turkey fryer and that gets the job done. Look for a nice blue flame without a lot of yellow flare ups.
Edit: I heat our house, dry our clothes, and cook on propane, and going to switch the water heater over when the electric one goes bad.

[braukasper]

I have a blichmann with leg extensions and I use that for more than brewing beer. I use the blichmann when I can brew outside. I am very fortunate that our range can support brewing.

[zorak1066]

A propane flame should burn blue to be efficient.

I don't think you understand my problem... I CANNOT SEE ANY FLAME...blue..yellow..pink with zebra stripes... THERE IS NO APPARENT FLAME in the daylight. I know I am blind but really???? it has to be there because it got hot... but how the bloody hell can I adjust what I cant see?

[zorak1066]

ive got the blichmann floor burner. I put a pot of water on it (no legs).. open the gas.. light... im not getting yellow ... not getting smokey bottoms... it is working but invisibly. no blue flame. maybe I didn't have it cranked high enough and with no lid that's why it took longer???

cant tell. cant see the frigging flame to adjust it.

[RickBeer]

Assuming you read this in the manual?

Burner Operation Igniting the burner: Always use a long match or igniter to light the burners. Never light the burner at the venturi. An ignition/flame inspection hole (Fig 28) has been provided for this purpose. Prior to igniting the burners, turn the air damper so that it is open to about half open as shown in Fig 29. Make sure you ignite it with a pot on the burner and make sure it at least partially full of water to prevent damaging the pot. A variable pressure regulator (0-10 PSI) has been provided with the stand – ref Fig 30. Turn it fully counterclockwise to the “off” position. Then turn on the tank valve to the full on position. You will use the regulator to control the gas flow by turning it clockwise to increase fuel flow. Never use a different regulator with this product! To ignite the burner, simply turn the regulator slowly clockwise. When you hear the gas flowing immediately ignite the gas through the burner ignition hole. Fine tuning the flame: Once the burner has ignited, you will adjust the regulator and air damper (Figs 29 & 30) to reach the desired heat setting and air/fuel mixture. Looking through the flame inspection hole at the flame, turn the air damper until the flame is slightly yellow. Then slowly turn it back until the flame turns pale blue (the yellow will be gone) and is still touching the nozzles in the burner casting. If the flame lifts off of the nozzles, or you hear a low grumbling from the flame it is getting too much air through the damper and you will need to close it slightly. If it is yellow, there is not adequate air and you will need to increase the air flow. As you increase the gas flow via the regulator, it may be necessary to readjust the air damper. Note that optimum heating speed and efficiency can only be achieved with a properly adjusted flame.

I would suggest that if you still cannot see the flame, you cannot safely use the unit.

[zorak1066]

rick I have the instrucions. ive studied them. ive watched the gdamn videos on their website. I follow instructions to the letter including looking through the port. in broad daylight...the flame is invisible until you over saturate it with air ... or oversaturate it with fuel. in either case you either get broad yellow gouts of flame or lots of noise. maybe i'm just blind or stupid. I dunno. there is a flame because I can light things off it and its hot. I can see the heat waves on the ground in the shadow of the pot. . . but ... no... blue.... flame.

[RickBeer]

Then set it up and adjust it at dusk. Or get someone with better eyesight...

[Beer-lord]

I have the Blichman with legs and it did take a few minutes to get it adjusted properly but I can definitely see the blue or orange flames as I adjust the settings. Is there possibly some blockage somewhere in the line? Have you tried a different propane tank just for the heck of it? I'm not sure why you are having those problems unless the unit is faulty.
I can say that my other, cheap and old burner did get to a boil faster, not by a lot but a noticeable difference but the fact that its quiet compared to a rocket engine that I had is very enjoyable. I hope you can get his figured out.

[RickS]

I set mine up in the dark so that I could see the blue flame. When I light it in the daylight with the pot on the burner, I cannot see the flame either, but I know that it is burning. I can tell by the sound of it. I adjust my flame by the sound, not by seeing it.

[DaYooper]

I must say that 50 minutes for 2.5 gallons seems a bit on the high side.

The one thing I have been doing these days when doing an extract is doing the steep inside. As long as I am not boiling, I am not coating the walls with beer steam which later solidifies into beer goobers so I am okay with that. As I use filtered water, I am able to fill while I am heating so sort of mutii-tasking. The stove has no problems with 2-3 gallons of water fairly quickly, and with it being inside I can maintain the temperature more effectively. Then, when I head outside, around half the batch is already at 160'ish from the steep so only have to bring that and the other 3 or so gallons up to boiling. A propane tanks lasts me quite a long time since Ive went to this method.

There is also no problem with leaving the lid on until right around boiling, especially if you wait until about that time to add your extract.