100l Aluminum Pot, What Burner?

[youngy]

Just picked up an 100L Aluminum Pot for $50 marked down from $140.

I was thinking of starting AG using the BIAB method.

Just wondering what burner I should be looking at? are the NASA ones too small for the 100L due to surface area?

Also what regulator is needed and where to get them.

I tried looking through the treads but most were old.

Cheers,

Youngy

 

[barls]

ill be watching this as ive just got a 70L one so its almost the same size

 

[DJR]

NASA's are good for a 100L pot, that'll be fine (watch you don't scorch the bag though)

You'll need a high pressure regulator, there's a few places that can help you there like Gameco, Crown Imports, etc. then you just need the right fitting. Usually when buying a NASA or other similar HP burner the same place you should be able to get an appropriate adjustable HP reg with it (up to 25psi about the right figure). As the nasa's have no real adjustment besides venturi mix control and a fairly useless on-off valve you'll need the adjustable HP reg so you can vary the output, otherwise it's very easy for the flame to go out.

 

[domonsura]

Assuming that the pot would stand up to it, you'd get away with a NASA no worries. The surface area isn't that much more, and IMHO higher surface area on a kettle is better - there is more surface area to transfer heat to your wort and you can do so at a lower gas flow 2 points though -

1. I'm not sure how well an ally pot would stand up to the brute force of NASA with a high pressure reg, maybe someone who has an ally pot and NASA or other high performance burner can comment.

2. If you were looking for a burner that had a larger flame spread than the NASA, but was still reasonably cost effective the Italian burner would be a good choice as it achieves the same heat output without having to be run on the ' full on scare the neighbours' setting

edit: I should add that I use a NASA with HP reg for my 100L (SS) pot, so it will definitely do it

 

[Sammus]

The Italian Spiral burner from Beer Belly will be a fine choice. My other recommendation is the rambo burner from MashMaster. Note that the reg it comes with is fixed output and may not cut it for 100L, but I plugged it to my adjustable HP reg (BOC LPG reg) and it sure puts out a lot of heat - I reckon it cranks higher than the Italian (I think it can get more air into since it's designed as a HP burner, and I suspect the italian one isn't - thought I'm sure you can verify this domonsura). I haven't seen a NASA go so I can't compare it, but it must be close - it sounds like a rocket with an enormous perfect blue flame at 300kPa, and you could likely crank it higher, I'm not game though. Another added bonus is its got peizo igniter

edit: There still remains the issue of such a massive amount of heat onto the ally pot as domonsura mentioned.

 

[enoch]

Just picked up an 100L Aluminum Pot for $50 marked down from $140.

You can't just leave it like that! Where did you get it?

 

[devo]

Both the NASA and/or the Spiral with a HP reg would have no problem. I use a 100ltr alley pot with a spiral burner.

 

[youngy]

domonsura, I have seen the Italian burner on your web site not bad, once I add the regulator its out of my price range.

I am afraid the NASA burner may be too much for the Ali pot, so looking for something a bit tamer.

is there such thing as good cheap burner and regulator? or do I have to save up $170

Youngy

 

[youngy]

You can't just leave it like that! Where did you get it?

http://www.mitchellsadventure.com.au/store...ls_tea_tree.htm

Was marked down to $90 (old floor stock), chatted to the guy and said there was some scratches so he did a deal.

They only had one, and I don't think they are getting any more.

 

[domonsura]

is there such thing as good cheap burner and regulator? or do I have to save up $170

Youngy

Yep, the NASA and the adjustable med pressure

Remember you only have to turn a NASA up enough to get the boil done, it's not really necessary to contribute directly to global warming with your burner while you brew :lol: Sometimes I crank the hell out of mine just because I can, but in reality a slightly more mundane burn is just as effective.....I reckon the ali pot would probably stand up to it just as long as you didn't get all carried away with it. I can't really name another burner that comes close to the NASA's combination of being dirt cheap and grunty as hell...

 

[BoilerBoy]

I have to say that I bought an Italian burner for the purposes of converting to NG, but it was a dismal failure.

I changed it back to LPG with a Med pressure regulator and I didn't think the turkey/nasa burner could be bettered, but this set up with the Italian burner is amazing!

It has as domonsura says, a much better flame spread than the nasa and far more flame control and for my 70L pot its more than adequate and would do a 100L easily.

With the nasa I used to be able to clean out my mash tun while waiting for the wort to come to the boil but not anymore!

The Italian flat out is louder than the nasa, but once at the boil turned down you would hardly know it was on,
definitely recommend it!

Cheers
BB

 

[TidalPete]

As a lot of others have said, the NASA is the way to go. I have a mate who regularly uses his 100 litre ally pot for double & sometimes triple brews this way.

TP :beer:

 

[wimbymoonshine]

hey

i have just bought one too. Havent tested it yet but got some good advice from pistol patch which i shall pass on.... here goes.

He said that a nasa burner will shave about 10mins off the brew day at most but is noisy as hell. He suggested a 3 ring burner capable of a decent blue flame.

I am personally using 2 of the burners on my hob. One is super powerful and i think 2 together will do the job.

:icon_chickcheers:

 

[warrenlw63]

I do 65 litres preboil in a 120 ally pot with a NASA to get a final volume of 50 litres. Works fine.

Being ally you get no hot spots either.

Warren -

 

[Stuster]

I am afraid the NASA burner may be too much for the Ali pot, so looking for something a bit tamer.

Why would the NASA be too much for aluminium? :unsure:

I have an aluminium pot and a NASA burner and have used it for 80+ batches with no problems (other than operator error). I've also used it with bigger batches at the ISB brew days and it's fine with 100L batches.

 

[geoff_tewierik]

I think they're referring to the fact that the NASA pumps out a bloody hot flame and that the melting point of Aluminium is 660 degrees C.

Whether the twain shall meet...

 

[Stuster]

Guess you're right. Definitely best not to run it flat out with no water/wort in the pot.

 

[dicko]

Hi all,

I run a Nasa with a 90 litre pot and to date I have done 106 brews with no damage at all to the pot.
As long as you have liquid in the pot you wont have any trouble.
If you leave an empty aluminium pot on an electric element on the stove you will melt the arse out of it. :blink:

On another note I have found with the Nasa burner that if you bend the support legs out a bit so they splay out rather than be upright, this lowers the height of the burner in relation to the top of the support ring (or the bottom of the pot) and this will give a better and broader flame. I have achieved excellent performance on my HLT by raising the support another 50 mm to achieve a distance of 115mm from the top of the burner to the bottom of the pot.
I did this on my HLT because I generally run this at "full noise" to heat the water as quickly as possible, whereas the kettle needs only to achieve a rolling boil and I throttle the burner back to achieve this.

Cheers

 

[youngy]

Cheers for the replies,

The NASA burner i was just worried about the heat a full blast, but most of you says it fine.

Also read this article this morning which has some good info.

"Yes the Italian is a very good burner, better heat output than the Nasa with the same regulator, quieter, cheaper to run, the stand is more stable and better flame spread as you mentioned as well. But it's also slightly more expensive, and a bit more difficult to mount into a custom brewery rig.
The Nasa is my pick with the HP reg, but it's basically brute force. I have very good adjustment with mine as I have the needle valve fitted at the reg end of the hose, (and I also have mine mounted on my brewery with an adjustable height slide, so you can easily adjust the distance from burner to pot depending on gas flow setting).For pure grunt, and ease of mounting into a brewery frame (discarding the original stand), my pick is the NASA with the HP, but for a stand-alone burner in stand without all the noise etc and better gas useage/heat output ratio, it would have to be the Italian with the adjustable.
This concludes today's 'playing with LPG gas' lesson. And if anyone was wondering what I did with the 90 litres of boiled water? 70 litres into a fermenter for my next brew, and 20 litres washed the car...."

So I might save up and get the Italian, due to noise and stand.

Youngy

 

[Wardhog]

I have an 80L ally pot in which I can bring ~65L to the boil on a 4 ring low pressure burner. You just have to keep it out of the wind.

I use 4 rings to get it to the boil, and 3 to maintain the rolling boil.