Copper element for heat stick?

[Gritsak]

Posted this in the big heat stick thread, but i need an answer soon since i planned to build this tonight. I mostly see people using stainless (or something shiny) elements, but my local store only had copper in 120v 2000w. I don't see why it would be a problem, but before i dump epoxy on it, i wanted to make sure. So, copper heating element OK?

TIA

 

[Rick500]

I don't see why it would be a problem (and I'd trust it more than I would trust something with zinc in it). But, disclaimer: I have not built one, so I can't say for sure.

 

[Gritsak]

Thanks for the reply. That's a good point about the zinc. Many toss a copper wort chiller into the pot with 15-20min left of the boil with no problems (including myself), so i can't see how this would be an issue either.

 

[leboeuf]

Ehhh zinc in small amounts is recommended for the body....
Why all the zinc hating on the forum lately?
"Centrum, from A to Zinc" lol

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Ehhh zinc in small amounts is recommended for the body....
Why all the zinc hating on the forum lately?
"Centrum, from A to Zinc" lol

I have been wondering about that, to the point of looking it up.

Zinc in large amounts can cause health issues. Zinc in small amounts is needed by the body.

Is there a possibility that using heatsticks with zinc in them could cause health issues? It's not like we are eating pennies.

 

[MTEXX]

You know those things are used in electric water heaters, too- not just home brew rigs!!! And I've never heard first hand of anyone who died from drinking hot water from the tap.

 

[tkone]

You know those things are used in electric water heaters, too- not just home brew rigs!!! And I've never heard first hand of anyone who died from drinking hot water from the tap.

+1,000,000,000,000,000

 

[the_bird]

You know those things are used in electric water heaters, too- not just home brew rigs!!! And I've never heard first hand of anyone who died from drinking hot water from the tap.

Wort's acidic, though. I don't know the answer to the original question, but it's not valid to say that just because something is fine in water, it's also fine to be used in wort. You boil a wort chiller for twenty minutes, it comes out shiny; would it come out shiny if you boiled it instead in water?