Grounding A Brew Kettle

[Sean_SA]

Hi guys

I have a question and need some advice on grounding the elements on my pots please.

Firstly, I am unable to find a suitable metal enclosure/housing for the element connections. So I'll need to go with a plastic housing. That means I'll need to ground the pots outside the housing.

Could I simply wrap the ground wire around the triclamp screw ring (blue arrow in pic below) and keep it fastened with a cable tie or 2. Not a clean solution by any means but seems to make sense to me. Else does anyone perhaps have a more clean looking method they could suggest for my situation. Perhaps putting a lug on top of the triclamp adapter (red arrow in pic below) and using JB weld to bond?

 

[duncan.brown]

Could I simply wrap the ground wire around the triclamp screw ring (blue arrow in pic below) and keep it fastened with a cable tie or 2

I'd strongly advise against that. Solutions like that have a habit of failing just when you don't want them to. It also looks like you have PTFE tape between the element and the kettle so any ground bonded to the kettle might not make a good connection to the element. I'd recommend building a metal box for it following these instructions:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/heating-elements
If you browse the shop, there's also some pre-built kits you can get. I would also recommend picking up a ground clamp, attaching it to the leg of your stainless table, and grounding the table. Then you have the element, kettle, and table all grounded:

https://www.homedepot.com/s/ground%20clamp?NCNI-5
Make sure you have a GFCI and consult a qualified electrician if you're at all unsure about any of this.

 

[Sean_SA]

I'd strongly advise against that. Solutions like that have a habit of failing just when you don't want them to. It also looks like you have PTFE tape between the element and the kettle so any ground bonded to the kettle might not make a good connection to the element. I'd recommend building a metal box for it following these instructions:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/heating-elements
If you browse the shop, there's also some pre-built kits you can get. I would also recommend picking up a ground clamp, attaching it to the leg of your stainless table, and grounding the table. Then you have the element, kettle, and table all grounded:

https://www.homedepot.com/s/ground%20clamp?NCNI-5

Thanks @duncan.brown

Ideally I would love to do what electric brewery suggests but the issue remains... its very hard to find steel junction boxes that are weatherproof in my country. They are all either plastic or made of fiberglass.

There is one particular aluminium box option below but its pricey and if there really is no other way I'll have to go with it. Issue is it will have to be ordered online so I'll only really know if its suitable once it arrives

I have obviously tried to do a fair bit of reading up on what others have done and I see a few guys have drilled a hole through the "nut" bit of the element like the pic below and use that to ground the element. This would then allow me to use a plastic enclosure. I would rather use a screw, nut, washer and lug approach rather than solder like below though. What are the concerns with this method?

Make sure you have a GFCI and consult a qualified electrician if you're at all unsure about any of this.

There is a GFCI in the electrical panel box in which the circuit breaker will hook up to.

 

[sibelman]

@Sean_SA , it's good you're taking appropriate electrical precautions. I'm assuming you've considered purpose-built element housings like this one and elements with integral twist-lock connectors like this. Neither requires a bulky box, and both provide grounding.

 

[Sean_SA]

@Sean_SA , it's good you're taking appropriate electrical precautions. I'm assuming you've considered purpose-built element housings like this one and elements with integral twist-lock connectors like this. Neither requires a bulky box, and both provide grounding.

The first option would no doubt be first prize but shipping is $193 I already have 4 x elements without the twist lock connectors so I have to work with what I have.

 

[duncan.brown]

I would rather use a screw, nut, washer and lug approach rather than solder like below though. What are the concerns with this method?

Yes, that solder frightens me. The connection will likely be brittle and could snap off when you don't want it to. If you want to go this route (and I would not, personally) see if you can find a ground bushing that will screw onto the element and then you can screw a ground wire into the bushing:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ground+bushing
Then you can place the whole lot in a plastic box and seal it up tight to keep moisture out. You should still get a ground clamp and also ground the table that your kettle sits on. But I recommend against this.

Personally, I would drop the $193 shipping on the solution that @sibelman suggests. Don't forget, you're not just putting a price on a component, you could be putting a price on your life!

 

[sibelman]

The first option would no doubt be first prize but shipping is $193 I already have 4 x elements without the twist lock connectors so I have to work with what I have.

I was worried about the shipping cost, but didn't know it would be *so* high. It seems a more creative DIY approach is needed. Solder might be okay as long as there's very good strain relief to protect all the connections.

 

[superiorsat]

If you want to go this route (and I would not, personally) see if you can find a ground bushing that will screw onto the element and then you can screw a ground wire into the bushing:

Back before I switched to all electric I went to the local hardware store and got a water heater element to put in a pot for my herms coil to kind of hybrid out my system. I used a bushing from the electrical department drilled a hole and threaded the semi-self tapping ground screw through the bushing. Then for the plastic cover it was a chunk of shop vac tube. It definitely works because if I splashed out when inserting the hems coil it would trip the GFCI breaker every time. These are some pictures. An alternative might be a pair of washers and a O type wire connector sandwiched under your tri-clamp nut. Testing would be a smart thing to do before you attempt to use it if you go that route. Oh I changed my mind I am not recommending anything what so ever. Never listen to people who drink. Famous last words hold my beer and watch this!
PS. That is one fugly tri-clamp NPT adapter. You got silver solder on it or what?