Looking for Heater Element Comparison

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RonRock

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I'm sure this has been beaten to death, but my search skills are not good.

I'm looking for a comparison of the different types of elements. Good points, bad points of the different types. Available types. Differences between ULWD, LWD, etc. Whatever.

Maybe someone knowledgeable could do a writeup and make a sticky. I'd think many people could use this type of info.
 
What's there to compare?

There are different wattages which is essentially the amount of power to heat up your wort of whatever but that's affected by your power source (120v vs. 240v and amperages).

ULWD=ultra low watt density
LWD = low watt density
HWD - high watt density

A high density element is able to transfer more energy flow (higher temperature) per square inch to the water/wort but these higher temperatures will wear out the element much quicker than a lower density element and there's some debate about scorching the wort when using something other than an ULWD element.
 
I might be missing the point, but

1) Heating element in the flow
2) Pipe Heater wrapped around the outside of the pipe
3) Magnetic Pipe wrapped with an induction coil
4) Pipe wrapped with a steam jacket (not electric ignore?).

Of these, the first 3 are the simplest. The 1st one is the cheapest, the 2nd and 3rd approaches are more expensive, but the pipe is heated externally, so might have the advantage of being easier to clean.

I have used the 2nd approach, and am working on prototyping the induction + magnetic pipe approach.
 
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