Just built my 1500 watt heatstick!

I completely encapsulated the inside connections with JB Weld and put a lot of silicone in the elbow after the JB Weld had cured for 24 hours. I haven't tested if it leaks but it looks like it should hold. I Kind of went crazy with the silicone and I'm slightly nervous that I'll leach some silicone chemicals into the water. I didn't want any leaks. Hopefully all is good. Now I don't have to mess up the stove and can offset some propane costs. I have some kind of Whirlpool brand stove and while it heats 7 gallons fairly fast, the grates get so dirty (don't ask how) even when boiling water. The condensation from the pot drips onto the grates and creates these dark burnt spots that are nearly impossible to get totally clean.

According to the manufacturer's MSDS, it is toxic. I would not recommend it's use in food preparation.

From the MSDS regarding ingestion: "Get medical attention immediately."

Maybe it's less harmful when cured, but I would not risk it when there are food safe silicone sealants available.

Chefkeith said:

According to the manufacturer's MSDS, it is toxic. I would not recommend it's use in food preparation.

From the MSDS regarding ingestion: "Get medical attention immediately."

Maybe it's less harmful when cured, but I would not risk it when there are food safe silicone sealants available.

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I think the MSDS refers to it's wet state. I think any silicone ingested wet (right out of the container) would be toxic.

so how does that puppy work? im gettin ready to build one of these and i wanna know if that stick will hold a boil by itself (propane to get it to boiling)

This is just my humble emergency medicine/nursing background, but I would not mess around it either way and remove the silicone from around it. Leak test and see from there but I would think that if you followed others directions and were safe about the construction, there should be no leaks. I would hate to see a fellow brewer be ironically poisoned by his/her own brew.

prodigal_son7 said:

This is just my humble emergency medicine/nursing background, but I would not mess around it either way and remove the silicone from around it. Leak test and see from there but I would think that if you followed others directions and were safe about the construction, there should be no leaks. I would hate to see a fellow brewer be ironically poisoned by his/her own brew.

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or electrocuted?

I haven't tested it yet. It's been awful weather-wise here on the East Coast and I just haven't been stoked enough to brew. I'll taste the mash water though when I fire her up for the first time to see if I can't detect any weirdness. Btw I think a lot of silicone is probably food safe but It's a pain in the arse and costly for companies to actually get fda compliance as food safe. My 2 cents. That being said, my goal as a homebrewer is to brew the best beer I can possibly brew and if I detect any slight off flavors, the silicone is bye-bye.

redalert said:

Btw I think a lot of silicone is probably food safe but It's a pain in the arse and costly for companies to actually get fda compliance as food safe. My 2 cents. That being said, my goal as a homebrewer is to brew the best beer I can possibly brew and if I detect any slight off flavors, the silicone is bye-bye.

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I disagree. For instance, DAP Silicone Sealant 08648 requires no medical attention if ingested and contains far fewer chemicals than the CR Lawrence Industrial RTV Silicone. So, to suggest that one simply hasn't sought FDA approval is a dangerously false assumption; as is assuming that it is safe after it's cured. I would strongly suggest spending a few more bucks to get the food grade stuff rather than potentially poising yourself and your friends.

Note: I'm not even sure the DAP that I listed is actually food grade. I just used it as an example of a silicone sealant that was less dangerous than the CL Lawrence silicone, though I know there are food grade sealants available.

I don't think you need silicone on the outside if you just thin the jb weld a bit and pour it in to pot the connections and seal the locknut. I also wouldn't risk it if it isn't food grade silicone. Better safe than sorry.

You're going to love brewing with these heat sticks, though. They are just terrific.

Here's a LINK to some instructions for building the heat stick with no exposed jb weld. I did it this way and it held up well. Been about 6 months and many batches down.

cheers.

Best to avoid any sealants w/ mildewcides, most kitchen and bath products are mildew resistant. That stuff is NG.

Well I did a test and so far no leaks. Works great. Boiled 4 gallons of water under an hour. I may scrape of the industrial silicone and get some aquarium 100% silicone just in case. I don't know if the silicone I used will leach chemicals into the water but it sure doesn't smell neutral.