Actually no...I made a heatstick for about $20. The towel is over the top to help keep in some heat. It takes about 1.5 hours to get 7 gallons of water to about 180*F. I fill it first thing and get it going while I'm getting everything else ready to go cleaning and sanitation wise.
It would be easy to mount a burner and run the gas lines if I wanted to. However, this way I can plug the heastick into a Ranco ETC 111000 and let it turn the stick on and off as it needs to. You could do this with gas but it would need a few more parts and will cost a bit more.
That element is much larger than the one I was able to use. I had to use a 15A 1500V element. Otherwise I would be flipping breakers and burning down houses possibly. I'm thinking of wrapping the keg in ducting insulation to help maintain the heat and to speed it up a bit. I don't really mind the wait since it allows me some time to get some other things ready.
Collins... hey, no problem! My heffe has been in the bottles for 2 weeks, that was my first brew on my stand too. It is awsesome! 79% eff and I had about 79% attenuation too. I am brewing a Helles lager in a cpl weeks on it. I will have more pics to post and some commentary. Take care, glad I could give you some ideas, happy brewing!
My Brewstand (thanks Pol!)
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