People who've made heat sticks

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tkone

tkone

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did your chrome drain pipe extension nut look like this:

drain_pipe_and_nut.jpg


note how dull the shine is on the nut. this is still chrome right? like totally safe to use in something i'm gonna submerge in hot liquid that i will eventually consume?

thanks!
 
Yes, it looked like that.

I have had no issues with mine, and it has been used in about 25 batches so far.
 
Don't believe that nut is chromed... aluminium maybe? Mine is so covered with JB Weld it likely doesn't matter anyway :) I love my heatstick!
 
Mine looked like chrome at first, but through the process of galvanic corrosion, I determined that it must be something else. The pipe remained shiny and the nut in question was encrusted with what looked like aluminum (from my paddle).
 
Does anybody get a "coating" on the element of their heatstick when they use it?

Mine gets a thin, white-ish coating. It is not sweet, so I don't guess it is carmelized sugar.

The coating is pretty easy to wash off, I go over it with a soft scrub pad.
 
I suppose the white coating on the element could be from that nut...seriously, but just a guess. I know that water heaters have zinc pieces in them that are meant to be sacrificial bits and keep other, more important stuff from corroding. It could also be minerals in the water too. Either way, mine is the same fwiw.
 
The nut is pot metal. Its a zinc alloy that can contain many different metals including lead. It has a very low melting point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal

I've tried to solder onto them and ended up melting them with a propane torch.

They make those nuts in brass too. You will find them in more expensive products like Kohler sink drains etc.
 
BargainFittings said:
The nut is pot metal. Its a zinc alloy that can contain many different metals including lead. It has a very low melting point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal

I've tried to solder onto them and ended up melting them with a propane torch.

They make those nuts in brass too. You will find them in more expensive products like Kohler sink drains etc.
Click to expand...

I've always been a little concerned about those nuts. It does look like mcmaster-carr carries some chrome-plated brass nuts though.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#2666k35/=3ro28x
 
Its pretty easy to tell just by the feel. The brass ones are twice as heavy. I personally would use a brass nut if I made a heat stick.

Actually I would make it out of stainless pipe and fittings! :)
 
Come on guys, if it's good enough for your refuse, excrement, and and other bodily grime to pass through and be taken away, it's good enough for beer, right?
 

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