240V Electric Plug Liquid Protection

[BrewdyQuah]

Excuse my ignorance on the subject..... Electricity is not my area of expertise.

Does anybody use any type of physical shielding for electrical plugs in their brew setup? I am running 240v, and I've noticed that my kettle/HLT element plugs are still exposed (I use the Ripple V2s from Brewhardware as in the pic below). My concern is that leaves an unsealed electrical connection extremely close to my kettle. An overfill/boil could be enough to send liquid down the outer walls of the kettle and possibly into the connection.

Do any of you with similar setups have the same concern? Are there any solutions that you would recommend? Thanks!

 

[DuncB]

I'm not sure about your setup I have an all in one so the element is hidden away. But I do have an RCD on the dedicated spur to my brewery ( laundry ).

 

[BrewdyQuah]

Thanks Dunc. When I had the 240v installed, I made sure they installed GFCI, which as I understand is the US equivalent to RCD.

One of the reasons I like the Ripple element is that it has a TC connection and terminates in NEMA L6-30P blades. No cords permanently attached. But then again, I attach the power cord to it right up next to the kettle, which is my concern.

 

[DuncB]

Right I understand better. So really it's like an old electric kettle where it used to get plugged in at the kettle with a lead similar to a d plug or round plug on a pc.

They only had in effect a bit of tubing covering the exposed prongs, so when unplugged you looked into the opening and saw the male parts.

Some plugs are of waterproof grade such as to connect RV to power supply not sure if that's an option to fit something like that.

Somebody here must be using that setup and will give you the proper advice. In the meantime and as always avoid a boilover.

 

[sibelman]

@BrewdyQuah, these are pretty popular though I get (and share) your concern. Maybe an L6-30R connector like this Hubbell HBL29W48 can protect this kind of connection. But it seems not as physically robust as I'd like. Hanging a heavy cord off those twist-lock prongs worried me so I went with an element housing from Electric Brewing Supply that provides good protection. Of course, it's for "regular" elements with screw terminals -- unlike with yours, the cord can't be easily detached.

As @DuncB said, take care to avoid boilovers and you should be OK.

Cheers.

 

[doug293cz]

If there is a physical gap between the plug and receptacle bodies, you may be able to fine an "O" ring that will take up the slack. A soft material, like silicone rubber, would be best.

The other thing you can do is wrap electrical tape around where the plug/receptacle bodies meet. If you don't go crazy overtaping, electrical tape is pretty easy to remove.

Brew on

 

[Bobby_M]

I always include a thin oring for this but its not because it is needed. Its because people are paranoid. Electricity flows to the least resistance. The element loop is 10 ohms. Water is about 1000 or more ohms and thats if the whole plug was fully submerged. The current leakage would be minimal and certainly not cause any sparks or danger. If you use a GFCI, and you should. It would trip the gfci.

 

[RufusBrewer]

If you have in the back of your mind the adage, "Water And Electrify Do Not Mix", you can fabricate something to reduce the chances of water getting into the electrical connectors.

I have had the same thought. All I needed is a splash guard. In case a hose get away and starts spraying, or you have a boil over. It does not need to be a 100% water tight design.

From an electrical standpoint, some sort of plastic or other insulating material would be best. Most of the common insulating materials available do not stand up to heat very well. Materials that stand up to heat, like metal are not very good electrical insulators.

You can get a can of food, use a can opener and open both ends and slide it over the point of connection.

Maybe you can find a sheet of Teflon, roll it into a cylinder and slide it over the connection.

I am sure there are all kinds of other materials you might use. Comes down to cost, availability, ease of fabrication.

Having said all that, I have yet to getting around to making any kind of a insulator. I do not even use the O-Ring that Booby supplies with his elements.