Can I Buy a Heatstick?

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larrynoz

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First post so go easy. I'm not the DIY kind of guy so I bought a 1000w 120v bucket heater (Marshalltown 742G Bucket Water Heater) but I'm not thrilled with it.

I'm doing ~4 gallon boils on my crappy gas stove top. It doesn't do a good job of keeping a roiling boil. The heating element seems to switch on and off because all of a sudden the wort will boil really good and hard and then die down, then boil really good, the die down etc. I have it plugged into a GFCI thing if that matters.

I would like to be able to do bigger boils on my stovetop so I thought a proper heatstick would be the way to go. Any suggestions?
 
does it have a thermostat or other control that is shutting it down near boiling temps?
 
That could be it, thanks Bobby M. Maybe I'll try to wrap the top in tin foil or something.

It also has a third prong (can't really see it in the photo) that goes down the heating element about half way and then just stops. It has a point on the end. I assumed this was the safety feature and if the water got below the level of the third prong it would shut off but I actually never tested it to see if that's what it actually does. I'll try that too. I looked but couldn't find any info about what the safety feature actually is.

Thanks for the ideas.
 
amazon said:
This heater is designed to safely and rapidly heat water temperature to 100 F
Click to expand...

This item is not designed to boil water... I think your asking more of it than it will handle.
 
I know but I'm using it to supplement my gas burner and it works really well for a little while and then shuts off.

How would I go about disabling the thermostat? I obviously don't want to open it up and start messing around. I can only come up with one solution, cover it with tin foil which is obviously my answer to all problems...and duct tape.
 
Yes you can.
Google "Immersion heater" and surf around.
you can pay anywhere from $150 to $300 for an inexpensive one. Lots of places only make 'em to order.
 
Yeah, it's a bit pricey. I made mine for around $30-35, but that was ages ago. I assume it would be closer to $50 or $75 nowadays
 
Made mine about a month ago - followed directions here on HBT - was very fearful of the electric death - just move slow and ask questions if you need to:

http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm

I had nothing to start with - single most expensive item was 12GA electric cord (highly reccomended!) at $20

Total cost = $59 from Home Depot

Totsiens
 
Thanks for all the great info. I'm worried about electrocuting myself but I'm also worried about doing damage to the electrical system in my house. It was built in the 1950s so I don't know how great the wiring is.

I don't know if I have a 20 amp circuit. Is this what most houses have?

I'm at work but I can check when I get home. It should say it on the circuit breaker right?

I probably only need a 1500w or a 2000w one. Is this too much for a normal house to handle?
 
I would assume a 15 amp circuit, and even then you might trip your breaker if you run anywhere near 15 because you likely have plenty of other devices on that circuit (refrigerator for example). You could use a 240v 4000watt element and run it at 120v for 1000watts and 8.4amps. It should be enough to supplement your flame.
 
The worries I'd have in a home over 40 years old, would be that the wiring in the walls might not handle the capacity of the fuse or breaker in the basement. Discarding that though, you can go into your fusebox and look at the Amp rating of the circuits where you brew.
 
The description says it heats to 100˚ in one place and then 150˚ + in another place. My guess is it has a thermostat and the boil is shutting it off. You might be able to defeat the thermostat but then you are getting into DIY territory, and the reat of the heater may not be able to take the heat, although you say you are using it in a boil currently.
Reading the reviews it looks like people use it to approach boil faster, which would be different from maintaining a boil. If you can figure out a way to use it beyond that, you will have found an inexpensive heat stick without using jb weld and drain pipe.
 
Has anyone ever tried one of these: 3500w Heatstick

The price is right but I think it might be overkill for my needs. Again, I'm worried about what my electrical system can handle.

Could I swap out the 3500w heating element for a 1000w one?
 
larrynoz said:
Has anyone ever tried one of these: 3500w Heatstick

The price is right but I think it might be overkill for my needs. Again, I'm worried about what my electrical system can handle.

Could I swap out the 3500w heating element for a 1000w one?
Click to expand...

No, probably not, but you could swap out the 240v end for a 120v end and run it at a lower wattage... about 1000 watts
 
That heatstick is scary; all it appears to be is an element connected to a 3-prong dryer cord, with heat shrink tubing over the element base.

I have no idea how they expect that to be safe to submerge; maybe there is more to it than that, but the small picture has me "iffy" to say the least.

My .02



larrynoz said:
Has anyone ever tried one of these: 3500w Heatstick

The price is right but I think it might be overkill for my needs. Again, I'm worried about what my electrical system can handle.

Could I swap out the 3500w heating element for a 1000w one?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to everyone for their responses. I think for the time being I'll stick to perfecting my current method of ~4 gallon boils before moving into bigger batches. I am going to buy another boil kettle though, and either do two separate mashes to get two 3 gallon batches on brew day or maybe experiment with a part-gyle.

Cheers!
 
I use the allied bucket heater for my electric HLT... it does a good job of getting temps 150-170 and it was only 30 bucks...
 
larrynoz said:
First post so go easy. I'm not the DIY kind of guy so I bought a 1000w 120v bucket heater (Marshalltown 742G Bucket Water Heater) but I'm not thrilled with it.

I'm doing ~4 gallon boils on my crappy gas stove top. It doesn't do a good job of keeping a roiling boil. The heating element seems to switch on and off because all of a sudden the wort will boil really good and hard and then die down, then boil really good, the die down etc. I have it plugged into a GFCI thing if that matters.

I would like to be able to do bigger boils on my stovetop so I thought a proper heatstick would be the way to go. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I just bought one of these, and was examining, when crap came off on my finger (residue from a solder or weld) and I called Allied Precision Industries, the manufacturer, and was told it was probably not OK to use for food-grade stuff - their reasoning being that the weld/solder/whatever was not cleared by USDA or something like that.

Do beer nerds generally think it's safe or probably not?
 
I use one of the Allied bucket heaters to heat water in my HLT. It will bring the water to a boil, but it's not a very strong boil. The rod extending down alongside the heating element is a thermostat probe. It's designed to shut off if the heater should the water level drop too low. The ads claiming 100F or 150F temps are relative to using the heater in an ordinary uninsulated plastic bucket outdoors in colder weather. The heater can't keep up with the heat losses using only a bucket. My HLT is an Ice Cube cooler with foam insulation injected into the lid, so the heat loss is much less. It takes a long time to raise 12 gallons to boiling in this HLT. Usually about 4 hours or so. I have it rigged to a timer and set it up the night before brew day so it's ready when I am. IMO, not enough power to use in a BK, but works very well as I use it in my HLT. I'm on propane for the boil and direct firing the RIMS. The bucket heater is a time saver and I have enough water heated for both the strike and the sparge. The Allied bucket heater cannot be completely submerged. The users guide says to avoid submerging the plastic handle. Fortunately, in my cooler, the guard on the heater keeps the element off the bottom, away from the sides and the plastic handle is just above the maximum water level that I can put in the cooler.
 
Catt22 said:
I use one of the Allied bucket heaters to heat water in my HLT. It will bring the water to a boil, but it's not a very strong boil. The rod extending down alongside the heating element is a thermostat probe. It's designed to shut off if the heater should the water level drop too low. The ads claiming 100F or 150F temps are relative to using the heater in an ordinary uninsulated plastic bucket outdoors in colder weather. The heater can't keep up with the heat losses using only a bucket. My HLT is an Ice Cube cooler with foam insulation injected into the lid, so the heat loss is much less. It takes a long time to raise 12 gallons to boiling in this HLT. Usually about 4 hours or so. I have it rigged to a timer and set it up the night before brew day so it's ready when I am. IMO, not enough power to use in a BK, but works very well as I use it in my HLT. I'm on propane for the boil and direct firing the RIMS. The bucket heater is a time saver and I have enough water heated for both the strike and the sparge. The Allied bucket heater cannot be completely submerged. The users guide says to avoid submerging the plastic handle. Fortunately, in my cooler, the guard on the heater keeps the element off the bottom, away from the sides and the plastic handle is just above the maximum water level that I can put in the cooler.
Click to expand...

Hi, did you ever check to make sure it was OK for brewing, meaning, won't leach lead from solder or something like that?

Thanks
 
chokeme said:
Hi, did you ever check to make sure it was OK for brewing, meaning, won't leach lead from solder or something like that?

Thanks
Click to expand...

There's nowhere to check. It's not NFS certified AFAIK. The protective shield is SS and I have not noticed any corrosion anywhere on it and I've been using it for awhile. The only metal parts in contact with the water are the heating element and the SS shield. I think the element is copper, but I'm not sure about that. I don't see anything soldered on it anywhere. These are often used to de-ice stock water tanks and such in a farm or ranch setting, so I would think if it's safe for a cow it should also be safe for us talking apes.
 
Heat sticks certainly have their place, but it seems that for a lot of people, it might be easier and cheaper to simply purchase a propane tank and burner.
 
gfyrasng said:
Heat sticks certainly have their place, but it seems that for a lot of people, it might be easier and cheaper to simply purchase a propane tank and burner.
Click to expand...

Not for people that want to brew inside the comfort of their air-conditioned kitchen.
 

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