"Drago" gas ring ?

[philistine]

Hey dudes,
Ive been wanting to upgrade my standard 3 ring gas burner for a while. I just want a bit more output - aenough to do a double (50-60lt) batch comfortably is what im aimjng for.
Ive got a variable high pressure regulator, but you can only push a 3 ring burner so far.....

Anyway, i saw this and its cheap, but i dont know if its actually any better. Looks just like an "italian spiral" burner but its labelled as a "drago burner".
I dont really know much about the various gas burners in general, so can anyone offer any insight on this one?

 

[malt junkie]

It'll do better than what you had and probably good for 200l+ with a med pressure reg.

 

[n87]

Got one, makes short work of a triple batch.
to keep a boil on a double batch, i have the reg on the lowest with the brass tap there in the pic turned down a bit.

I used to have it in that stand sitting on the ground with bricks filling in 3 sides, worked really really well.

Now, its not as efficient... due to some idiot messing with my plans... but still serves

Burner

• n87
• 13/7/17

 

[philistine]

what makes it less efficient ya reckon?
Asking coz I want to take mine off the stand and incorporate it into the brew rig Ive built, so curious to see if things like ventilation form underneath and the sides make a different

 

[philistine]

im gunna hazard a guess and say maybe its too far from the base of your kettle...?
The hottest part of a flame is at the "point" of the bright blue bit, just before the yellow starts... maybe if you lifted it up a few cm it might give you a better result?

 

[n87]

The hottest part of the flame may be that point, but the heat doesn't just disappear, it just is more distributed. My pot has a thinner bottom, so more distributed heat works better for me.
I put the loss down to no wind breaks on 2 sides. My in-molested design was closed in on 4 sides and the bottom open for O2.
The other night when I was boiling, the night was still, and I got original efficiency (from my memory).

 

[n87]

That pic is when the burner is on 0.5 out of 11, just enough to keep up a vigorous boil, when it is on higher, the flames go higher too.

 

[philistine]

Cool, cheers!
Sounds like it'll work on my thing without any need to modify then.
Ive made a kind of tray thing with solid sides for the burner to sit on, but with a big hole in the bottom... hard to explain, but hardly any air gets in from the sides, so its pretty wind resistant.
I was looking at the perforated steel you were using and wondering if i needed more air flow, but seems like airflow is the enemy - at least fromthe sides

 

[malt junkie]

@n87 how many boils do you get from a bottle or more to the point how many hours of burn time?

 

[wynnum1]

There are restriction on gas burners .

 

[n87]

@n87 how many boils do you get from a bottle or more to the point how many hours of burn time?

Hey MJ, TBH, I have no idea as I use the same bottle for my BBQ. But I seem to remember one heavy brewing period I got 6 (double batch) brews (all heating with gas) along with the BBQ's (most every night) out of a bottle... but dont quote me on that.

Now I have an electric HERMS setup, I only use the gas for boiling... and if I get impatient waiting for the strike water...

 

[fdsaasdf]

Anyway, i saw this and its cheap, but i dont know if its actually any better. Looks just like an "italian spiral" burner but its labelled as a "drago burner".
I dont really know much about the various gas burners in general, so can anyone offer any insight on this one?
View attachment 107954

Out of interest, where did you find this?

Does it need a separate regulator?

 

[philistine]

I got it at a shop called Homemakeit in reservoir (melbourne). They have another store in Springvale i think.
It seems that they currently have a 10% off all Beer Brewing stuff sale on at the moment and even though the burner isn't sold as a brewing thing per se, when the lady asked me what I want I was using it for it seems that my answer scored me the discount - so I ended up getting it for $53.95!
Otherwise you can find them on eBay - search Drago Gas Burner

It didnt come with a hose or regulator, but it does need both (I already have)

 

[Mardoo]

That's a great deal. They have a few stores around. I think there's one in Clayton too. One of those "fermentation hobbyist" shops. Beer, cheese, wine. They did a cheesemaking demo for Melbourne Brewers a couple years ago. Decent folks.

https://www.homemakeit.com.au/pages/store-contact-details