Electric Heat Stick helper for Gas Stove

I've seen old threads talking about electric heat sticks from Northern Brewer and other vendors - again the threads are old and I can't find these products any more. They claim they have override switches to keep them on for a full boil, to override the thermostat built in.

I want an electric stick, 120V, to stick in the wort on my gas range to help achieve vigorous boil. i bought a bucket heater:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BDB4UG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

But I didn't realize it had a safety feature, it cycles temp at boiling, I want one that stays on, also one that can work in shallower boils. This bucket heater needs probably 5 gals of water in a normal kettle, I don't think it will work at all in my 3-4 gallon boils.

I do have a 220 outlet nearby not being used (wired for electric stove, but i have gas), maybe I need to just go that route.

I built a 2000 watt heatstick to help out with stovetop brewing. They are pretty cheap, and easy to put together. There are lots of build threads here if you search for them. If you go with a 2000 watt element just be sure you have a 20 amp circuit, if you only have 15 amps a 1500 watt element would be about as big as you would want. And make sure you have it plugged into a GFCI outlet, it's not worth getting electrocuted over.
Mine works real well for brewing on the stove, and lately I have been using it to heat my strike and sparge water. I even use it along with my propane burner, it really cuts down on the amount of gas used, the burner is basically just idling.

If you have a 220 outlet handy look into mounting a element in the pot and use a pwm to adjust the boil. You probably won't even need the gas stove at all. It's cost won't be much more than just a heat stick build.

I built a 1500w based on the instructions here:

http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm

I use it with my electric stove and bring 6.5 gallons to a good rolling boil. My electric stovetop is pretty poor, so the heatstick seems to be doing most of the work.

Running mine off a 20amp 120v circuit. Utilizing the 220 outlet seems like a better idea for you.

Cheers!

Kosch