re: 2 sack crawfish boiler?

I think I paid $1800 for my first pot with a dump basket. Could do 3 sacks at a time. But it had a pot cooler on it too. I traded it to a buddy and bought one without a dump basket. It has a steaming rack though Give Cary a call; he will build you whatever you want

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Its a great cooker.

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Didn't say it wasn't. Looks awesome.

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Ill take a good cooker over a shitty one with a dump basket.

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I don't really think any of the 3 main cookers we're talking about here are "shitty."

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How often do you bowl multiple sacks of crawfish without someone who can help lift a basket?

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Not really sure why that's relevant, but sure.

2022 breakdown

5 sack boil - 1 time
4 sack boil - 1 time
3 sack boils - 1 time
2 sack boils - 7 times
1 sack boils - 9 times

I boil a shite ton of crawfish. Every. Single. Year. I've always boiled two sacks at a time using two pots and rigs like the one you posted.

End of 2021, bad car accident. Hurt my back. Everyone always told me that with as much as I boil, that I should invest in a multiple sack boiler. After throwing my back out on the last boil of 2022, I decided they were right.

That's why I'm here. Some people spend their money on cars, some on boats, some on off road vehicles...me, I boil crawfish.

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Did you decide on which one you're going to buy?

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Not yet. The Gator Pot uses jet burners and the others use "ring" burners. I'm not sure which is better. Also, still waiting to hear back from Gatorpots.

There are some BTU numbers and "time to boil" numbers thrown around, but it's hard to decipher.

I wish there were some side by side comparisons.

"IF" the boil times are correct and the BTU's are correct, the best bang for the buck would seem to be the Hughes pot.

High Performance Cookers in Covington has some great stuff. Anything from small turkey/fish fryers to 600qt commercial cookers. Give them a call.

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I checked out their website though. You would think that with jet burners and no heat shield/wind shield covering the sides of the burners that it would lose a ton of heat and not get water boiling too fast....

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I can bring my pot with 20 gallons of water to a boil in 7-8 minutes. Once you boil crawfish with the scoop net method you probably won’t use the dump basket. You can control the spice and flavor to different levels with one batch; simply take out what you want and let the rest soak. 3 scoops with the net can retrieve a sack of crawfish. The only time I used the dump basket was to boil shrimp. I boil in plain water, dump them, season water and return for the soak. The steaming rack is nice too for royal reds and crab legs during down season.

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Who can afford crawfish this year?

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Crawfish farmers AKA

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OT ballers

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OP I bought a Venable when I first constructed my crawfish ponds over a decade ago. Boil at least a dozen times or so every season and it was a great investment that makes the boils quick, easy and pretty quiet compared to my old double jet burner. I also use a scoop net most of the time and rarely tip out the dump basket anymore unless we are boiling several sacks in rapid succession.

When I had mine built, they were not $3k but still pricey. Haven't had to replace anything but a damaged gas pressure gauge (due to rough handling), but parts are available in Rayne for any issues that may happen to occur. I can vouch for their other crawfish products that they make there as I use a few different pieces of Venable built equipment daily.

I haven't personally used a Hughes boiler, but their agriculture products that they build are legit and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them in Jennings. Post up with your impressions after your first boil with your new setup.

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I also boil a lot of crawfish and as it sits, I just have one big pot and a double jet burner with a "custom" regulator setup. I have contemplated buying a rig like one of these in this thread before, but I always felt like it would be cumbersome and difficult to clean. I think one of the positives of boiling with a pot is you can just turn it over on its side and hose it out. Anybody got any insight on cleaning one of these bigger, expensive rigs?

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Boiled with a setup exactly like yours for decades before getting my Venable. Only difference was that I used either an 80 qt or 120 qt pot, sometimes both pots, depending on what we were boiling or the amounts of crawfish.

Cleaning the Venable boiler is a breeze. No lifting of a heavy hot pot off of a burner anymore to carry it out into the yard to dump out. Just roll it to a ditch or area where I don't want grass to grow and open the ball valve to drain. Afterwards, I tilt out the basket, prop up the side opposite of drain valve with a block or brick and rinse tank and basket off with a water hose.

I have a cheap stiff bristled brush that I use to get seasoning etc. off but a trick I use if no brush is to use one of the old crawfish sacks folded up as a scrub pad. Does a good job of removing caked on ingredients in nooks and crannies before a final rinse with the hose. Works as good or better than those plastic scouring pads IMO.

First you get the boiler, then you get the crawfish, then you get the women.

LINK

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I have been satisfied for several years with the performance of the boiler and it will last me a lifetime.

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You using the propane version or natural gas?