Outdoor burner for dual purpose

JbTech

JbTech

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Brethren,


I turn to you for an idea I've had kicking around in my nugget.

I like to do a lot of canning with extras from the garden, and also have a wild hair to do a crawfish boil this summer.

When canning before, it turns our house into a hot box! Wife lady doesn't care for that.

So, onto my question... :clap2:


What should I look for in an outdoor propane burner that will both supply sufficient heat for crawfish/seafood boils and also adjustable enough to do semi low heat for canning?



Bayou Classic comes to mind for seafood, but would also like it to be suitable for outdoor pressure canning.

Thoughts? Ideas?

I know there is enough experience here to answer this, but would like to hear from the years of experience on the forum!


Thanks Folks!
 
I have the camp chef 2 burner and it works great. Just a word of caution....you cant use your canner pot with a high pressure burner, youll melt the bottom of it as most canner pots are high aluminum content.
 
I do alot of fish boils. Boil/simmer out in the garage during the summer months. To keep the heat/steam out of the house. From making stews to pots of pasta. Simmering for a few hours can be tough if there is alot of wind. You will want a wind block for that. But very doable.
I have bought 2 low pressure burners from Tejas. Good products from my experience.
I install a regulator inline for flame/heat control.
Depending on what size pots you will be using. will determine the btu burner to buy. At least 33,000 low pressure at minimum.
Lots of choices.
High pressure choices are at the top of the site page. Scroll down, you should find one that would work for you.

https://tejassmokers.com/Cast-Iron-Burners/24
 
I also have the camp chef 2 burner. Works great but struggles with low temps. Looks like you won't need that though.
 
UbiFl4r.jpg


If you are canning high acid foods from your garden you are using a water bath canner which I use on occasion, so there might be a better choice for a burner.

But I can tell you that using a propane burner is a perfect fit for a pressure canner. Everyone I know that cans food uses them and all of the canning clubs do too as they might be running 10 pots at a time. My burner is from the 80's and once I get to 10#, I'll back down the flame to catch 13 psi. Fish is the longest processing time but I bet I don't make 2 adjustments during the 100 minute time. For steaming seafood I use a 32 quart tamale steamer, a larger pot might need a bigger burner. I also use my burner with a flat bottom camp oven (a Dutch oven w/o legs) and it works great.
 
bschoen said:
You might try a stove top heat deflector.


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stove+to...x=stove+top+heat+,aps,164&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_15
Click to expand...

Mine is a homemade burner so no help there, (section of pipe, rebar legs, expanded metal grate, burner from a hot water heater), but I agree with Bruce, a deflector helps keep the flame low and steady for pressure canning.
During water bath canning, the flame doesn't need to be monitored. Bring it to a boil and let er go for the required time.
My pressure canners are heavy duty, my water bath canners are lighter, thinner enamelware.

Zxf50sG.jpg
 
I took my turkey fryer set up and mounted it on an old gas grill frame. That gets it to a good working height. From there, I added a needle valve near the burner for easy flame adjustment. I also picked up a "cooking" burner (40-50 holes???) and swap it out with the jet burner depending on what I'm cooking. Jet burner is good for crawfish & low country boils while the other is great for cooking like on a gas stove top.

Xlu4fz.jpg
 
cowgirl said:
My pressure canners are heavy duty, my water bath canners are lighter, thinner enamelware.
Click to expand...


This is where I sneak into Analysis Paralysis! Did the same thing for my Sons 18th Birthday present earlier! ( Kayak )

I have a 2 year old Presto 0178107.

One of the only nice things my MonsterInLaw has ever done for us!


Not sure how heavy/durable it would be used as a crawfish pot. I'm sure it would be ok for pressure canning outside. Just want to know the BTU limits of my canner.

Water bath canning is about 60% of what we do, so adjustability is key.


Thanks for all the input this far! Still learning!
 
Last edited:
Bayou Classic KAB4 banjo burner. High BTU in a wide efficient flame pattern. Has the HP to get large pots to a boil in a reasonable time and can dial back. Under $80 from Amazon.
 
m-fine said:
Bayou Classic KAB4 banjo burner. High BTU in a wide efficient flame pattern. Has the HP to get large pots to a boil in a reasonable time and can dial back. Under $80 from Amazon.
Click to expand...

We have a banjo burner that we use to cook stew. You can crank up some major flame, or get low to finish the stew without scorching it.
 
Big Andy said:
We have a banjo burner that we use to cook stew. You can crank up some major flame, or get low to finish the stew without scorching it.
Click to expand...

Yep, 7 times the BTU’s of the camp chef. If you want to do a big boil, you need the power to heat the water to boiling, and much more importantly, have a quick recovery after cold food is dumped in.

The ability to turn down without losing the spread is great as well. Turn down a jet style and you have heat on a very small spot in the center. The banjo is about 10” wide even on low.

Only downside is they are more susceptible to blowing out when on a low setting and exposed to a breeze. You may need to block the wind sometimes, but that’s a minor complaint. Otherwise best, most versatile burner I have used.
 
mattmountz94 said:
I also have the camp chef 2 burner. Works great but struggles with low temps. Looks like you won't need that though.
Click to expand...

Also, Camp Chef 2 burner and I love it, but Matt is 100% correct it struggles with the low heat. Makes cooking pileau on it very difficult.
 
m-fine said:
Yep, 7 times the BTU’s of the camp chef. If you want to do a big boil, you need the power to heat the water to boiling, and much more importantly, have a quick recovery after cold food is dumped in.

The ability to turn down without losing the spread is great as well. Turn down a jet style and you have heat on a very small spot in the center. The banjo is about 10” wide even on low.

Only downside is they are more susceptible to blowing out when on a low setting and exposed to a breeze. You may need to block the wind sometimes, but that’s a minor complaint. Otherwise best, most versatile burner I have used.
Click to expand...

We have the burner on a stand. Made a cover from a barrel cut down to height. Access door in side to light flame.
 
Low heat and jet style burners are tough to deal with in a breeze. My solution was an inverted wire basket about 3" tall (deep), which raised the cooking vessel higher and required a more wind-proof flame to "simmer" things.
 
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