Bayou Classic

LP, NG, gas burners of all types. Wood, coal or Steam equipment.

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Eire Whiskey

Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

I ordered a Bayou Classic KAB4 16-inch coking surface to replace the burner I have now. The one I have cannot be adjusted to get a nice flame, it is all yellow, and has turned the bottom of the boiler black as can be. I can hardly wash the stuff off of my hands. The new burner should be here by next Friday. Hopefully the keg will sit on it fine. If not, I may have to weld some rebar to it to enlarge the cook surface. It should be fine though. I am also hoping the flame is more adjustable as well and use less gas since the flame will be blue.
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8Ball
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by 8Ball »

Eire Rider wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 11:32 am I ordered a Bayou Classic KAB4 16-inch coking surface to replace the burner I have now. The one I have cannot be adjusted to get a nice flame, it is all yellow, and has turned the bottom of the boiler black as can be. I can hardly wash the stuff off of my hands. The new burner should be here by next Friday. Hopefully the keg will sit on it fine. If not, I may have to weld some rebar to it to enlarge the cook surface. It should be fine though. I am also hoping the flame is more adjustable as well and use less gas since the flame will be blue.
Sounds like you aren’t getting enough oxygen to the burner. Last time I had yellow flame and black smudge on my pot a lizard crawled out of the air intake! Check for a clear line! :)

🎱
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

8Ball wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 6:36 pm
Eire Rider wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 11:32 am I ordered a Bayou Classic KAB4 16-inch coking surface to replace the burner I have now. The one I have cannot be adjusted to get a nice flame, it is all yellow, and has turned the bottom of the boiler black as can be. I can hardly wash the stuff off of my hands. The new burner should be here by next Friday. Hopefully the keg will sit on it fine. If not, I may have to weld some rebar to it to enlarge the cook surface. It should be fine though. I am also hoping the flame is more adjustable as well and use less gas since the flame will be blue.
Sounds like you aren’t getting enough oxygen to the burner. Last time I had yellow flame and black smudge on my pot a lizard crawled out of the air intake! Check for a clear line! :)

🎱
I had it apart, also had the vent wide open with little change. The burner I have was cheap. Around 49 bucks, and it came with a turkey pot, a smaller pot, and Tstat from Sports Academy a few years ago.
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8Ball
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by 8Ball »

One last stab at this: does your regulator match the burner? E.g. High pressure reg & high pressure burner?

🎱
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

8Ball wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 10:04 pm One last stab at this: does your regulator match the burner? E.g. High pressure reg & high pressure burner?

🎱
The burner came with the regulator, so I assume they are matched. The whole setup was cheap, so it likely is not good stuff. When I get back from cycling I will have another look at it.

Mod edit ... sorted the wrong button push :thumbup:
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

Thanks for fixing my mistake Yummyrum!
cayars
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by cayars »

Seems a bit funny to me you would have a yellow flame as well running propane. Sounds like the air intake isn't adjusted correctly.

The Bayou Classic model you ordered is a 30 psi model if memory serves me correctly and can be quite finicky to adjust the heat correctly at lower temps. I use a Bayou Classic model for melting lead and running my dripper for making shotgun pellets and know it can be tricky to dial in.

I'm not sure a 30 psi model would be my first choice for direct fire of a pot still. With that said I've never tried it so I have ZERO first hand experience.

I do know you can boil water rather quickly with them for sure. :)
Programmer specializing in process control for ExxonMobil (ethanol refinery control), WT, Omron, Bosch, Honeywell & Boeing.
More than a decade working for NASA & FAA Tech with computer code used on Space Shuttles and some airline flight recorders.
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

cayars wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 5:10 am Seems a bit funny to me you would have a yellow flame as well running propane. Sounds like the air intake isn't adjusted correctly.

The Bayou Classic model you ordered is a 30 psi model if memory serves me correctly and can be quite finicky to adjust the heat correctly at lower temps. I use a Bayou Classic model for melting lead and running my dripper for making shotgun pellets and know it can be tricky to dial in.

I'm not sure a 30 psi model would be my first choice for direct fire of a pot still. With that said I've never tried it so I have ZERO first hand experience.

I do know you can boil water rather quickly with them for sure. :)
Adjusting the air does nothing on this cheap one. I think it's just another inferior Chinese product. I bought it several years ago. I was not thinking of using it for distilling at the time.
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by cayars »

Yea, it happens that some things don't work as needed.
At least you recognize it and are taking steps to improve things.

Each improvement you make is one step closer to success hopefully. LOL
Programmer specializing in process control for ExxonMobil (ethanol refinery control), WT, Omron, Bosch, Honeywell & Boeing.
More than a decade working for NASA & FAA Tech with computer code used on Space Shuttles and some airline flight recorders.
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

cayars wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 6:04 am Yea, it happens that some things don't work as needed.
At least you recognize it and are taking steps to improve things.

Each improvement you make is one step closer to success hopefully. LOL
10-4
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

Received the new burner. It is nice. The flame is adjusted and it is ready to go. I may have to weld on the cooking surface a bit to increase the size. I have about 3/4 of an inch with the keg sitting on it. As long as I don't bump it, it will be fine.
Now I can take a look at the smaller burner and see if I can fix its flame issue.
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by cayars »

Nice,

Looking forward to hearing how it works out for you and how well you can finely tune the output in your environment.
Programmer specializing in process control for ExxonMobil (ethanol refinery control), WT, Omron, Bosch, Honeywell & Boeing.
More than a decade working for NASA & FAA Tech with computer code used on Space Shuttles and some airline flight recorders.
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

cayars wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:30 pm Nice,

Looking forward to hearing how it works out for you and how well you can finely tune the output in your environment.
You can adjust it really low or really high.
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by cayars »

I've only use this for melting lead for making ammo. :)

I found it touchy at those temps so would assume it would take very fine adjustment at still temps.
That's what i'm interested in. How finely can you adjust the still output while it's running to be able to adjust output to a drip per second to a steady stream at will.

If you can't finely adjust this, it's not the end of the world as we can suggest adjustment to help you fine tune further.

What is the PSI of the unit you purchased and what size propane tank are you using?
Programmer specializing in process control for ExxonMobil (ethanol refinery control), WT, Omron, Bosch, Honeywell & Boeing.
More than a decade working for NASA & FAA Tech with computer code used on Space Shuttles and some airline flight recorders.
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

cayars wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 1:38 pm I've only use this for melting lead for making ammo. :)

I found it touchy at those temps so would assume it would take very fine adjustment at still temps.
That's what i'm interested in. How finely can you adjust the still output while it's running to be able to adjust output to a drip per second to a steady stream at will.

If you can't finely adjust this, it's not the end of the world as we can suggest adjustment to help you fine tune further.

What is the PSI of the unit you purchased and what size propane tank are you using?
30 psi regulator, and 20# tank. The regulator takes more turns to get to a high flame on this unit. I thought the flame was very adjustable on this one, more so than the old one.
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by The Baker »

Eire Rider wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:12 pm Received the new burner. It is nice. The flame is adjusted and it is ready to go. I may have to weld on the cooking surface a bit to increase the size. I have about 3/4 of an inch with the keg sitting on it. As long as I don't bump it, it will be fine.
Now I can take a look at the smaller burner and see if I can fix its flame issue.
Sit a couple of bricks or such under three points near the edges.
Or you might be cooked like a lobster.

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Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

I had a good look at the small burner this morning. It's just a piece of Chinese manufacturing expertise. I'll just continue using it to roast my coffee beans.
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

The new burner is working out great and I can adjust the flame very low or higher than I would ever set it. It can heat the boiler quick with only 5-gallons, so you have to be patient, so you don't overshoot the desired temp or drip rate. I have been heating quickly to around 110-120ºF and then backing off the heat. The boiler is hot enough to heat the rest of the way, since the heat is trapped because of the insulation on the boiler. After it gets close to where I want it I can add heat or not. It's pretty cool to see how a minor adjustment of the heat affects the drip rate, for a little while anyway. LOL I'm still a baby, so things are still interesting.
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Re: Bayou Classic

Post by 8Ball »

Eire Whiskey wrote: Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:00 pm ... It's pretty cool to see how a minor adjustment of the heat affects the drip rate, for a little while anyway.
+1. When your pot is up to temp, it should only take a micro adjustment to tweak the output, about an 1/8 inch rotation or less. Give it a couple minutes to stabilize after you adjust. If you are exposed to winds outdoors, this part becomes a challenge. Equally important is to maintain a steady coolant flow rate.

🎱
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
Eire Whiskey

Re: Bayou Classic

Post by Eire Whiskey »

8Ball wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 6:44 am
Eire Whiskey wrote: Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:00 pm ... It's pretty cool to see how a minor adjustment of the heat affects the drip rate, for a little while anyway.
+1. When your pot is up to temp, it should only take a micro adjustment to tweak the output, about an 1/8 inch rotation or less. Give it a couple minutes to stabilize after you adjust. If you are exposed to winds outdoors, this part becomes a challenge. Equally important is to maintain a steady coolant flow rate.

🎱
Yep, gotcha on all points. I'm inside my shop, so now wind issues. There is no problem with coolant either. With the shotgun condenser it is taking very little water to keep it col. This summer I will have to increase flow but there is plenty of pressure.
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