Burner recommendations please.

Im in the market for a new burner, currently I have an old turkey burner that isnt adjustable and will melt, but there is a lot of yellow flame and sooting, which slows things down a lot. Anyone have recommendations for a high ouput burner that you can get online at a reasonable price? Some places have ones the call 'jet' burners I think that might work good as all the heat is directed to one area instead of wasting it around the outsides which seems to mostly blow away anyway. Thanks, and I dont really want to build a custom burner, just something I can get out of the box that will put out good heat and hold a 100lbs of lead, I use a half of a 20lb propane tank kettle to melt in.

Thanks,

Derek

Any opinions on something like this? http://www.turkey-fryers-online.com/...jet-burner.htm

I'm looking as well. Looking at this:
http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-MB...I3SD5EKKXMQEXM
Don't want to make a mistake. Not sure the Bass Pro is the way to go based on some threads I have seen.. Hopefully someone has "the" answer. Best bang for the buck. The one you linked looks sturdy and a great deal.

I bought a Bayou Classic SP10 off of Amazon. It works great. A friend has one of the jet burners. I can't stand the noise they make. It's what I call obnoxiously loud. And BTUs are BTUs. The jet burner might heat up a pot a few minutes quicker than the one I have. But I can spare a few minutes for a quieter burner.

I spent an hour or two doing some research. The home brewers have some similar needs. I have now decided to save up for a Blichmann Engineering floor burner which is $149.99 from multiple sources, so whoever has the best shipping will get my business. The home brewers report spending a bundle on propane and getting the Blichmann and saving a bundle. and in another thread in the casting equipment forum member reports dramatic lowering of smelting cost with efficiency up-grades. I found this interesting and there is a head to head comparison with a Bayou rated at 185 k BTU which only put out 68 k BTU compared to the rated output of the Blichmann of 72 k BTU:

"A 72,000 BTU / hour burner that blends heating power and efficiency, no louder than a whisper! In addition, low-flame combustion is clean, wind performance is outstanding, and the heavy stainless construction is built to last a lifetime! For operation on natural gas, expect 15% less power and 15% longer heating times due to the lower BTU content of natural gas versus propane.

We also documented that the published BTU of competitive burners varied wildly from actual measured results. Measuring the performance is straightforward: Simply run the burner for an hour at full power and measure the weight of the propane used in pounds. Then, multiply the weight in pounds by 21,000 to get the burner rating in BTU / hour. For example. the Bayou Classic has a published rating of 180 KBTU / hour but only measured at 68 KBTU / hour."

- See more at: http://www.blichmannengineering.com/....p7Shn9D1.dpuf

I'm hoping the quality and savings are worth saving-up the $$$ for. Still saving for tin, so not smelting for a couple month anyway. No hurry.

I like the reviews of that blichmann, wonder how hard it would be too pipe that into my NG from my house, propane gets expensive...

I doubt it would be a problem at all. They sell a conversion kit and the natural gas plumbing should be easy. Pull off gas dryer line or hot water heater or after the meter. I don't have natural gas where I live so it is not an issue for me.

I have this burner http://www.turkey-fryers-online.com/...yer-burner.htm works well but at lower heat levels the wind can blow it out

That looks well made. No final decision but I will put that on my list as you say it "works." That is what I am looking for. The design looks sound and the burner is shielded and it close proximity to the smelter pot. The other half of the equation for me is stainless steel or cast iron smelting pot. If I go stainless, I will not be getting a laminated pot. Thanks for the link.

Stainless does not transfer heat as well as cast iron. That is the reason a lot of stainless pans are coated on the bottom.

If you run a jacket around your pot you will absorb much more of the heat you are making.

I like burners with an adjustable draft. You can tweek them to burn clean and efficient.

Propane cost is not an issue for me when smelting. Pot is freon tank ripped in half long ways and laid into top of stove. I do want to build a bigger unit too.

J
Attachment 74999

You can buy a fry burner from Bass Pro Shops on sale sometimes for $20.00. Mine has an adjustable regulator and it will really throw out the heat.

You may have to beef up the frame if you wait to use a really large smelting pot.

This is the one I bought. I smelted just under 200# a couple of weekends ago, and had 90-100# of lead and a large cast iron pot on it at one time. I was smelting range lead and it was liquifying the lead out of the jackets pretty darn fast. I think from a "cold" start (80ish degrees) it took 20-30 minutes to get the first pot full melted. Hope the info helps.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/st...=fryer&Ntk=All

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/double-...Burner%20Stand

I got one of these and am very pleased.

762

Unless you REALLY want to spend the money, good probability all it needs is a good cleaning. Sooty yellow flames indicate not enough air. Take the burner apart, look for mud dabbler nests and the like inside it. Remove the burner from the whole assembly and flush it with water, taking care not to get water in the regulator. Get a torch tip cleaner and clean the orifice while you're at it.