diy electric submersible heater

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This link comes up a lot in the context of apartment brewing. I brew AG in an apartment so I had to make one of those. I found that one of the problems with the design was that in my pot I had to have at least 5 gal to keep the heating element submerged. I rebuilt it using a curved pipe so the element stays along the bottom of the pot more. This way I can heat any volume of water that I'll need for mashing/sparging.

I'd love to have an outdoor setup but with my current living situation that just isn't feasible. :(
 
I use heatsticks quite a bit...instead of the #6 ground lug, I prefer to run the ground through the large nut on the element fitting. Sorry can't fine the link?
 
Any concerns with the JB weld coming in contact with hot liquid?

I would think you want to avoid contact with JB Weld and liquid, especially brewing water. However, if I'm not mistaken, the JB weld is used to pot the electrical connections, so they would be outside of the kettle. The jb weld shouldn't be contacting any liquid.
 
JBWeld is fine for this application, it is non-toxic. They also have a product specifically intended to be fully immersed and used in potable water supplies - waterweld i think they call it.

Alumilite on the other hand is extremely toxic in liquid form. I don't know about after it cures, but it has the potential to leech chemicals into your brew while boiling. 212*F is not that far from its max of 250*F and after 2 hours steeping in hot water (its not supposed to be used in a moist environment much less submerged) it will probably begin to break down and release some of its chemicals. I wouldn't use it, and I imagine if you call them and ask them if its safe to be used they would tell you you're nuts.

Here's the MSDS (pdf link):
http://www.alumilite.com/MSDS/Alumilite Regular.pdf
 
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