Question about Bucket heater

So I was trying to replace my heating element on my Hot Water Heater in a COoler and i cracked the bottom and for the life of me i couldn't get it to hold water ever again...

Anyways, I bought a new cooler, and instead of drilling another hole and go through that I was looking at building a heatstick going through the top...

Then i stumbled on one of these Bucket Heaters at my local tractor supply company.

I know it can handle the hot water heating and whatnot, so I'm not worried about that, my only question is if it is safe to put in plastic or if it would melt it from the inside...

Thanks...

PS here is a link http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...ock-tank-heaters/allied-bucket-heater-2170534

I use a bucket heater (the same one you linked to) in my cooler HLT without problems. The heater is equipped with an SS shield around the element which prevents direct contact with the sides and bottom of a bucket or cooler. These heaters are only 1000 watts, so it takes awhile to heat the water to usable temps, but so long as you are not in a big hurry they work well. I have mine hooked up to a timer so I can fill my HLT the night before brew day. I set the timer to turn on the heater several hours before I plan to brew. The bucket heater also has an automatic shut off should the water level get low for any reason.

Yeah this option all and all better than making my own heatstick...

I am doing the same thing with a 1000W bucket heater, and set the timer just 10 mins ago to start tomorrow AM..

by the time I come downstairs for cofee, the bucket heater will have heated the strike water ... temp will prob be on the high side, but that is OK... grains are all crushed .. saves me abt 1 hour in the brew day ..

kappclark said:

I am doing the same thing with a 1000W bucket heater, and set the timer just 10 mins ago to start tomorrow AM..

by the time I come downstairs for cofee, the bucket heater will have heated the strike water ... temp will prob be on the high side, but that is OK... grains are all crushed .. saves me abt 1 hour in the brew day ..

Click to expand...

I'm using the bucket heater in my 50 qt Ice Cube cooler HLT. The heater will reach the boiling point eventually if you allow enough time. Rather than attempt to regulate the heater or timing it precisely, I simply dilute the boiling strike water to the desired temperature before the mash in. I'm fly sparging and I find that when sparging very slowly, the water cools substantially by the time it gets to the grain bed. It's never too hot even when initially near boiling in the HLT.

Today was the first live event for making Ed Wort's HPA using all electric ... I have to say, aside from a bit of a stuck sparge, the day is very stree-free..Weighed and Crushed grains last night .. set the timer for the bucket heater in an insulated 4 gal pot with 3.5 gals. came down to basement at 6 - water was ready (at 188, so let it coo down to 165) ... I have now collected aby 6 gals, and have my boil pot wrapped in reflectix with 2 1000W heaters inside ... I know this will take some time to get boiling , but I have all day ! I saved 1 hour by pre-heating the strike water ( but will probably lose that hour because of the slow time to boil. ) I don't miss the ROAR of the propane cooker

Also like being in basement out of the way of everyone who needs to use the stove etc.. so far, a low stress, quiet brewday.

Yea Bill, I agree completely. After 20 some odd years of brewing all sorts of ways, I have come to find that electric brewing in the basement is the much preferred method for me.

Granted, electric has its own set of hazards, but with propane I just felt I had to keep a steady eye on it or the whole neighborhood could be set in flames.

I'm curious how the 2 units at 1000w each pans out. One of my 2000w elements crapped out during my last brew and I was able to finish a 9-10 gallon boil w/ only 2000w, so I'm guessing you will do fine. What you might try is rather than boiling for a specific time, boil your bittering addition for however long it takes to reach the desired volume, be it 60-90 or 1XX minutes.

I'm guessing you are using the lid on the kettle to reach a boil, you might try the lid half on to maintain??

Enjoy the fruits of electric brewing.

Can you completely submerge those bucket heaters to the black connector and past? I wouldn't think you could.

Scut_Monkey said:

Can you completely submerge those bucket heaters to the black connector and past? I wouldn't think you could.

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No. The instructions for the bucket heater warn not to submerge the black connector. The max depth is just right for my HLT cooler, although that was just coincidental.

Catt22 said:

No. The instructions for the bucket heater warn not to submerge the black connector. The max depth is just right for my HLT cooler, although that was just coincidental.

Click to expand...

Hmmm. Probably a great option for HLT but the nice thing about a home built heat stick is that it sits on the BOTTOM of the BK and gets a nice convection action going that self stirs the wort. I'm sure it would work just fine but just something that popped in my head.

The HPA is in the fermenter now - I was pleased with how it went. The little bucket heaters did fine ..not the vigorous boil I get from the cooker, but a boil for sure.

My new adventure presents some new challenges ...

If I stay with 120V, I need 2 dedicated circuits right where I will brew, with the proper outlets. Today I used the basement light circuit for 1 heater, and the washing machine circuit for the other (of course, daughter just **HAS** to use the washing machine while I am in the boil ... told her about overloads etc and she reluctantly agreed to defer)

If I goto 220, I will probably start with the brewmation HLT http://www.brewmation.com/HLT.html which I believe has a timer so strike water will be ready at the start of the brewing session, not 1 hour later. I know the outlet is a "dryer" outlet .. are there also ground fault outlets for 220 ??

The boilpot I do not know about yet .. I would like to have a 15G Blichmann boilermaker, but do not want to do drilling etc --are these available in electric versions ??

The boiloff needs to be properly vented ... I have a window fan which should suffice...today I just opened up the basement doors with a fan.. this will be fine in the spring and summer, but not in winter ...

Need a short garden hose to connect the chiller to right off the well tank ... today I ran hose from outside to the chiller, with "exhaust" water going to the sump pump. ... also - wonder if I can find "food-grade" hose to fill the HLT ..

Need to fashion some simple fermentation temp regulator...I think the tub+water+aquarium heater solution is looking good...the basement is too cool for fermenting, so I hauled the better bottle up to the bedroom where the temp is more hospitable for noble Nottingham.

I really just need to simply setup a kitchen in the basement, complete with fridge, tons of counter space, and a nice deep sink. (HA!)

If anyone has any ideas about an electric Blichmann (or any decent boilpot) would love to know..sorry so many questions