My latest Brew Kettle...

I'm not a very good technical writer so I didn't think about doing a build thread. Also I'm not a very good planner, I usually design as I go. Also I apologize these pics are not very good, like I said I didn't intend on doing a build thread.

I'm hoping this thread may give some people some ideas.

My problem was my stove top limited me to a 3.5 gallon batch at best. It took over an hour to get 5 gallons to boil and by the time it did I was down to less than 4 gallons.

My solutions was to build a electric assist Brew Kettle.

I started out with a 40 quart aluminum Winware kettle I got from Amazon for $40.

Next I drilled out some holes for a Camco Element,Sight Tube and 2, 3 piece valves. Im a hobby welder so I tig welded a aluminum nut 1 1/2 to the kettle. I got the nut from McMaster Carr. Youll see that I drilled and tapped a 6/32 hole in the nut. That's to ground the kettle.





I then took a 1500 watt, 120v Camco heater element I got from lowes for about $9 and wired it up like this below.



Then I got some vinyl hose from Lowes that was 1.5 in diameter and cut it down to 3" long. I slid it over the element. I have seen some of the other ways people attach and protect the element but didn't like them that much. This was easy and real cheap.




Then I used a SS hose clamp(Lowes) to keep it in place. I made sure the ground wire was long enough and came out the top.



Here it is attached to the kettle...though I wasn't done.


I then filled the tube with silicone caulk(Lowes).


Here it is...a little messy but Ill clean it up later.


Here it is attached. I added another hose clamp to keep shape. The way its built its strong enough to hand tighten the element to the kettle and it wont leak. Its nice to be able to tighten it without tools.



Added a cord cap...I had this one kicking around the shop.



Heres how the element sits inside the kettle...



Here you can see my whirlpool tube. Works great. I whirlpool a few minutes and let the hops settle in the middle. Then when it goes through my plate chiller it doesn't plug up.



Water comes out of my tap at about 49 degrees...



Heres how the setup looks on the stovetop...



So with the 49 degree water coming out of the tap I can get a violent boil in 39 mins.

Hope this helps...if anyone has any questions just ask.

Wow really nice !!! Is it possible to solder an aluminium nut instead of welding it ? I'd like to do the same but I can't weld...

Nicely done. Thanks for sharing

matc said:

Wow really nice !!! Is it possible to solder an aluminium nut instead of welding it ? I'd like to do the same but I can't weld...

Click to expand...

Thanks guys...

Yes you can solder aluminum. Do a net search or YouTube search for Super Alloy 5. That should get you started.

I'm sure you could find someone locally to weld it for you for short money.

When you say "electric assist", do you mean you use the stove and the heating element? If so, good idea.
Thanks for the write up.

I want to do this so bad, but I've a couple questions first:

1. I don't weld and I'd prefer a weldless option anyway. Is this possible?

2. What is the best (most powerful?) element I can use in a 120v socket with 15 amp breaker?

Thanks!!

1500 Watt element will be JUST a little over 80% of a 15 Amp breaker load. NOW... you had BETTER be sure you are using a GFCI breaker and this is the ONLY component on that circuit while in use.

Huaco said:

1500 Watt element will be JUST a little over 80% of a 15 Amp breaker load. NOW... you had BETTER be sure you are using a GFCI breaker and this is the ONLY component on that circuit while in use.

Click to expand...

Beautiful, thanks for the info. It is GFCI... which brings me to another question: if that GFCI controls everything in my garage, does that mean it is not on it's own circuit? Also, would that mean the GFCI might trip when, for example, my kegerator turns on?

cank said:

When you say "electric assist", do you mean you use the stove and the heating element? If so, good idea.
Thanks for the write up.

Click to expand...

Yup...I use the stove and the element at the same time. My stove wasnt enough to bring a 5 gallon batch to a boil. This setup does.

I recently found that the plug on the other side of my stove is on a separate circuit from the one I have been using. This influenced me to add another element in the same manner. I can rip into a boil now with 8 gallons in less than 15 minutes. When it hits its stride its such a violent boil its crazy.

I think I am going to change to low density 240v 6000 watt elements when these need changing.

What I have now is way over kill but I have been I have just as much fun designing and building brewing equipment as I do brewing....sometimes I think I enjoy it more.

My next quest is waterless cooling...I have a design in mind thats doesnt use any water or electricity and its the size of a shoe box.

Brulosopher said:

I want to do this so bad, but I've a couple questions first:

1. I don't weld and I'd prefer a weldless option anyway. Is this possible?I bet you could...search around here and see if anyone has done it.

2. What is the best (most powerful?) element I can use in a 120v socket with 15 amp breaker?Huaco advice is good. If your stove is powerful enough a 1500 low density element is fine. The element im using is actually 2000w element. I haven't had a problem but I have no other usage on that circuit. The cords stay cool and my circuit is a GFCI and that stays cool too. My suggestion is too see where your circuits are in the kitchen. If you can find 2 plugs from 2 different circuits that are close to your stove I would use them. Then I would get 2 240v 6000 watt elements and wire it up exactly as I did. Don't worry about the 240v part you can still use it for 120v but you will only get 25% of the wattage you would get with the 240v. This translates into 1500 watt element running at 120v. The other benefit is these will be larger low density elements, so the water will heat up more even and the wort wont scorch(though I believe scorched wort is a myth.

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

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Brulosopher said:

Beautiful, thanks for the info. It is GFCI... which brings me to another question: if that GFCI controls everything in my garage, does that mean it is not on it's own circuit? Also, would that mean the GFCI might trip when, for example, my kegerator turns on?

Click to expand...

Correct but this is not a deal breaker. Just disconnect the other stuff.

I didnt realize you were brewing in your garage but just as I said in my last post...look for 2 circuits in your garage and do a 2 element kettle. If the other circuit is not a GFI you can add a GFI plug easy enough...though I believe all garage circuits need to be GFI, I may be wrong.

So I've got an electrician coming out next week to give me an estimate on adding 3 240v sockets near my brew area. Another question:

What size conduit punch will I need to make a hole in my kettle that will fit he element?

Brulosopher said:

So I've got an electrician coming out next week to give me an estimate on adding 3 240v sockets near my brew area. Another question:

What size conduit punch will I need to make a hole in my kettle that will fit he element?

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Thats great, all sorts of power there! I hope your service is big enough.

If your kettle is thin stainless you can punch it with a 1-1/4 punch...have the electrician do it for ya while hes there. If its thicker alumnum or a keg I think your better off using a step bit, again up to 1-1/4.

Take pics of your build...Id like to see it.

SamHain said:

Thats great, all sorts of power there! I hope your service is big enough.

If your kettle is thin stainless you can punch it with a 1-1/4 punch...have the electrician do it for ya while hes there. If its thicker alumnum or a keg I think your better off using a step bit, again up to 1-1/4.

Take pics of your build...Id like to see it.

Click to expand...

Make sure the electrician knows that the actual hole size has to be 1.25"... most electrician's punches are for conduit and sized accordingly for conduit sizes.