Thoughts on a forge burner...
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:22 pm
I have ran over several ideas for a heat source in my "upcoming distillery"... as of right now we haven't even started ground work, but I'm thinking ahead in terms of processes.
What I have mulled over are wood fired, propane, and electric. Wood heat from a rocket stove setup (not likely to be accepted), electric (expensive and more easy to scorch while being easily controlled... not my favorite approach), and propane (more my style, more readily accepted in my area, more experience with this heat source).
I have decided on propane... here lies my conundrum:
I have used a turkey fryer burner that worked great in a makeshift furnace. I have helped run several on a hoop/ring burner that goes around the outside of the pot, but I have always been a little less than thrilled with my ability to build these (ie: proper gas mix). What I am studying on now is whether or not a forge type burner would be too wasteful in terms of fuel usage.
Think of a propane forge jet burner. (Forced air, low pressure, with a needle valve for both air and propane control) I'm thinking if I could use one single burner (with the ability to control the btu) to heat an insulated shroud around the pots, it should work just like a wood fired barrel attached to a furnace around the pot.
Keep the tip of the flame about 4"-6" from the side of the pot and leave around 3" of space from the outside of the pot to the start of the insulated shroud. Vent it out a flue into a water heating assembly to preheat my next charge and/or my mash water for use elsewhere.
All of this will be inside an insulated furnace to further capture any escaping heat and to help heat the other 2 identical furnaces beside it.
Thoughts?
What I have mulled over are wood fired, propane, and electric. Wood heat from a rocket stove setup (not likely to be accepted), electric (expensive and more easy to scorch while being easily controlled... not my favorite approach), and propane (more my style, more readily accepted in my area, more experience with this heat source).
I have decided on propane... here lies my conundrum:
I have used a turkey fryer burner that worked great in a makeshift furnace. I have helped run several on a hoop/ring burner that goes around the outside of the pot, but I have always been a little less than thrilled with my ability to build these (ie: proper gas mix). What I am studying on now is whether or not a forge type burner would be too wasteful in terms of fuel usage.
Think of a propane forge jet burner. (Forced air, low pressure, with a needle valve for both air and propane control) I'm thinking if I could use one single burner (with the ability to control the btu) to heat an insulated shroud around the pots, it should work just like a wood fired barrel attached to a furnace around the pot.
Keep the tip of the flame about 4"-6" from the side of the pot and leave around 3" of space from the outside of the pot to the start of the insulated shroud. Vent it out a flue into a water heating assembly to preheat my next charge and/or my mash water for use elsewhere.
All of this will be inside an insulated furnace to further capture any escaping heat and to help heat the other 2 identical furnaces beside it.
Thoughts?