heatstick or commercial immersion heater

[OCLemon]

I've been considering building a 1500W heatstick to help my stove heat water faster. My burners don't have trouble maintaining a rolling 6-gal boil, but it can take a bit of time getting there.

Has anybody used something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BDB4UG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And is there any reason to prefer a DIY heat-stick over this other than the obvious cost and power issues. That is, is there any reason to think that something like this shouldn't be used in wort?

 

[Walker]

I've been considering building a 1500W heatstick to help my stove heat water faster. My burners don't have trouble maintaining a rolling 6-gal boil, but it can take a bit of time getting there.

Has anybody used something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Marshalltown-742G-Bucket-Water-Heater/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

And is there any reason to prefer a DIY heat-stick over this other than the obvious cost and power issues. That is, is there any reason to think that something like this shouldn't be used in wort?

It should be fine to use in wort. It's just, as you said, more expensive and less powerful.... but probably more reliably constructed and probably has the stamp of Underwriter's Lab on it.

edit: actually, that one is pretty well priced. I've seen those things a hundred times, but they are usually a little more expensive.

I've also see 1500W versions somewhere.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

damn, I didn't know those existed. I'll definitely have to get at least one

 

[Ilikethebeer]

I am restricted to indoor and want to stovetop full boil as well. I will definitely be insulating, and I am also considering using flyguy's steam mash stepping setup (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/easy-steam-infusion-mash-system-25974/) to my boil kettle. Is there any reason that this is a bad idea?

 

[Malric]

I built my own 120v 2000w heatstick in an afternoon. I'll have to total up the cost, but I believe it was around $25-30.

 

[Malric]

Here is the post that I made after finishing the build.

Problem: My electric stove takes 70+ minutes to boil 4 gallons of water

Solution: Heatstick

The video is the first test of my 120V 2000W heatstick V1.0. I constructed this from a 2000W heating element, chromed steal drain pipe and some PVC. I was able to raise 4 gallons of water from 55 to boiling in roughly 40 minutes. This should significantly reduce my brewing time when used with the stove.

Phase 2 will include a automated temp control unit to use with the heatstick.
Phase 3: 240V 4500W!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUScHyfOEgw

Credit goes to http://www.3d0g.net/brewing/heatstick. I was not able to get the jb weld to pour, so I opted for Fireblock Great Stuff. I haven't used it enough to verify the longevity, but it held for the initial test.

Disclaimer: GFCI outlet, etc

 

[markcurling]

My vote: avoid!

I used one of these as a stop gap before building a 5 gallon boiler using an immersion heater element.

It did work temporarily, however they are only designed for short water heating jobs - after a couple of hour-long boils the plastic fittings at the top succumbed to the steam and warped/fell apart. If you want to use one of these long term, you will need to re-design the wiring fixtures so may be better off buying a cheaper element and doing it from scratch.

That said, if you're only using it on stove top to get up to temperature rather than sustain a boil, you're probably fine.