I may be inviting disaster, but is there anything one can do to increase the
heat in their home gas range and or oven? Or is this restricted in some
other way?

Basically I'm trying to get restaurant temperatures at home. I'd assume
there is some law or restrictions against this.

Thanks for any info, I couldn't find anything on the web.

In article > , "MDM"
> wrote:

> I may be inviting disaster, but is there anything one can do to increase the
> heat in their home gas range and or oven? Or is this restricted in some
> other way?
>
> Basically I'm trying to get restaurant temperatures at home. I'd assume
> there is some law or restrictions against this.
>
> Thanks for any info, I couldn't find anything on the web.



I do not know about specific modifications.

I recently bought a Cajun burner (turkey fryer) for high heat cooking and
am ecstatic with it.

I bought a two burner model that is a camp stove style and it has legs and
is much higher off the floor than normal turkey fryers and so is
relatively convenient to cook with. It puts out about 54000 BTU per
burner (normal household stove about 9000) and so callled pro home stoves
range from 15-18,000 BTU for their highest burners. The 54,000 BTU level
of heat has real oomph but is still controllable. My model is by King
Kooker and has a wind shield but is otherwise similar to the two burner
model at:

http://www.lalagniappe.com/mall/lobby-camp-stoves.htm.

The specific design is very good and the legs lock and is thus quite
stable and not a hazard.

I got mine on sale for low dollars and with the gas tank total investment
was less than $100. It is definitely one of the best buys I have ever
made equipment wise.

I have used it to stir fry (5 or 6 times) and make blackened fish so far.
I am still on the learning curve but the results are truly extraordinary.
It is hard to convey just how huge a difference the correct equipment
makes.

One word of warning: on this high heat, the oil you use can ignite the
second it hits the pan, it flames out relatively quickly, but you should
be prepared for it. Similarly with the blackened fish, the butter used to
coat the fish that the seasonings stick to also will ignite. It burns
away harmlessly. The texture and taste of the blackened fish done
correctly on high heat was unreal. Because things move so fast your mise
en place has to be perfect.

I plan on getting more experience, and then making a longer post about
everything I learned about using it sometime in the future.

The downside of this approach is that this is only suitable for outside
cooking. In Austin where I am this is OK because the weather is
cooperative most of the time.

In my opinion, this offers much higher performance than any currently
available residential stove top at a very low cost and the minor
inconvenience of it being an outdoor only device. In a practical sense
however, this too is an advantage because many of the dishes you would
make on high heat (stir frys etc.) are by nature fairly smelly and venting
is not an issue.


Roland

P.S.

There are no real laws and restrictions limiting you to a residential
stove at home (it is an urban legend that your insurance will be cancelled
etc.). However, to be safely installed a pro stove needs non flammable
surfaces in close proximity to the stove with a few inches of clearance
which you may or may not be able to swing. Also if you plan on blasting
all burners at the same time, you may have to upgrade the gas line to a
larger diameter to be able to satisfy the demands of the burners for true
pro stoves. If you plan on using only a few burners at highest heat,
this will not be necessary.

Your alternatives are true pro stove (lower dollar, but no broiler and all
models have only pilots and so waste gas) or semi pro stoves designed for
the residential market (quite high dollar, lower performance than true
pro, but have conveniences like broilers, and pilotless ignition). Or
stoves like the Kenmore elite (one 17500 BTU burner and about the same
price as true pro ~ $1300-1500) is a middle of the road choice - much of
the performance of residential pro without bragging rights.

"MDM" > wrote in message
. com...
> I may be inviting disaster, but is there anything one can do to increase
the
> heat in their home gas range and or oven? Or is this restricted in some
> other way?
>
> Basically I'm trying to get restaurant temperatures at home. I'd assume
> there is some law or restrictions against this.
>
> Thanks for any info, I couldn't find anything on the web.

You probably are inviting trouble. Your oven should be regulated by a
thermostat, so even if you increased the output on the burner all you would
do reach the set temperature faster. I suppose you could try adjusting the
pressure regulator on your range if you have one. Some time ago the was a
discussion here about drilling out the orifice that feeds the burners on
JennAir ranges. I'm not sure that would apply to ranges with fixed burners.
At any rate, I wouldn't fool with it. A new range would be far less costly
than a fire. Believe me, even if you have wonderful insurance, it won't
come close to paying for the disruption and headaches that a fire causes,
not to mention the potential for loss of life.

A Chinese friend in the restaurant business said they enlarged the burner
holes in their home range; .. exactly what they did I don't know. But he's
still living.

MDM > wrote in message
. com...
> I may be inviting disaster, but is there anything one can do to increase
the
> heat in their home gas range and or oven? Or is this restricted in some
> other way?

No, not really and even if you could, it would create problems with
heat/potential fire hazards. The "pro-style" home ranges such as Viking
generally have 15,000 btu burners vs. 25k for restaurant burners. Regular
home ranges may be as low as 8k. Four 25k burners going at once is 100k
btu, which is the amount of heat that my gas furnace puts out to heat a
large house, so you could imagine that without a great big restaurant vent
hood it might get pretty warm in your kitchen. Restaurant stoves are also
freestanding with no flammables alongside - your wood kitchen cabinets
probably come right up to and above your stove.

Ironically, if you want more heat/faster cooking, you should get an electric
range, despite the mythology against them. Much of the heat in a gas stove
is wasted - the hot gasses rise away before they impart much of their heat
to the pot. In an electric stove, more of the heat is conducted to the pot.
In any test of the time it takes to boil water (a measure of actual heat
transfer to the pot), electric stoves beat even "pro-style" gas stoves. The
prostyles also suck up a lot of heat in warming up the big cast iron grates.





"MDM" > wrote in message
. com...
> I may be inviting disaster, but is there anything one can do to increase
the
> heat in their home gas range and or oven? Or is this restricted in some
> other way?
>
> Basically I'm trying to get restaurant temperatures at home. I'd assume
> there is some law or restrictions against this.
>
> Thanks for any info, I couldn't find anything on the web.
>
>
>

On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:32:21 -0600, Joe Doe >:
>I do not know about specific modifications.
>
>I recently bought a Cajun burner (turkey fryer) for high heat cooking and
>am ecstatic with it.
>
>I bought a two burner model that is a camp stove style and it has legs and
>is much higher off the floor than normal turkey fryers and so is
>relatively convenient to cook with. It puts out about 54000 BTU per
>burner (normal household stove about 9000) and so callled pro home stoves
>range from 15-18,000 BTU for their highest burners. The 54,000 BTU level
>of heat has real oomph but is still controllable. My model is by King
>Kooker and has a wind shield but is otherwise similar to the two burner
>model at:
>
>http://www.lalagniappe.com/mall/lobby-camp-stoves.htm.

I'm looking to go the same route as well (now that it's nice enough
to cook outside), mainly for use with carbon steel woks. The one you
mentioned is attractive because it's a more usable height (i suppose
i could build a base if i really wanted to).

Eastman makes a 'proper height' one as well, the big kahuna, fairly cheap
(around $50). Cant tell how hot it gets though, 'high btu output' could
mean anything. Guess I'll send them an email.

http://www.eastmanoutdoors.com/hardware.shtml

Any one have one of these?

>The specific design is very good and the legs lock and is thus quite
>stable and not a hazard.
>
>I got mine on sale for low dollars and with the gas tank total investment
>was less than $100. It is definitely one of the best buys I have ever
>made equipment wise.
>
>I have used it to stir fry (5 or 6 times) and make blackened fish so far.
>I am still on the learning curve but the results are truly extraordinary.
>It is hard to convey just how huge a difference the correct equipment
>makes.
>
>One word of warning: on this high heat, the oil you use can ignite the
>second it hits the pan, it flames out relatively quickly, but you should
>be prepared for it. Similarly with the blackened fish, the butter used to
>coat the fish that the seasonings stick to also will ignite. It burns
>away harmlessly. The texture and taste of the blackened fish done
>correctly on high heat was unreal. Because things move so fast your mise
>en place has to be perfect.
>
>I plan on getting more experience, and then making a longer post about
>everything I learned about using it sometime in the future.
>
>The downside of this approach is that this is only suitable for outside
>cooking. In Austin where I am this is OK because the weather is
>cooperative most of the time.
>
>In my opinion, this offers much higher performance than any currently
>available residential stove top at a very low cost and the minor
>inconvenience of it being an outdoor only device. In a practical sense
>however, this too is an advantage because many of the dishes you would
>make on high heat (stir frys etc.) are by nature fairly smelly and venting
>is not an issue.
>
>
>Roland
>
>P.S.
>
>There are no real laws and restrictions limiting you to a residential
>stove at home (it is an urban legend that your insurance will be cancelled
>etc.). However, to be safely installed a pro stove needs non flammable
>surfaces in close proximity to the stove with a few inches of clearance
>which you may or may not be able to swing. Also if you plan on blasting
>all burners at the same time, you may have to upgrade the gas line to a
>larger diameter to be able to satisfy the demands of the burners for true
>pro stoves. If you plan on using only a few burners at highest heat,
>this will not be necessary.
>
>Your alternatives are true pro stove (lower dollar, but no broiler and all
>models have only pilots and so waste gas) or semi pro stoves designed for
>the residential market (quite high dollar, lower performance than true
>pro, but have conveniences like broilers, and pilotless ignition). Or
>stoves like the Kenmore elite (one 17500 BTU burner and about the same
>price as true pro ~ $1300-1500) is a middle of the road choice - much of
>the performance of residential pro without bragging rights.

"Joe Doe" > wrote in message
...

>
> I recently bought a Cajun burner (turkey fryer) for high heat cooking and
> am ecstatic with it.
snip
> In my opinion, this offers much higher performance than any currently
> available residential stove top at a very low cost and the minor
> inconvenience of it being an outdoor only device. In a practical sense
> however, this too is an advantage because many of the dishes you would
> make on high heat (stir frys etc.) are by nature fairly smelly and venting
> is not an issue.
>
>
> Roland
>
> P.S.
>
> There are no real laws and restrictions limiting you to a residential
> stove at home (it is an urban legend that your insurance will be cancelled
> etc.). However, to be safely installed a pro stove needs non flammable
> surfaces in close proximity to the stove with a few inches of clearance
> which you may or may not be able to swing. Also if you plan on blasting
> all burners at the same time, you may have to upgrade the gas line to a
> larger diameter to be able to satisfy the demands of the burners for true
> pro stoves. If you plan on using only a few burners at highest heat,
> this will not be necessary.
>
> Your alternatives are true pro stove (lower dollar, but no broiler and all
> models have only pilots and so waste gas) or semi pro stoves designed for
> the residential market (quite high dollar, lower performance than true
> pro, but have conveniences like broilers, and pilotless ignition). Or
> stoves like the Kenmore elite (one 17500 BTU burner and about the same
> price as true pro ~ $1300-1500) is a middle of the road choice - much of
> the performance of residential pro without bragging rights.

Good analysis of the stove situation and agree that the outdoor turkey fryer
type burners are fantastic for putting out the BTU's for wok cooking, also
boiling large vats of corn, pasta , etc. in summer, plus you don't heat up
your house that way so you save on AC costs. Since you're outdoors, you
don't have to worry about venting, clearance to cabinets, etc. and these
babies really crank out the flames - they sound like jet fighters on
afterburner. This is exactly what you need to get the true "wok hai" or wok
character that comes from really shocking the food with heat instead of
miserably steaming it until it is soggy and limp.

In article >, () wrote:

> On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:32:21 -0600, Joe Doe >:
My model is by King
> >Kooker and has a wind shield but is otherwise similar to the two burner
> >model at:
> >
> >http://www.lalagniappe.com/mall/lobby-camp-stoves.htm.
>
> I'm looking to go the same route as well (now that it's nice enough
> to cook outside), mainly for use with carbon steel woks. The one you
> mentioned is attractive because it's a more usable height (i suppose
> i could build a base if i really wanted to).

I bought one with taller legs because I figured the cost of adding a
table/stable legs would be approximately equal to buying this slightly
more expensive model. They also sell models with permanently welded legs
of even more robust construction. I opted for the camp stove type,
because it can be broken down easily and moved. The King Kooker design
is good because it has "stabilizer bars" that lock and so even though it
is portable it is not flimsy - this was of concern in case I did a
crab/crawfish boil or something with a heavy pot.



> Eastman makes a 'proper height' one as well, the big kahuna, fairly cheap
> (around $50). Cant tell how hot it gets though, 'high btu output' could
> mean anything. Guess I'll send them an email.
>
> http://www.eastmanoutdoors.com/hardware.shtml
>
> Any one have one of these?
>

Do not know much about Eastman, but have seen a few models. In the models
I saw, I think some of the burners looked like low pressure burners
(numerous gas outlets from a ring burner akin to the Big John described
below). Not sure about the relative performance difference.


After I bought mine, I became aware of two other competitors: One is made
by "Camp Chef" I think. The attraction here is they have a dial type
regulator which is akin to normal household stove tops regulators and is
thus more easily adjustable.

The other stove that is relatively interesting is made by "Big John
Grills". This features three concentric rings of burners. The innermost
burner is 10K BTU, the next ring is 20K and the last is 30K. So in
combination you could have upto 60K. You can see a picture of the burner
he

www.bigjohngrills.com/60Burner.html

These models too have three dial type regulators that control the three
rings independently. So it is very adjustable. The downside of this is
that the outer burner is 10" and so is really only suitable for immense
woks. The unit itself is relatively expensive ($295) compared to other
turkey fryers, but chump change compared to residential dedicated wok
burners. But if you want infinite control, this may be the way to go. It
too has extendable legs. I saw one at a local grocery store (Central
Market) when they were celebrating the Chinese New Year and it looked
superficially well constructed.

You can see this at:
http://www.bigjohngrills.com/60I.html

Lastly, you can see the performance of the various stoves that they sell
in terms of a boil test he

http://www.bigjohngrills.com/SBPC.html

You will notice that the SH140L boils 20 quarts of water in only 18
minutes. This stove costs $75. Compare this to the boil times of "high
end residentials" that cost $3000-5000+ and take 18-25 minutes to boil
only 6 quarts of water (whose starting temp was higher). Incidentally,
those levels of heat really are inadequate for true wok cooking except for
miniscule amounts of food.

Roland

In article >, "Jack Denver"
> wrote:


> Good analysis of the stove situation and agree that the outdoor turkey fryer
> type burners are fantastic for putting out the BTU's for wok cooking, also
> boiling large vats of corn, pasta , etc. in summer, plus you don't heat up
> your house that way so you save on AC costs. Since you're outdoors, you
> don't have to worry about venting, clearance to cabinets, etc. and these
> babies really crank out the flames - they sound like jet fighters on
> afterburner.

I agree with you on all the positives. I also had not really anticipated
how easily oil ignites at high heat and from this point of view alone I
prefer doing this cooking outdoors rather than indoors. In fact in Paul
Prudhomme's Louisiana Cooking there is a series of pictures of him making
blacked fish and one picture clearly shows a fire in the pan. When the
butter/oil flares up, I am quite unconcerned outside, but would probably
be nervous indoors. In fact, the small pan fires have served to provide
an "oh wow" moment for my guests!

I had expected the burner to be very loud based on google searches that I
made when I first thought about buying a outdoor propane burner. This is
really only true of jet burners. The jet burners essentially consist of
just an open pipe and burn as much gas as you can feed it. They are
usually advertised as very high BTU 150,000+, usually are very
inefficient, not very regulatable and are now sold mainly for very large
crawfish boil type operations.

Most contemporary turkey fryer type burners are either conical high
pressure burners, ring type high pressure burners or ring type low
pressure burners. None of these are loud. They are also quite
regulatable, more efficient and usually advertised with more modest BTU
(<75,000).


Roland

Can these be adapted to natural gas or is Propane the only way to go?

Regards... Steve


"Joe Doe" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, () wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:32:21 -0600, Joe Doe >:
> My model is by King
> > >Kooker and has a wind shield but is otherwise similar to the two burner
> > >model at:
> > >
> > >http://www.lalagniappe.com/mall/lobby-camp-stoves.htm.
> >
> > I'm looking to go the same route as well (now that it's nice enough
> > to cook outside), mainly for use with carbon steel woks. The one you
> > mentioned is attractive because it's a more usable height (i suppose
> > i could build a base if i really wanted to).
>
> I bought one with taller legs because I figured the cost of adding a
> table/stable legs would be approximately equal to buying this slightly
> more expensive model. They also sell models with permanently welded legs
> of even more robust construction. I opted for the camp stove type,
> because it can be broken down easily and moved. The King Kooker design
> is good because it has "stabilizer bars" that lock and so even though it
> is portable it is not flimsy - this was of concern in case I did a
> crab/crawfish boil or something with a heavy pot.
>
>
>
> > Eastman makes a 'proper height' one as well, the big kahuna, fairly
cheap
> > (around $50). Cant tell how hot it gets though, 'high btu output' could
> > mean anything. Guess I'll send them an email.
> >
> > http://www.eastmanoutdoors.com/hardware.shtml
> >
> > Any one have one of these?
> >
>
> Do not know much about Eastman, but have seen a few models. In the models
> I saw, I think some of the burners looked like low pressure burners
> (numerous gas outlets from a ring burner akin to the Big John described
> below). Not sure about the relative performance difference.
>
>
> After I bought mine, I became aware of two other competitors: One is made
> by "Camp Chef" I think. The attraction here is they have a dial type
> regulator which is akin to normal household stove tops regulators and is
> thus more easily adjustable.
>
> The other stove that is relatively interesting is made by "Big John
> Grills". This features three concentric rings of burners. The innermost
> burner is 10K BTU, the next ring is 20K and the last is 30K. So in
> combination you could have upto 60K. You can see a picture of the burner
> he
>
> www.bigjohngrills.com/60Burner.html
>
> These models too have three dial type regulators that control the three
> rings independently. So it is very adjustable. The downside of this is
> that the outer burner is 10" and so is really only suitable for immense
> woks. The unit itself is relatively expensive ($295) compared to other
> turkey fryers, but chump change compared to residential dedicated wok
> burners. But if you want infinite control, this may be the way to go. It
> too has extendable legs. I saw one at a local grocery store (Central
> Market) when they were celebrating the Chinese New Year and it looked
> superficially well constructed.
>
> You can see this at:
> http://www.bigjohngrills.com/60I.html
>
> Lastly, you can see the performance of the various stoves that they sell
> in terms of a boil test he
>
> http://www.bigjohngrills.com/SBPC.html
>
> You will notice that the SH140L boils 20 quarts of water in only 18
> minutes. This stove costs $75. Compare this to the boil times of "high
> end residentials" that cost $3000-5000+ and take 18-25 minutes to boil
> only 6 quarts of water (whose starting temp was higher). Incidentally,
> those levels of heat really are inadequate for true wok cooking except for
> miniscule amounts of food.
>
> Roland

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 20:22:50 -0600, Joe Doe >:
>I bought one with taller legs because I figured the cost of adding a
>table/stable legs would be approximately equal to buying this slightly
>more expensive model. They also sell models with permanently welded legs
>of even more robust construction. I opted for the camp stove type,
>because it can be broken down easily and moved. The King Kooker design
>is good because it has "stabilizer bars" that lock and so even though it
>is portable it is not flimsy - this was of concern in case I did a
>crab/crawfish boil or something with a heavy pot.

Good info to have, I have an occasional need to boil large amounts of
water for beer brewing.

>> Eastman makes a 'proper height' one as well, the big kahuna, fairly cheap
>> (around $50). Cant tell how hot it gets though, 'high btu output' could
>> mean anything. Guess I'll send them an email.
>>
>> http://www.eastmanoutdoors.com/hardware.shtml
>>
>> Any one have one of these?
>>
>
>Do not know much about Eastman, but have seen a few models. In the models
>I saw, I think some of the burners looked like low pressure burners
>(numerous gas outlets from a ring burner akin to the Big John described
>below). Not sure about the relative performance difference.

Havent heard back from eastman, I guess I can go see if the local
Dick's sporting goods carries them, probably wont help much except
to see them in person

Hard to guess its performance, their turkey burners are 170k.. but why
not advertise the revolution one? If I had to guess probably higher than
what you could get with a residental pro-style range, but not nearly
as high as the other propane ones (say, 30k?)

>After I bought mine, I became aware of two other competitors: One is made
>by "Camp Chef" I think. The attraction here is they have a dial type
>regulator which is akin to normal household stove tops regulators and is
>thus more easily adjustable.
>
>The other stove that is relatively interesting is made by "Big John
>Grills". This features three concentric rings of burners. The innermost
>burner is 10K BTU, the next ring is 20K and the last is 30K. So in
>combination you could have upto 60K. You can see a picture of the burner
>he
>
>www.bigjohngrills.com/60Burner.html

WOW, this does sound tempting.

Does seem a bit pricy, but you're right, chump change when compared
to a fancy wok burners (that dont perform as well, either).


> These models too have three dial type regulators that control the three
>rings independently. So it is very adjustable. The downside of this is
>that the outer burner is 10" and so is really only suitable for immense
>woks. The unit itself is relatively expensive ($295) compared to other
>turkey fryers, but chump change compared to residential dedicated wok
>burners. But if you want infinite control, this may be the way to go. It
>too has extendable legs. I saw one at a local grocery store (Central
>Market) when they were celebrating the Chinese New Year and it looked
>superficially well constructed.
>
>You can see this at:
>http://www.bigjohngrills.com/60I.html
>
>Lastly, you can see the performance of the various stoves that they sell
>in terms of a boil test he
>
>http://www.bigjohngrills.com/SBPC.html
>
>You will notice that the SH140L boils 20 quarts of water in only 18
>minutes. This stove costs $75. Compare this to the boil times of "high
>end residentials" that cost $3000-5000+ and take 18-25 minutes to boil
>only 6 quarts of water (whose starting temp was higher). Incidentally,
>those levels of heat really are inadequate for true wok cooking except for
>miniscule amounts of food.
>
>Roland

On Fri, 5 Mar 2004 22:31:01 +0000 (UTC),
>:
>On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 20:22:50 -0600, Joe Doe >:
>>After I bought mine, I became aware of two other competitors: One is made
>>by "Camp Chef" I think. The attraction here is they have a dial type
>>regulator which is akin to normal household stove tops regulators and is
>>thus more easily adjustable.

One caveat is that it looks like the dial type regulators seems to
be available only for their 30k burners, not that higher ones (75k)

On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:32:21 -0600, (Joe Doe) wrote:

>I recently bought a Cajun burner (turkey fryer) for high heat cooking and
>am ecstatic with it.

>One word of warning: on this high heat, the oil you use can ignite the
>second it hits the pan, it flames out relatively quickly, but you should
>be prepared for it.

>The downside of this approach is that this is only suitable for outside
>cooking.

Yes. A couple years ago a fellow burned down his house. He was frying a
turkey on his porch. (It may have been an enclosed porch.) He was out in
the yard chatting over the fence with a neighbor. The oil overflowed. It
caught on fire. The pot melted and dumped burning oil all over. Then the
fire burned the valve of the gas tank and the gas squirted out burning. The
fire started so fast his family had to climb out the bathroom window on the
other side of it. I may have some details wrong, but is went something like
this.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

The outdoor stoves generally come set up for propane but if you knew what
you were doing you could drill out the orifices to nat. gas. size.

Here is a "how to" on converting a grill from propane to NG, the burners
would basically be the same procedure, though not necessarily the same drill
sizes.

http://www.komar.org/bbq/mm/convert/




"STEVEN STEIN" > wrote in message
...
> Can these be adapted to natural gas or is Propane the only way to go?
>
> Regards... Steve
>
>
> "Joe Doe" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >, ()
wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:32:21 -0600, Joe Doe >:
> > My model is by King
> > > >Kooker and has a wind shield but is otherwise similar to the two
burner
> > > >model at:
> > > >
> > > >http://www.lalagniappe.com/mall/lobby-camp-stoves.htm.
> > >
> > > I'm looking to go the same route as well (now that it's nice enough
> > > to cook outside), mainly for use with carbon steel woks. The one you
> > > mentioned is attractive because it's a more usable height (i suppose
> > > i could build a base if i really wanted to).
> >
> > I bought one with taller legs because I figured the cost of adding a
> > table/stable legs would be approximately equal to buying this slightly
> > more expensive model. They also sell models with permanently welded
legs
> > of even more robust construction. I opted for the camp stove type,
> > because it can be broken down easily and moved. The King Kooker design
> > is good because it has "stabilizer bars" that lock and so even though it
> > is portable it is not flimsy - this was of concern in case I did a
> > crab/crawfish boil or something with a heavy pot.
> >
> >
> >
> > > Eastman makes a 'proper height' one as well, the big kahuna, fairly
> cheap
> > > (around $50). Cant tell how hot it gets though, 'high btu output'
could
> > > mean anything. Guess I'll send them an email.
> > >
> > > http://www.eastmanoutdoors.com/hardware.shtml
> > >
> > > Any one have one of these?
> > >
> >
> > Do not know much about Eastman, but have seen a few models. In the
models
> > I saw, I think some of the burners looked like low pressure burners
> > (numerous gas outlets from a ring burner akin to the Big John described
> > below). Not sure about the relative performance difference.
> >
> >
> > After I bought mine, I became aware of two other competitors: One is
made
> > by "Camp Chef" I think. The attraction here is they have a dial type
> > regulator which is akin to normal household stove tops regulators and is
> > thus more easily adjustable.
> >
> > The other stove that is relatively interesting is made by "Big John
> > Grills". This features three concentric rings of burners. The
innermost
> > burner is 10K BTU, the next ring is 20K and the last is 30K. So in
> > combination you could have upto 60K. You can see a picture of the
burner
> > he
> >
> > www.bigjohngrills.com/60Burner.html
> >
> > These models too have three dial type regulators that control the
three
> > rings independently. So it is very adjustable. The downside of this is
> > that the outer burner is 10" and so is really only suitable for immense
> > woks. The unit itself is relatively expensive ($295) compared to other
> > turkey fryers, but chump change compared to residential dedicated wok
> > burners. But if you want infinite control, this may be the way to go.
It
> > too has extendable legs. I saw one at a local grocery store (Central
> > Market) when they were celebrating the Chinese New Year and it looked
> > superficially well constructed.
> >
> > You can see this at:
> > http://www.bigjohngrills.com/60I.html
> >
> > Lastly, you can see the performance of the various stoves that they sell
> > in terms of a boil test he
> >
> > http://www.bigjohngrills.com/SBPC.html
> >
> > You will notice that the SH140L boils 20 quarts of water in only 18
> > minutes. This stove costs $75. Compare this to the boil times of "high
> > end residentials" that cost $3000-5000+ and take 18-25 minutes to boil
> > only 6 quarts of water (whose starting temp was higher). Incidentally,
> > those levels of heat really are inadequate for true wok cooking except
for
> > miniscule amounts of food.
> >
> > Roland
>
>

On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 14:58:06 +0000, STEVEN STEIN wrote:
> Can these be adapted to natural gas or is Propane the only way to go?

If you've ever used one, you'll have noticed that instead of the
more common low pressure fixed regulator followed by a simple valve,
they use an adjustable regulator to get the necessary high pressure.
They could be adapted, but they require a much higher gas pressure
than the usual home appliances. Your natural regulator belongs to the
gas company, so it isn't a do-it-yourself proposition, like hooking
up a cooktop or converting a gas barbecue.

I'm sure your gas company or qualified contractor would be happy to
tell you if it's possible (I don't know whether the street pressure
is high enough before it hits your house regulator. Probably, at
least in some areas; some people run home kilns), if it's legal,
and what you'd have to do to install the necessary line.

Under the circumstances, unless you do a _lot_ of wokking, you might
think about deciding that propane is _exactly_ what you had in mind.

Martin
--
"A slipping gear could let your grenade launcher fire unexpectedly.
That would make you unpopular in what's left of your unit."

Not all the outdoor burners are high pressure - the cheap ones that claim a
100k+ btus are, but there are low pressure types also that would (with the
right orifices) run off normal regulated house gas pressure. Agree though
that it's usually easier just to hook up that off the shelf propane tank
than it is to go thru all the plumbing & retrofitting needed just for a
turkey burner you will use once in a while.


"Martin Golding" > wrote in message
news
> On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 14:58:06 +0000, STEVEN STEIN wrote:
> > Can these be adapted to natural gas or is Propane the only way to go?
>
> If you've ever used one, you'll have noticed that instead of the
> more common low pressure fixed regulator followed by a simple valve,
> they use an adjustable regulator to get the necessary high pressure.
> They could be adapted, but they require a much higher gas pressure
> than the usual home appliances. Your natural regulator belongs to the
> gas company, so it isn't a do-it-yourself proposition, like hooking
> up a cooktop or converting a gas barbecue.
>
> I'm sure your gas company or qualified contractor would be happy to
> tell you if it's possible (I don't know whether the street pressure
> is high enough before it hits your house regulator. Probably, at
> least in some areas; some people run home kilns), if it's legal,
> and what you'd have to do to install the necessary line.
>
> Under the circumstances, unless you do a _lot_ of wokking, you might
> think about deciding that propane is _exactly_ what you had in mind.
>
> Martin
> --
> "A slipping gear could let your grenade launcher fire unexpectedly.
> That would make you unpopular in what's left of your unit."
>

Lesson: when they say that something is an outdoor cooking appliance, they
mean outdoors, under the sky, not on a porch or balcony, not in your garage,
not within 6 feet of your house, etc. It is especially important that the
propane tanks (anything larger than 1lb.) never be brought indoors for
storage or any purpose. Also, never leave a vat of hot grease unattended and
always have a fire extinguisher nearby. If you do enough stupid things all
at once you can burn your house down no problem.





"Don Wiss" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:32:21 -0600, (Joe Doe) wrote:
>
> >I recently bought a Cajun burner (turkey fryer) for high heat cooking and
> >am ecstatic with it.
>
> >One word of warning: on this high heat, the oil you use can ignite the
> >second it hits the pan, it flames out relatively quickly, but you should
> >be prepared for it.
>
> >The downside of this approach is that this is only suitable for outside
> >cooking.
>
> Yes. A couple years ago a fellow burned down his house. He was frying a
> turkey on his porch. (It may have been an enclosed porch.) He was out in
> the yard chatting over the fence with a neighbor. The oil overflowed. It
> caught on fire. The pot melted and dumped burning oil all over. Then the
> fire burned the valve of the gas tank and the gas squirted out burning.
The
> fire started so fast his family had to climb out the bathroom window on
the
> other side of it. I may have some details wrong, but is went something
like
> this.
>
> Don <donwiss at panix.com>.