TravelingBrewer22
Well-Known Member
Any significant difference between the wattage in the hlt or bk?
the reason I'm asking is because I can get a couple of 4500w elements on Amazon for $16 or spend close to $50 on 5500w ones. Just trying to figure out if that 25% is worth the extra cash or not...
if you had to choose, i would put the 5500w in the HLT and 4500w in the BK. you cant scorch water with too much power, and it will heat your water faster. since you dont need 100% power on the boil kettle, you can just use a higher PWM percentage and a lower power heater.
also- you dont need the expensive ULWD ripple elements in the HLT. you can use the standard watt density ones without scorcing (its just water). i have two of the $6 5500w camco elements from amazon in the HLT.
you will want to have a backup of each, just incase you break an element in the middle of your brew day. otherwise you might have to toss the whole batch.
I got the 5500w ULWD at Home Despot for about 25 dollars.
+1, except I think they are about $17 here. They are Camco incoloy - the Home Despot price tag description says LWD, but if you read the back of the package it says Ultra Low watt density.
I think the 5500 watt element is cheaper than the 4500 watt at HD, not sure why.
+1 to this.
I just picked up 2 5500W units yesterday. They were a buck or two cheaper than the 4500W for some reason.
They are the straight incoloy, not the wavy ones, but they fit wonderfully into a keggle
My straight elements are ulwd. They are folded over so they are twice as long. They just aren't wavy.
Same. Mine are straight and folded as well.. ULWD but not wavy
Ok, but common sense would indicate that a wavy one will be a lower watt density than a folded one even if they both claim to be ULWD. It's based on area. The wavy one will have a longer element if the overall length from base to tip of is the same. The waves add length and, in turn, area.
Does anyone know the spec for ulwd? I guess it would be a certain number of watts per square inch. I wonder if there's an industry standard.
Just because it is wavy does not mean it is not shorter....
But I would agree that wavy would mean that more wort touches it therefore it creates more vigirous of a boil.
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