Show me your HEAT STICK!

[pricelessbrewing]

He's moving his website, they should be back next week I think he said with the stainless elements.

 

[bbohanon]

Hot Rod Ordered and on the way. This will be my Heat Stick supplementing my indoor AG brews until my EBIAB build gets done this spring.

 

[Ibrewaletx]

Would like to see pics of the hot rod put together with everyone's elements- just curious

 

[EO74]

Hot Rod Ordered and on the way. This will be my Heat Stick supplementing my indoor AG brews until my EBIAB build gets done this spring.

Nice I want to order one for the same thing but It doesn't look like bobby offers a 1500w stainless steel element and the 2000w is to big for my kitchen. I'm wondering if I got one off eBay if it would be the same fit in the hot rod?

 

[bbohanon]

Nice I want to order one for the same thing but It doesn't look like bobby offers a 1500w stainless steel element and the 2000w is to big for my kitchen. I'm wondering if I got one off eBay if it would be the same fit in the hot rod?

Honestly, the 2000watt element should work as long as you have a GFCI outlet to plug it into. I don't have great power in my kitchen either and was worried a bit about the same thing with tripping breakers, but it worked like a charm.

I would honestly go with Bobby's Hot Rod. You will be hard pressed to find one better. Its a work of art and I would pay twice what he is charging for this thing..its just that nice.

I brewed a full AG grain batch today on my flat top electric stove(Pliny Morebeer kit which was a 90 min boil) and used the Hot Rod for the first time and it got the strike and sparge water to temp in less than 15 mins with the electric stove helping..To get 6.5 gallons of wort to a rolling boil after I sparged out, it was about 18 mins from 160deg to a solid boil. I actually turned off the hot rod and let the stove handle the boil the rest of the brew once I got the boil really going. Without the hot rod, it would have taken the stove over an hour to get to that nice of a boil and maybe would have never gotten to that point to be honest.
I did pull the pot off the stove to see if the hot rod would hold the boil with no help of the stove and it did nicely which gives me the ability to brew anywhere I have a GFCI outlet. The hot rod is my initial jump to going all electric sometime in 2015 as I wanted to see how well something like this would work. It passed the test and will be a very useful tool for my all electric setup next year.

Great investment and I would not hesitate to pick one up. I think it cost me $20 more to buy Bobby's as it would have to build one. Well worth the extra $20
Pics of my brew day with some of the Hot Rod pics below.

Heating up strike water:

View from the pot:

View after I pulled it out and cleaned it up:

Another view..It has a nice "Hot Rod" logo on the back which is slick..

Some additional wiring photos, product information and other good stuff on the Hot Rod from others as well as the master of the design himself located on this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/prototype-previews-hopback-heat-stick-471766/index41.html

 

[bbohanon]

Should you pick up a Hot Rod, here are some tips on getting it wired up and using it:

Note 1: Make sure you get 12/3 SJOOW wire. Bobby mentions this and its what I wired mine up with. I picked up 8ft of it from Lowes along with the yellow waterproof plug you see on mine. Pulling it through the 90degree bend is a breeze.

Note 2: There are 2 washers in the box with the hotrod. You will need to use them both to tighen the ground screw in the back of the hot rod(you will see what I mean when you get it). Otherwise the screw will bottom out before its tight.

Note 3: There are 3 round connectors with the Hot Rod..Make SURE you note there are 2 smaller ones and one larger one. The larger one is for the ground!
I screwed up and did not notice this until post crimping. Also make sure you use the Heat Shrink to seal up the connections for the 2 hot legs..You do NOT want to have any of those connections hitting the side of the Hot Rod with any of the bare wire/connector....lol

Note 4: The bracket that it comes with is for mounting the hot rod to the side of a pot by drilling a hole in the upper collar of your pot. This is kind of a perma-mount for the hot-rod. You do not need to use it to use the Hot Rod(I just place it in the pot and let her rip), but you can actually use 2 large fender washers to accomplish the same thing without drilling a single hole in the pot. See MonkeyMan's post in the thread I linked for this..Very nice and keeps your pots drill hole free.


Note 5: This may seem like common sense, but never use the hot rod dry. Only power it when its fully submerged in water or you will kill the element very quickly. Also never use it without a GFCI protected outlet/circuit. Ever.

 

[Bobby_M]

Good notes. The two fender washer trick will work for pots that don't have any kind of rolled top lip, but I need to figure out a less invasive solution for a wider variety of pots. Honestly, this is really the reason the price is as low as it is. I'm selling the first 50 at near break even pricing because although the business end of the unit is fully up to my expectation, it's not a mature product in my mind without a universal mount.

On the crimp terminals... it definitely helps if you put a bit of a bend in the ring terminals for the element connection so that the wires are not jutting out directly to the side walls of the housing. I think I bent a 45 degree in them with a pair of needlenose pliers. Shrink the heatshrink on after bending.

 

[user 163849]

I used 1" x 1/8" aluminom bar stock rather than fender washers for mine. Actually I did this before reading about using the fender washers.

I have not used the Hot Rod for a brew session yet but I have used it to heat water several times as I have no water heater in my garage. Not needing to fire up the propane burner just to heat water for clean up after bottling a couple of days ago was a welcome change. I am a big fan of the Hot Rod!

 

[user 163849]

Sorry, that was not the picture that I intended to post. But it does show my alternative to having the bend in the tube.

Thanks Bobby for another great product.

 

[Hello]

Sorry, that was not the picture that I intended to post. But it does show my alternative to having the bend in the tube.

Thanks Bobby for another great product.

That is straight kick ass. Bobby sure does amazing work!

 

[30Bones]

I think I will grab a hot rod and toss my sketchy heat stick, but reuse the $40 12ga extension cord I bought to build it. Hoping the 2000 watt doesn't trip my breaker, my current piece is 1500 watts. I use it to minimize my propane usage for heating strike and sparge. Sometimes I use it to help get it to a boil, but usually let propane do all the work for that stage.

Great product Bobby.

 

[bbohanon]

Good notes. The two fender washer trick will work for pots that don't have any kind of rolled top lip, but I need to figure out a less invasive solution for a wider variety of pots. Honestly, this is really the reason the price is as low as it is. I'm selling the first 50 at near break even pricing because although the business end of the unit is fully up to my expectation, it's not a mature product in my mind without a universal mount.

On the crimp terminals... it definitely helps if you put a bit of a bend in the ring terminals for the element connection so that the wires are not jutting out directly to the side walls of the housing. I think I bent a 45 degree in them with a pair of needlenose pliers. Shrink the heatshrink on after bending.

I did not bend my ring connections but it worked perfectly nevertheless. It WAS a tight fit. I may pop it open and bend them a bit as you suggested however before my next brew day.

 

[EO74]

Ok bbohanon I went with the 2000w element on your advice just placed my order looks like a great product way better than I was going to build

 

[bbohanon]

Ok bbohanon I went with the 2000w element on your advice just placed my order looks like a great product way better than I was going to build

You will love it! It's a thing of beauty. Post some pics when you get it all rigged up!

 

[EO74]

I got my hot rod straight but now I think I want a bend in it ....will a regular pipe bender work for stainless ?

 

[Bobby_M]

You'll need a 5/8" bender.

 

[EO74]

Ok cool......thanks bobby this thing is awsome!

 

[derfh]

any idea when these will be back in stock? I would love one since I brew outside in Mass. I could hear strike water with the garage closed then use it to help get to boiling.

 

[Monkey-BB]

Here's my two 2000W "Hot Rods" from Brewhardware.com
I love these things.
Thanks Bobby!

 

[EO74]

You'd have to go to brew hardware to see if he has any in stock but they are awesome!!! I did a small extract batch just to test run it WOW these crank! One of my best homebrew investments.....awesome product by brew hardware

 

[Mattsbay18]

I am new to brewing, 4 batches complete. Started with 1 gallon stovetop batches and moved my operation outside where I am brewing 5 gallon extract batches. I love brewing outside, that is until I brewed in less than ideal temperatures. The steam from the kettle paired with the below freezing temps had me running around the garage like a mad man. The only thing missing was the Benny Hill theme music.

My questions (for 5 gal batches):

1) Can I achieve a rolling boil with 2000 watt element or should I go larger with a 5500 watt element?

2) Is there a way to add a temp dial control? Something like this

3) Is the HotRod Heat Stick Hardware the best option for electric brewing without drilling holes into my pot?

I still like the idea of having my main brew station outside for the warmer months, I'm looking for a cheap and easy solution for moving my operation to the basement for the winter months. All recommendations are welcome. Just go easy on me with the terminology, I'm new to brewing and even newer to electric brewing.

Thanks in advance for your help

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Mattsbay18]

I'm new to brewing, 1 completed batch thus far. I do my brewing in the garage but with the winter months upon us, I'm looking to move my operation to the basement. The steam from the kettle and my west facing garage sets up for a sucky winter brew day.

My questions, for 5 gallon batches;

1) Will I achieve a rolling boil with a 2000 watt element or should I upgrade to 5500 watt? (I have the wiring to handle both)

2) I'm not wanting to drill holes into my pots just yet. Is the HotRod Heat Stick Hardware my best option for a drop in heat source?

3) Is this a good option for controlling the heating element? StillDragon

Thanks for your responses in advance. I'm eager to fire up another batch so all recommendations, tips, and tricks are welcome. Go easy on me with the terminology, I am new to brewing, even newer to electric brewing.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[wilserbrewer]

Matt,

2000w might squeak by a for five gallon batch depending on your kettle and ambient temps. It will be slow!!!! You may need to boil with the pot partially covered. If you HAD to do it I would guess you could, but far from ideal!

The hot rod is an excellent product.

4500 or 5500 will work very well! Even 3000 would work fairly well.

The still dragon unit is a good basic unit to adjust the power manually. A pid used with temp sensor allows automated temp control for a few bucks more but is more involved.

 

[Mattsbay18]

Thanks for your recommendation wilserbrewer. About how much of an investment am I looking at for basic pid?