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Cookware

Wok Burner Advice

Bada Bing | Jul 15, 201107:07 AM     30

I'd like a wok burner set-up that will work with my current wok, a carbon steel unit that I bought in San Francisco Chinatown over 20 years ago, and I really like it. It's 14" across the top, and it has a flat bottom about 6" wide. (I know that round bottom woks might be ideal, but I'm supposing that my current one is probably good enough.)

I have read a number of CH threads on the topic of outdoor burners for use with woks, and those threads leave me with a few conclusions and some questions. My conclusions are:

--that a propane set-up is best for me, for higher power than the smaller butane ones.
--that people vary widely in how to assess the needed BTUs. Where a stovetop gas range might have about 15K BTU, outdoor cookers range anywhere from 30K-120K+.
--I hear that a set-up with some kind of wind guard for the flame is useful.

My questions:

-I'm aware of some very high power units (say, Bayou Classic KAB4), but it seems that many of these bigger units have quite wide burner rings and are aimed primarily at heating large pots of water (or oil, as for turkey frying). Does anyone know what I should look for in the gas flame width to work optimally for a wok?
--Does anyone here have experience with a propane burner not being powerful enough for high-heat cooking (say, that can make the oil flame up, as is sometimes desired?) If a 60K BTU unit is just fine, I don't want to get hung up on getting bigger numbers.

Thanks for any tips!

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