Do Burner Diameters Matter?

[Schlotterbock]

I'm looking to purchase a burner that I can use to make outdoor extract/ mini-mash brews, but I also want to be able to take it off the stand and add it to an all grain systems later.

Can someone please tell me if the burner diameter matters?

I'm considering this one, but I'm afraid the 4" burner may cause a problem since the heat will be more concentrated.

http://www.agrisupply.com/product.asp?pn=49469&sid=&eid=

Thanks for any insight!!

 

[archiefl98]

That's similar to the one I use. I get a full boil of 7 gallons in no time and have to turn it down to almost off before it's "under control". The heat will spread out with the bottom of the kettle anyway.

 

[KevinW]

The diameter of my kettle is about 16 inches and my burner brings 7.5 to boil in about 20 mins. And like archiefl98, I need to turn mine down once the boil starts.

I did a kolsch for a 90 minute boil and the color is about as pale as you can get with no carmelizing either, so the high heat should not scorch or carmelize your wort. Unless you maybe do a really high gravity beer!

 

[nootay]

wow i feel like i have a similar burner but it takes a good 45 minutes to get to 6.5 gallons to a full boil. i dont have it wide open, but darn close. maybe my burner doesnt have as many BTUs as i thought

 

[Schlotterbock]

Thanks for the info! I bought it last night!

 

[KevinW]

I have a bayou classic sq-14. I honestly do not know what the BTU's are but it does pretty good.
I keep the lid on the pot just until it starts to boil then remove the lid for the remainder of the boil(helps prevent DMS).

 

[axr]

I have the SP10 and can bring 6.5 gallons to boil in under 30 minutes. However, my keggle is a little bigger than the diameter of the burner. To remedy, I bought a weber grill grate (22.5 dia?) for about $10 at HD. Now the keggle rests perfectly on the burner

axr