jerrodm

Recipes 

Also, if Airborne does decide to off himself, I'm calling dibs on his equipment. ;-)

__________________
For they garner the succulent berries of the hop and mass and sift and bruise and brew them and they mix therewith sour juices and bring the must to the sacred fire and cease not night or day from their toil, those cunning brothers, lords of the vat. -James Joyce

On deck: Orange Cranberry Wit, Dusseldorf Altbier
Primary: Belgian Partigyle Tripel/Saison, 1/1
Secondary: none
Bottles: Northern Brown Ale, 1/10; English IPA, 12/31; Cider, 12/9; White House Honey Ale AG, 12/9;

Shooter

Recipes 

It might be able to maintain a five gallon boil. The bigger issue is getting up to boil. As you note, you used two heat sticks and the stove burner to do that.

__________________
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. - C. S. Lewis, English essayist & juvenile novelist (1898 - 1963)

Airborneguy

Recipes 

It worked by the way. I just got finished testing it out. I'm going to add more epoxy to some spots though and let it cure more before using it next week.

__________________
Fermentor(s):
Lagering:
Kegged: Unintentional Sour Brown
Bottled:
Tapped: Midnight Wheat
Up Next: IPA

Reading: 100 Battles

Airborneguy

Recipes 

Ok, take that back, it DIDN'T WORK. Well sort of. Some how the damn thing worked and I didn't get electrocuted, nor did the socket trip. BUT, when I went to take it out of the bucket, I heard something and noticed that the stick was much heavier than when I put it in. The damn thing was nearly FULL of water! How the hell the water didn't get to the wires I'll never know. I'm going to take the whole thing about and re-weld it with actual JB Weld. The guy at Home Depot told me the Goop stuff I bought was the same thing. Yeah, guess not.

__________________
Fermentor(s):
Lagering:
Kegged: Unintentional Sour Brown
Bottled:
Tapped: Midnight Wheat
Up Next: IPA

Reading: 100 Battles

Airborneguy

Recipes 

Now you guys who have seen my past posts in this section know why I was so serious about not doing this myself.

__________________
Fermentor(s):
Lagering:
Kegged: Unintentional Sour Brown
Bottled:
Tapped: Midnight Wheat
Up Next: IPA

Reading: 100 Battles

ThreeDogsNE

Recipes 

I have 4 1500 watt heatsticks. I used to use them to boil 12 gallons or so, brewing 10 gallon batches. I used JB weld on the back of the element, then some RTV silicone caulk liberally on the front after they were mounted in the drain pipe. They have plenty of brews on them, and the caulk has gone from colorless to light brown, but is has never leaked. You just need to give it about a week to cure before using it unless you're brewing a sour beer, as it gives off a vinegar aroma.

I was convinced they had to have 12 gauge wire. The extension cords I used were probably the biggest expense of the project.

Airborneguy

Recipes 

Question: I'm going to re-weld this thing tomorrow with JB weld, like I should have originally. Should I peel the off the other stuff or can I go over it?

__________________
Fermentor(s):
Lagering:
Kegged: Unintentional Sour Brown
Bottled:
Tapped: Midnight Wheat
Up Next: IPA

Reading: 100 Battles

kpr121

Recipes 

You should get that thing cleaned up as much as possible. In fact it might be wise to scrap any pieces that have that goop stuff on it and replace with new pieces so that you are ensuring that the JB Weld adheres/bonds to the piece itself instead of the goop which may or may not be bonded.

Oh and I believes this is the first time this has been said:
GFCI!

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Primary: Two Hearted Ale (3/31/13 - WLP029 and Bells Strain), Elin (Blonde Pale) (2/23 - US05), Brown Trout Stout (2/23)
Kegged: Elin (Blonde Pale) (2/23), Brown Trout Stout (2/23), Miller Lite Clone (1/18), Apfelwein (12/31/12), Pliny Clone (12/28),
Bottled: Brown Trout Stout (2/23), Blueberry Brandy (12/31), Sterling Cream (12/1/12), Baby Day Mead 2012, Amarone 2011
Bulk Aging: Amarone 2012 (11/6/12), Grape Mead (2/12/12)
Up Next: ???? Suggestions?

Lou1998

Recipes 

I use two 1500w heatsticks for my 5 gallon batches and it works great. I get a steady rolling boil in my kettle and don't need to use a stove. Just be sure to plug them into separate circuits on separate breakers.
I saw another website that recommended you use acetone to thin out the JB weld and then pour it into the heatstick so it completely covers the element connections. I did this and it worked really well. It will just take longer to cure and you have to make sure to keep the heatstick in one place so the JB weld won't run out.

ChuckO

Recipes 

Don't thin the JB Weld too much. It tends to shrink and crack if it's thinned very much.