Has anybody had experience with both Blichman burners AND cheaper burners such as Bayou Classics? I noticed the burner on my SP10 is looking really rusty so I am thinking about a replacement. I just don’t know if it is worth 3 times the price to go with the Blichman. But if I thought it actually performed better, would save some fuel, and I wouldn’t have to replace it in 2 years, it might be worth it.
I started with an SP10 and moved to the Blichmann about a year ago. The blichmann is more efficient in fuel usage, more durable (no rust), and much quieter.
I’ve never owned anything else but can say the Blichmann is very solid. As far as propane usage I’ve done 3 hour long boils with ~3-4 gallons and have only used half of the propane tank.
In the process of building a sculpture. For it I bought a Blichmann that I am using in the interim. It is MUCH quieter. The larger burner area gives me the impression that I’m getting more even heating. The stainless steel is beautiful. To me, it has been well worth the investment.
i upgraded to a blichmann about a year ago and am very happy with it. agree with above statements.
I had the SP10 for about 12 years. It really got rusty and the performance suffered badly. Yellow flame; soot, etc. I cleaned it up and got rid of most of the rust and it ran fine. The cast iron finally broke where the gas fitting attached to the burner. It was toast.
Bought a Blichman next and love it. I’d suggest that if rust is your issue and $$ are a concern I’d just clean the thing and see if that helps. If you’re going to buy a new burner regardless, then get the Blichman.
I just ordered a Blichmann burner.
That didn’t take long. Blichmann, please forward along a royalty check to me.
You wont regret it. I have one and love it. Built like a brick sh!thouse, like everything John makes
Are they big enough for 20 gal boils? I’m looking for something that can handle at least 20 gals at a time.
I haven’t done any 20 gal boils, but I’m sure that the Blichmann burner is capable of handling it. What size kettle are you using for the 20 gal boils?
30 gal Blichmann.
Their website lists times to achieve boil for 20 gallons: http://blichmannengineering.com/brew_stand/brewstand_modular.html
(under the “burner data” tab)
You should have no problems then. I just checked the setup instructions that came with my Blichmann and it has the settings to hold their 30 gal kettle.
Is the Blichmann using a banjo burner? The video looked identical to whats on my Bayou KAB6. I thought it was 200K BTU though.