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I have a Bayou Classic KAB4 propane burner, which I've had intermittent success using to bring my wort to a boil. When I hook it up to a full tank it seems to work fine, but when I use a tank that is slightly less than full, it takes several tries for me to ignite it, and when it does, the flames are extremely small - even with careful adjustments to the fuel and air intake valves, the they die quickly. Just to make sure I'm not going completely nuts, when this happens I hook the tank up to my propane grill, and lo and behold, it works perfectly with my grill.

I do notice that when my burner is hooked up to a full tank, I can hear the characteristic propane hiss when I open the valve. With a tank that's mostly full, this hiss is much more faint. (With my grill, the hiss is the same no matter how full the tank is.)

There are no leaks in the hose. I even took the burner into the homebrewing store where I bought it and the guys there couldn't find anything wrong with it. My workaround has been to swap out my propane tank for a full one every time I brew, which has been taking a steady toll on my wallet.

Not sure if this makes any difference, but I brew in an open garage with both the burner and the tank on the ground, roughly at the same elevation. I've seen other brewing setups with the burner elevated. Would elevating the burner above the tank make a difference?

Is there anything else I should check for in my burner, or do I need to modify my setup in some way so my burner will behave more consistently?

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    The height of the tank shouldn't matter as the pressure in the tank is what drives the fuel to the burner. Though there may be a safety reason that I'm not aware of for this (you see it with BBQs too). Do you have a pressure gauge on your tank? It sounds to me like you may be losing pressure along the way. I would check your connections for leaks (not just the hose). It may be a coupling issue - squirt bottle with soapy water will do the trick.
    – John
    Sep 23, 2015 at 19:10
  • The tank doesn't have a pressure gauge (nor do I), but I'll try the soapy water when I get home and see if that shows any leaks on the equipment.
    – Bucket
    Sep 23, 2015 at 19:41
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    It sounds like there'a a problem with the regulator.
    – FishesCycle
    Sep 23, 2015 at 20:40
  • I agree with tobias, it definitely sounds like a regulator issue, I would go back to the store where you bought it, and see if they have a regulator for that model to swap or test to see if it solves the problem. the burner itself, usually doesn't go bad, unless you get it clogged some how.
    – jsolarski
    Sep 26, 2015 at 21:34

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I would replace the regulator. A high pressure regulator should resolve your problems. I have one of these and I can run three big burners even when the gas is low.

I was told this is called a Red Devil Regulator.

Red Devil

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