Pages: 1
how do I maximize burner performance
hi all,
How can I tell if I'm getting the most burn for my buck? I try to keep the flames blue with little to no 'jump' from the burner exit ports to the base of the flame. Can I get more out of it? When I crank it all up the flames are yellow and white and the thing screams. A total MORE POWER moment but for some reason I think that when operating it this way I am wasting a lot of propane. Does anyone have any comment?
many thanks,
hi Avery,
The instructions with my burner say to make sure the flame is always burning blue. To adjust the flame colour, there is an adjustable air intake baffle located on the burner arm after the fuel hose input. Here, outside air is drawn in and mixed with the propane. When the flame is totally blue, it is burning as hot as possible, therefore achieving peak performance. I suspect that your yellow flames at max fuel input are wasting fuel as they are not burning at the hottest temp possible. When you crank the throttle, the fuel/air mix excessively favours the "fuel" end of the ratio and there is not enough oxygen mixing with the fuel to allow for the hottest burn possible. If equipped, adjust the air intake baffle so that you get blue flame throughout all ranges of fuel input.
One improvement I am considering is setting up a sheet metal "screen" around 3/4 of the burner. It seems to me that a lot of heat is lost around the sides of the burner, and I hate to see money burning right in front of my eyes. However, I am not sure if putting this metal screen around the base would really contain enough heat to make the expense worthwhile. I suspect the difference would be pennies per batch.
Just curious, what BTUs does your burner run. I think mine is in the 30-45K range. Does the job for 5 & 6 gal batches and mashes. Have you ever figured out the cost of propane per batch?
good luck,
Pages: 1
Search Home Brewing Knowledge Base
Custom Search
|