"De-electrifying" a Pot

[Warthaug]

So this is slightly off-topic, but I figured this sub-forum would be the best place for the advice I need.

I recently moved to an older farm property; prior to that I was in a modern house and was mid-way through converting my 3-vessel propane system to 240V electric (i.e. I had converted the HLT, but not yet the brew pot).

Moving to a old house has effectively killed the dream of a 240V system - the cost of upgrading the panel + running wires + putting water/sewer into the basement (where there is room for a brewery) is simply too expensive to justify. My plan now is to go back to propane, and use a 120V RIMS to help manage the mash...which leaves me the issue of WTF to do with my HLT.

My HLT is a converted sankey keg, with an electrical box on the outside supporting a 240V hot water heater element inside of the pot. I'm pretty sure I need to remove the box and somehow plug the hole for the element before I can use it on a propane burner - otherwise I think heating the box/junction will cause issues. But that will leave me with a 1.25" hole in the side of the pot...

Any ideas on how to plug that hole in a way that is burner-safe?

Thanks

Bryan

 

[GTACanuck]

If you might have a future back in 240v land, you could just get a weldless 1.5" TC flange with a 1.5"TC plug and that would do until you decide to go back to 240v if at all.

Flange: https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/Ss_...ssion_Fitting_p/ssbrewtech-1.5tc-compress.htm

Cap: https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/Stainless_Steel_Tri_Clover_Fitting_p/tc-end-cap.htm

If there are 1.25" weldless bulkheads with a stopper available, that would work too

 

[TexasWine]

Here's an idea. Instead of getting a RIMs tube, keep the hlt as-is, but run it at 120v and conduct your mash in it. Use a false bottom or BIAB bag + false bottom from Brew Hardware. Get a pump and a controller and you're off to the races.

If you want to boil electric, get a couple of the Hot Rods from BrewHardware, 1500 to 2000 watts. Run them if separate circuits, drop them in your boil kettle and you're set.

I use two 120v Hot Rods for my boiling, running one at 100% and the other at around 20-30%. The elements I use now are 1650 watts. I also use an element mounted in my mash tun, along with a pump and controller, for my mash. Very simple, very effective.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

I am sure you can find a 1" npt plug that would fit in place of the existing heating element.

Simplier might be to look for a used keggle or offer to trade your electrified one for a standard one. I would trade with you (looking to go electric), but I am in Chicago

 

[Warthaug]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely not going back to 240; in fact, I'm building a space in an old barn to house my brewery. It has well water handy (for cooling/washup; not sure if the water is brew-quality yet) and I have (a single circuit of) 120V. Looks like a npt plug (plus maybe a food-grade sealant on the inside, just in case) is the way to go.

B

 

[BeardedBrews]

If you reach out to @bobby_m at BrewHardware I bet he'd sell you a slightly radiused piece of stainless steel along with a silver solder kit.

 

[BBBF]

Could you sell the e-HLT and build a new one?

 

[DNelson]

Running the 240v water heater elements at 120v works but at half the wattage. Maybe try switching the plug and seeing if 2750W (if it's a 5500W @ 240v element) is enough for the HLT.

 

[LarMoeCur]

Running the 240v water heater elements at 120v works but at half the wattage. Maybe try switching the plug and seeing if 2750W (if it's a 5500W @ 240v element) is enough for the HLT.

Ohm's Law says 1/4 (1375W) of the power not 1/2. Constant resistance, when you reduce the voltage by half, you also reduce the current flowing through the element also by half, hence the 1/4 power. In this case your better off buying a 2000w 120v element and swapping them out.

 

[TexasWine]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely not going back to 240; in fact, I'm building a space in an old barn to house my brewery. It has well water handy (for cooling/washup; not sure if the water is brew-quality yet) and I have (a single circuit of) 120V. Looks like a npt plug (plus maybe a food-grade sealant on the inside, just in case) is the way to go.

B

Didn't like my suggestion of converting the hlt to a mash tun? It functions just like a RIMs, only the element is in the kettle instead of a tube. There's really no need for you to get a RIMs tube at this point.

You could still transfer over to a separate boil kettle and use propane to do that part.

 

[Warthaug]

Could you sell the e-HLT and build a new one?

Not my preferred option, but that is an option. Around here selling is easy...its finding used cornies that is the problem. Although pots aren't too bad...may be an easier option.

Didn't like my suggestion of converting the hlt to a mash tun?

Idea is fine; problem is I already have a much nicer mash tun. The pre-move plan was to use the HLT for strike water, and for water in a HERMS setup - I've already setup my current mash tun with a screen, pump, nice false bottom, etc, to operate as a HERMS, so a second mash tun would be redundant. Adding a RIMS tube to my existing tun would literally be a plug-and-play job.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone.

B

 

[DNelson]

Ohm's Law says 1/4 (1375W) of the power not 1/2. Constant resistance, when you reduce the voltage by half, you also reduce the current flowing through the element also by half, hence the 1/4 power.

Oops, I misremembered. Thanks for the correction.

 

[LarMoeCur]

Oops, I misremembered. Thanks for the correction.

No worries! We are here to help.

 

[augiedoggy]

I live in an old house myself (old schoolhouse converted to house) ... Didnt even have 120v outlets in the spare bedroom I converted to a brewery let alone 240v.... not that theres anything wrong with your new plans but I ran 240v from a first floor closet pu into and attic and down into the brew room and I still dont have any drains or water in that room... running a dedicated set of garden hoses from the bathroom sink for my plate chiller and cleaning my kettles in the kitchen sink or outside after I dump my waste grain in the compost bin works pretty well.... Just saying were theres a will theres a way.. If you have a basement a single 30a 240v line would not be a hard job if you electrical panel is in that same basement which it should be. It sounds like you have more potential for it than I do with no basement at all...

 

[Warthaug]

Our panel is on the main floor, and unfortunately, its a partial basement (and of course, the panel is located over the part of the house that is merely a foundation without a basement), so running a cable is not trivial. I think I've found someone willing to swap a nice pot for the HLT, so I've indirectly solved my problem.

B