Hey everyone,
I ran in to a problem when all of my parts for my RIMS set up arrived.
I bought a Camco 1500W, 120V element as I wanted to use a normal 20A circuit comfortably. When the parts arrived, the element didn't fit in to my 1" bushing. Considering the element has 1" threads, this is extremely disappointing. Not only that, but the element is supposed to be 9", but in actuality it's more like 5", and the other 4" comes from the bend.
I have read a couple posts on some people unfolding their element so that it will fit better, and reach farther down the tube.
For those of you who have done this, how did you do it without breaking the element? I was thinking of using a vice or something really solid to grab the element and just pry it with my hands. I was then thinking about taking some water, adding sugar, and testing the conductivity to make sure there is no exposure/danger concerns.
My other alternative is to squeeze the two metal rods together so that it maintains it's bend and fits in to the bushing. My only worry is that the element is REALLY small, and might not effectively heat the wort. Here are some pictures of the element, bushing, and tube.
I ran in to a problem when all of my parts for my RIMS set up arrived.
I bought a Camco 1500W, 120V element as I wanted to use a normal 20A circuit comfortably. When the parts arrived, the element didn't fit in to my 1" bushing. Considering the element has 1" threads, this is extremely disappointing. Not only that, but the element is supposed to be 9", but in actuality it's more like 5", and the other 4" comes from the bend.
I have read a couple posts on some people unfolding their element so that it will fit better, and reach farther down the tube.
For those of you who have done this, how did you do it without breaking the element? I was thinking of using a vice or something really solid to grab the element and just pry it with my hands. I was then thinking about taking some water, adding sugar, and testing the conductivity to make sure there is no exposure/danger concerns.
My other alternative is to squeeze the two metal rods together so that it maintains it's bend and fits in to the bushing. My only worry is that the element is REALLY small, and might not effectively heat the wort. Here are some pictures of the element, bushing, and tube.