The Burner Mounts / Windscreens
Introduction
Using automation for a low pressure gas system that requires a pilot on an outdoor setup has the unique problem of the possibility of the wind blowing out the pilot light. Thanks to our nice VR8200 valves, at least we won’t blow anything up, but we may end up coming to check on our mash or boil and finding it way under temperature and no fire to speak of. So, to combat the wind, a windscreen is used. Since we are putting a solid piece of sheet metal around the burner, why not integrate the mounting of the burner into the windscreen? Made sense to me. In fact, after doing some looking online, there is a commercial off the shelf piece that is made for this very purpose. I ordered two, happy to not have to rig up something on my own, only to get an email a few weeks later saying that they were out of stock and backordered for at least another three weeks. Not being patient, I cancelled the order and made up my own.
Prep work
Going to need some stuff from HD or Lowes again. I bought a piece of sheet steel, 24” x 36” x 26 gauge zinc plated. Also needed are 8 1/4"-20 x 1.5" zinc plated hex bolts, 16 1/4” zinc plated hex nuts, 16 1/4" lock washers, a pair of tin snips, a rivet gun, and a package of 1/8” pop rivets with 1/8” grip length. Tin snips are not really the tool for this job. The right tool is a shear that would be found in a sheet metal shop. Short of having access to one of these (and if you do I suggest you use it), tin snips are your best bet. Measure out and cut 8 pieces that are 11” x 4”. You are going to be building a square that is 11” on each side. Also, measure out and cut 8 pieces that are 1” x 3”. Be careful – the metal will be jagged and razor sharp at the cut lines.
If you choose, you can do 2 pieces that are 22” x 4”, bend them to make an L shape that has 11” legs, and make the windscreen from two pieces instead of four, or you can do one piece that is 44” x 4” and just bend it at 11” increments to make the square. Totally up to you, I made it from 4 pieces because I didn’t think of making it out of 2 pieces until after I made it. Home Depot didn’t carry metal bigger than 36” so making it from one piece isn’t even a retrofit option for me unless I seek out bigger sheet stock. I may one day (and use a proper shear to cut it), but for now I am sticking with what I have.
Build out
Take four of the 11” x 4” pieces and four of the 1” x 3” straps. On the four bigger pieces, we will be drilling a few .25” holes. Two on each piece, both dead center along the long side of the piece. One is down .75” from the top, the other is up 1” from the bottom. If you elect to center punch these holes, take caution. This sheet steel is not like the steel you used for your stand. This will bend and deform very easily. If you center punch, do so lightly.
After drilling the holes here, head over to your stand with your square (or tape measure). Mark holes at each of the burner locations, 1” down from the top, centered. So on the cross beams it will be 6.5” from either intercostal, and on the intercostals it will be 6” from either cross beam. Drill and tap these holes to 1/4"-20 threads.
Take the 1” x 3” pieces and bend them at a 90 degree angle to form an L. These pieces will go in each of the lower four corners of your sheet metal square. Put down a piece of wood, and taking one big piece of windscreen and one of the small Ls, put one leg of the L on the windscreen, making sure that the other leg lines up with the edge of the big piece. Drill a .125” hole thru both pieces. Put a rivet thru the hole and then using the rivet gun compress the rivet. This will attach the small L to the larger piece. Grab another larger piece and attach the other leg of the L to this. Continue until you have your square built up.
After you have the square built up, bring it over to the stand. It’s easier to put the windscreen on the stand first then mount the burner to it. Get one of the hex bolts, 2 lock washers, and 2 hex nuts. Put the bolt thru the top hole, then a lock washer, then both nuts, then the other lock washer. Now screw this into one of the holes you drilled and tapped in the stand. Repeat for the other 3 holes. Don’t adjust the nuts yet.
Grab your burner, and take the 4 M6 hex screws out of the burner lugs. Put the burner into the windscreen, and align the holes in the lugs with the holes in the screen. Make sure that the tail of the burner is back and towards the center of the stand. It needs to be at a 45 degree angle for the holes on the lugs to align with the holes in the screen. Once aligned, put the M6 screws that you removed from the burner thru the holes in the screen and into the burner lugs.
After these are in, it’s time to adjust the nuts on the hex bolts. Screw in the hex bolts until the screen seems vertical. On the sides this will be about 1” from the stand, front and back this will be about .5”. Once there, tighten the nut closest to the screen all the way down to the screen. Then tighten the other nut all the way down to the stand. The lock washers will prevent them from loosening up. Your burner should now be in tight, and your windscreen should be in place all the way around it.
Using automation for a low pressure gas system that requires a pilot on an outdoor setup has the unique problem of the possibility of the wind blowing out the pilot light. Thanks to our nice VR8200 valves, at least we won’t blow anything up, but we may end up coming to check on our mash or boil and finding it way under temperature and no fire to speak of. So, to combat the wind, a windscreen is used. Since we are putting a solid piece of sheet metal around the burner, why not integrate the mounting of the burner into the windscreen? Made sense to me. In fact, after doing some looking online, there is a commercial off the shelf piece that is made for this very purpose. I ordered two, happy to not have to rig up something on my own, only to get an email a few weeks later saying that they were out of stock and backordered for at least another three weeks. Not being patient, I cancelled the order and made up my own.
Prep work
Going to need some stuff from HD or Lowes again. I bought a piece of sheet steel, 24” x 36” x 26 gauge zinc plated. Also needed are 8 1/4"-20 x 1.5" zinc plated hex bolts, 16 1/4” zinc plated hex nuts, 16 1/4" lock washers, a pair of tin snips, a rivet gun, and a package of 1/8” pop rivets with 1/8” grip length. Tin snips are not really the tool for this job. The right tool is a shear that would be found in a sheet metal shop. Short of having access to one of these (and if you do I suggest you use it), tin snips are your best bet. Measure out and cut 8 pieces that are 11” x 4”. You are going to be building a square that is 11” on each side. Also, measure out and cut 8 pieces that are 1” x 3”. Be careful – the metal will be jagged and razor sharp at the cut lines.
If you choose, you can do 2 pieces that are 22” x 4”, bend them to make an L shape that has 11” legs, and make the windscreen from two pieces instead of four, or you can do one piece that is 44” x 4” and just bend it at 11” increments to make the square. Totally up to you, I made it from 4 pieces because I didn’t think of making it out of 2 pieces until after I made it. Home Depot didn’t carry metal bigger than 36” so making it from one piece isn’t even a retrofit option for me unless I seek out bigger sheet stock. I may one day (and use a proper shear to cut it), but for now I am sticking with what I have.
Build out
Take four of the 11” x 4” pieces and four of the 1” x 3” straps. On the four bigger pieces, we will be drilling a few .25” holes. Two on each piece, both dead center along the long side of the piece. One is down .75” from the top, the other is up 1” from the bottom. If you elect to center punch these holes, take caution. This sheet steel is not like the steel you used for your stand. This will bend and deform very easily. If you center punch, do so lightly.
After drilling the holes here, head over to your stand with your square (or tape measure). Mark holes at each of the burner locations, 1” down from the top, centered. So on the cross beams it will be 6.5” from either intercostal, and on the intercostals it will be 6” from either cross beam. Drill and tap these holes to 1/4"-20 threads.
Take the 1” x 3” pieces and bend them at a 90 degree angle to form an L. These pieces will go in each of the lower four corners of your sheet metal square. Put down a piece of wood, and taking one big piece of windscreen and one of the small Ls, put one leg of the L on the windscreen, making sure that the other leg lines up with the edge of the big piece. Drill a .125” hole thru both pieces. Put a rivet thru the hole and then using the rivet gun compress the rivet. This will attach the small L to the larger piece. Grab another larger piece and attach the other leg of the L to this. Continue until you have your square built up.
After you have the square built up, bring it over to the stand. It’s easier to put the windscreen on the stand first then mount the burner to it. Get one of the hex bolts, 2 lock washers, and 2 hex nuts. Put the bolt thru the top hole, then a lock washer, then both nuts, then the other lock washer. Now screw this into one of the holes you drilled and tapped in the stand. Repeat for the other 3 holes. Don’t adjust the nuts yet.
Grab your burner, and take the 4 M6 hex screws out of the burner lugs. Put the burner into the windscreen, and align the holes in the lugs with the holes in the screen. Make sure that the tail of the burner is back and towards the center of the stand. It needs to be at a 45 degree angle for the holes on the lugs to align with the holes in the screen. Once aligned, put the M6 screws that you removed from the burner thru the holes in the screen and into the burner lugs.
After these are in, it’s time to adjust the nuts on the hex bolts. Screw in the hex bolts until the screen seems vertical. On the sides this will be about 1” from the stand, front and back this will be about .5”. Once there, tighten the nut closest to the screen all the way down to the screen. Then tighten the other nut all the way down to the stand. The lock washers will prevent them from loosening up. Your burner should now be in tight, and your windscreen should be in place all the way around it.
One of the corners showing the corner 1"x3" clip riveted in. You are looking at the tails of the rivets in this shot. The other rivets over on the right are from the pilot assembly attaching strap that I made.
Here you can see the overall burner mount/windscreen and how it sits in the cavity in the stand. The tail of the burner is going out the back of the stand and is toward the center of the stand. This is the RH burner (looking at the front of the stand), so bottom in the photo is the RH end of the stand, top is toward the center of the stand.
Stackup of the attachments that are common to the stand and the burner mount/windscreen. Typical at all 4 fasteners. 1/4-20 hex bolt thru the sheet metal, 1/4 lock washer, 1/4 nut, 1/4 nut, lock washer, threaded into the stand. It takes a little playing with to get it all lined up right, but having the adjustment is worth it so that you get a custom fit (in case your opening isn't exact).