Heat stick build

[dlaramie08]

Built two of these with 1500 watt 120v elements. Will be testing for water proofness tonight. Hopefully will brew with them tomorrow night. Drew inspiration from the various online sources as far as directions go.

 

[dlaramie08]

Watertight and got up to mash in temps as quickly as my propane does.

 

[dlaramie08]

In case anyone is wondering about doing the same thing, it does take both going to keep a good rolling boil on a full boil 5 gallon batch (7 gallons). It was a little slower than propane getting from mash out temps up to boil, but it was only about another 10 minutes.

 

[the-crowing]

Awesome. I just built a 1500W heat stick yesterday and I'm hoping to brew with it tomorrow with my gas stove. I might have to look into building a second one before my next brew day.

 

[dlaramie08]

You will be fine on the stove for sure. If you build two you'll be gas free.

Edit: once you do go gas free, I would recommend insulating the boil kettle. That seems to be key for getting up to temps quicker. I need to do this myself.

 

[djt17]

Awesome. I just built a 1500W heat stick yesterday and I'm hoping to brew with it tomorrow with my gas stove. I might have to look into building a second one before my next brew day.

I use a 1500W stick with my stove, works great.

 

[MindenMan]

Are you guys using 120v or 240v? I'm guessing 120v.
1500 watts / 120v is 12.5 amps. Most standard circuits in any string (kitchen, bathroom, etc.) usually have a 15 amp breaker and I would be concerned about using 2 heat sticks from the same circuit.

 

[dlaramie08]

Yeah it is 120v, but I am brewing in my garage on two separate 15 amp circuits. There's no way two of these would work on one 15 or 20 amp circuit.

 

[matc]

Electric brewing for the win ! Much cheaper than propane and you dont have to worry if you've got enough gas for brewing

 

[crazyirishman34]

You could run one on each circuit.

 

[Epimetheus]

Looks good. Where did you fasten the ground wire?

The element I purchased did not have a ground connection. I ran the ground wire back up to above the waterline neare the end of the metal waste pipe, drilled the pipe for a machine screw and nut, crimped on a 2-prong connector, and clamped it tight. Smeared silicone around the head of the nut to seal it.

Those things are great. I reduced the time-to-boil from 1 hour to 20 minutes, and the 1.5kW heat stick can keep a vigorous boil by itself. The 32L pot is insulated with 2 layers of Reflectix, 1 layer on the lid.

A 1500W element on 120V is perfect for a 15A circuit. Circuits are designed to run continuously at 80% of max, intermittently up to 15A, and 12.5A is 83.33% of 15A.

 

[dlaramie08]

I did not screw my ground wire on. I stripped the wire, draped it over the top edge of the metal pipe and pushed on the PVC pipe with its compression fitting. Works perfectly. I still need to permanently insulate my kettle. I wrapped a bath towel around it and put it on top of a wooden table on my most recent brew and got a much more vigorous boil with both sticks. I'm sure with some decent insulation I should be able to maintain a boil with just one.

 

[elmito]

Looks good. Where did you fasten the ground wire?

The element I purchased did not have a ground connection. I ran the ground wire back up to above the waterline neare the end of the metal waste pipe, drilled the pipe for a machine screw and nut, crimped on a 2-prong connector, and clamped it tight. Smeared silicone around the head of the nut to seal it.

Those things are great. I reduced the time-to-boil from 1 hour to 20 minutes, and the 1.5kW heat stick can keep a vigorous boil by itself. The 32L pot is insulated with 2 layers of Reflectix, 1 layer on the lid.

A 1500W element on 120V is perfect for a 15A circuit. Circuits are designed to run continuously at 80% of max, intermittently up to 15A, and 12.5A is 83.33% of 15A.

How large of an element can you run off one 15A circuit?

 

[dlaramie08]

1500 watt is max on 15 amp.

 

[heckels]

1500 watt is max on 15 amp.

Technically, 1800W if you're running at 120V. But with variations between 110V and 120V, 1500-1600 is about the safe max.

 

[Strecker25]

mind elaborating where you got the 90* chrome pipe? i see the p-trap kit for 25$ at HD, looks similar but thought maybe you found it outside of a kit.

 

[processhead]

What are you doing to ground the kettle?

I would be concerned about an element shorted to the outer sheath and energizing the kettle or surrounding metal stands.

Being un-grounded, it might not have a reliable return path to trip the breaker or GFCI...

 

[wilserbrewer]

What are you doing to ground the kettle?

I would be concerned about an element shorted to the outer sheath and energizing the kettle or surrounding metal stands.

Being un-grounded, it might not have a reliable return path to trip the breaker or GFCI...

The outer sheath of the element is grounded via the connection of the element to the Heatstick tube which is grounded. I would also guess that in the event of a broken ground, the GFI would trip if the kettle became "hot" and posed a hazard.

GFI's work well, sometimes too well J/k.

 

[wilserbrewer]

mind elaborating where you got the 90* chrome pipe? i see the p-trap kit for 25$ at HD, looks similar but thought maybe you found it outside of a kit.

FWIW, I have always found the straight heat sticks to work well and have never bothered using the curved stick design, it also keeps the heatstcks a little more compact, some of the curved stick set-ups end up being quite large, and the more sticking out of the kettle, the greater the chance of a mishap IME. Only issue is that you will need 5-6" minimum in the kettle prior to powering the stick.

2 elements @ 2000w on 2 seperate 20 amp GFI circuits, will easily do a 10 gallon batch, and I have even done a few 15 gallon batches with a little patience.

 

[Epimetheus]

mind elaborating where you got the 90* chrome pipe? i see the p-trap kit for 25$ at HD, looks similar but thought maybe you found it outside of a kit.

HD usually has the L-type metal waste pipe. It was not easy to find - I had to ask.

Straight sticks are more compact. L sticks are more forgiving of shallow half batches. YMMV.


For my own case, I decided it was safe enough to connect the ground only to the metal heatstick column and not the pot. I guess I could clip a jumper with alligator clips from the pot to the stick. If I installed an element through the kettle wall then I would definitely ground the kettle.

 

[wilserbrewer]

L sticks are more forgiving of shallow half batches.

Yes, that's for sure! My sticks would be worthless with only several inches of liquid. Also, a curved stick can be of value to getting the first runnings on the heat when the level in the kettle is low prior to a sparge.

 

[Strecker25]

Thanks for the info guys, I may go to the dual 2kw sticks until I get my Kal clone built. At least I can move inside that way. My current kettle is pretty squatty though, so the 90* is probably smart for me.

For anyone who's gone to only heatsticks, how long does it take to get you into a decent boil? I know at 80% efficiency with 4kW you should see 20-30 minutes from mash temp to boil. Just curious on real world experience.

 

[dlaramie08]

mind elaborating where you got the 90* chrome pipe? i see the p-trap kit for 25$ at HD, looks similar but thought maybe you found it outside of a kit.

I found it at a local hardware store, it was like 12 bucks. HD didn't have the one with the threads on the end.

 

[dlaramie08]

No need to ground the kettle because the fluid will always be in contact with the metal pipe and then trip the gfci since the ground wire is touching the metal pipe. If the fluid is not in contact with the metal pipe then the element is running dry and I have bigger problems than the kettle being energized.

 

[dlaramie08]

Technically, 1800W if you're running at 120V. But with variations between 110V and 120V, 1500-1600 is about the safe max.

Is there even an 1800 watt element?

 

[Strecker25]

In case anyone is wondering about doing the same thing, it does take both going to keep a good rolling boil on a full boil 5 gallon batch (7 gallons). It was a little slower than propane getting from mash out temps up to boil, but it was only about another 10 minutes.

how long for the two 1500w sticks to a 7 gallon boil? did you have to unplug one once it got going? im really itching to use my new inside brew space and ditch propane as winter looms, but am not ready to do a full herms.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Sorry I have never measured the time to boil, but I would say 3000w for 5 gallon batches, or 4000w for ten gallon batches will yield reasonable heat up times, on par with propane.

 

[djt17]

Using 2 1500W heat sticks; from mash temps to boil - 30 min.

 

[Strecker25]

good to know, i think my propane probably takes that long to heat anyways. not to mention ill be warm in my basement, no freezing outside. an extra couple of minutes doesnt hurt me any.

 

[dlaramie08]

how long for the two 1500w sticks to a 7 gallon boil? did you have to unplug one once it got going? im really itching to use my new inside brew space and ditch propane as winter looms, but am not ready to do a full herms.

It adds maybe an extra 10 minutes but I think I can negate that with insulation. I think it should be almost equal once I get the kettle insulated.