heating elements box

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theQ

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Hello,

I went to ACE and looked the 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches waterproof boxes for the heating elements and I thought they were HUGE.

While there I looked at the "half" version of that.

Looks like this
21pBFi4zf4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg


To me should have plenty of room to install the element. Just curious if anyone tried it ?

Thanks!
Q
 
I recently looks at these as well and I think most people tend to go on the side of caution and convenience so while you are able to do it in there it would be easier with a bigger one.
 
I recently looks at these as well and I think most people tend to go on the side of caution and convenience so while you are able to do it in there it would be easier with a bigger one.

Thanks, so you are saying that is the difficulty to work with these that's drawing people off.
 
I'm using the smaller box. I have everything together except the wiring, so far it seems like enough room to me. One problem I noticed when I was about half way through my design was the location of the ground lug was not ideal. So I transitioned to one of the extender boxes, and did it a little differently.
 
BTW while at it, any alternative to Standard straight cord/wire grip, 3/4" NPT (McMaster-Carr part number: 7529K533) ?
 
I currently have mine wired up in a smaller 1-gang extension box with a face plate on either side. The box itself I believe is 1 inch deep. I'm guessing its easier to wire it up in a 2-gang box, but I didn't think it was difficult with mine.

Like this.

images
 
Hello,

I went to ACE and looked the 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches waterproof boxes for the heating elements and I thought they were HUGE.

While there I looked at the "half" version of that.

Looks like this
21pBFi4zf4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg


To me should have plenty of room to install the element. Just curious if anyone tried it ?

Thanks!
Q

Im using this exact box, not tight at all, plenty of room to make the connections. Depending on your element setup, you might want to invest in a hot water heater "wrench". It is difficult to get a set of plyers/vice grips in the box to get onto the element nut.
 
tyfernandez said:
I currently have mine wired up in a smaller 1-gang extension box with a face plate on either side. The box itself I believe is 1 inch deep. I'm guessing its easier to wire it up in a 2-gang box, but I didn't think it was difficult with mine.

Like this.

That is exactly how I did it.
 
If I remember right I think kegkits has an outline of how he made his electric kettle and used the smaller box.

Just stated that the hole for the element was drilled off center.
 
do you have a link, would be nice to check other implementation before starting.
 
I used a single gang box. There's plenty of room - you have one entire side of the box open to run 3 wires... I don't see how you would need more room to make it happen, honestly. The double gang is cheap insurance if you have the space / don't care, but the single gang box allowed me to mount the element lower in the kettle and save on excess junk hanging off the keg.
 
i use those. i had to wire the element/ground in sort of a specific order to get all the wires in place, but it works great.

definitely considering going to a jbweld + PVC cap sort of configuration, as it'll be smaller. but i'm too lazy to change an existing configuration. :p

331134_4448662653883_960228336_o.jpg


279892_4448661173846_810871968_o.jpg


210306_4448662093869_832796934_o.jpg
 
drilled the hole in the gang box to be just large enough to fit the threads of the element. it pinches between the element and the half coupling so the box does not move once installed. i like the sideways configuration better as it allows for better cord management, but the up n down config works as well.
 
If I remember right I think kegkits has an outline of how he made his electric kettle and used the smaller box.

Just stated that the hole for the element was drilled off center.

I did the conversion & wrote the article posted on the kegkits web site.

The first secret to using the single gang box is to drill the hole slightly off center, away from the ground lug. And if you are using a step bit that won't let you drill the hole off center, you will need to use a dremel tool to cut off the corner of the boss the ground screw is threaded into so that the nut spins easy.

The second secret is to strip the outer cover back about 2" to give you enough length to manuver the wires around and then to attach the ground wire last. If you don't attach the ground wire last the ground wire is in the way of the power wire screws.

You can also find the instructions on the instructables.com web site.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Installing-a-water-tank-heating-element-in-a-Polar/

Tom
 
Very cool. I see that you are using the hefty 600V cable. It happend that I got a good deal on the 9feet 600v with the twist and lock from ebay but didn't expect that the cord would be that think. It's heavy too.

How do you insulate at the point of entry into the box ? Did you add any extra tape to make sure the humidity doesn't get in.


i use those. i had to wire the element/ground in sort of a specific order to get all the wires in place, but it works great.

definitely considering going to a jbweld + PVC cap sort of configuration, as it'll be smaller. but i'm too lazy to change an existing configuration. :p

331134_4448662653883_960228336_o.jpg


279892_4448661173846_810871968_o.jpg


210306_4448662093869_832796934_o.jpg
 
This may be a bit pricier option than the outdoor box, but for me this approach is much cleaner looking and easy to disassemble, plus with what i spent going electric an extra $35 wasnt much

20130122_171410.jpg
 
i drilled holes into the "plugs" that came to seal the unused holes and pushed the cable through. i jammed some clear silicone and a zip tie on the inside of the housing to act as a cable stop to keep the cable in place. should prolly take them apart and put a proper input port on there at some point... but i'm too lazy.
 
I have the same boxes. I bought them from ACE. they come with 1/2 inch plugs but that 600V wire is almost 1/2 inch thick. Maybe you are not using the 600V but that's how it looks looking at your picture.

i drilled holes into the "plugs" that came to seal the unused holes and pushed the cable through. i jammed some clear silicone and a zip tie on the inside of the housing to act as a cable stop to keep the cable in place. should prolly take them apart and put a proper input port on there at some point... but i'm too lazy.
 
I'm using a single gang box mounted to my kettle. I did it the way kal (www.theelectricbrewery.com) did it except it's not hard wired - I mounted a gasketed leviton inlet to the side opposite the kettle. I had to use a single gang extension ring to make everything fit but it sure is nice being able to remove the cord without removing the box.

Search amazon for Leviton 4937 for the face plate I used. I think it was around $10.

image-2479741920.jpg
 
I've been doing this today with the smaller box as I posted earlier.
During the implementation I started wondering about the need for two plates, front and back. Anyone knows what the rational for that ?

So if the original hole is plugged the 2 1/4 wholesaw cut is not needed, gluing, no threading, I think there is plenty of room to wire the element. Anyhow too late for me since I did cut the boxes.

Oh, Very cool Doughass! I like the fact that the keg don't have the cord attached...

I'm using a single gang box mounted to my kettle. I did it the way kal
 
I mounted my element on the front plate, so it backwards from what everyone else is doing. No need to drill a hole in the box, only on the plate. I just use a plug on the back hole.
 
I know! Not sure why people do it that way. it's too late for me now but its much better that way!
 
i mounted mine to the box for a safety reason: with the cover off there's still cover on the element for accidental contact.

how the heck do you get the screws through the plate since they mount from the side facing the keg?
 
I mounted mine the way I did (back of the box toward the kettle) so that I could mount an inlet on the front and have a removable power cord.

I imagine to close it from the front you wire it all up and put the element through the blank with a 1-1/4 hole. You could then put on the o-ring or gasket on the element threads and close the box before pulling it by the element through a hole in the kettle. You could then put on the nut and tighten with a wrench while holding the element with pliers to prevent too much twisting. The only problem I imagine is wires coming loose if you twist it the element and not the box.

That sounds like the most elegant solution so far if you're ok with an attached cord. I'd be tempted to put a short little pigtail out rather than a long cord.

The only downside is difficulty in accessing the element to fix a problem or look for leaks. I suppose you could pull out a plug to check for leaks.

I have another box to build and may just try this method.
 
I mounted mine the way I did (back of the box toward the kettle) so that I could mount an inlet on the front and have a removable power cord.

I imagine to close it from the front you wire it all up and put the element through the blank with a 1-1/4 hole. You could then put on the o-ring or gasket on the element threads and close the box before pulling it by the element through a hole in the kettle. You could then put on the nut and tighten with a wrench while holding the element with pliers to prevent too much twisting. The only problem I imagine is wires coming loose if you twist it the element and not the box.

That sounds like the most elegant solution so far if you're ok with an attached cord. I'd be tempted to put a short little pigtail out rather than a long cord.

The only downside is difficulty in accessing the element to fix a problem or look for leaks. I suppose you could pull out a plug to check for leaks.

I have another box to build and may just try this method.

That's exactly how I did it, the box is sealed up with the element threads sticking out and oring slid over. The first few runs I left a plug out so I could look for leaks, never saw one. If I need to make a change or fix something ill take the element out of the kettle, it's easier to work on that way.
 
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