To the poster above, yep it looks like they are sucking up about 815-825 watts on 120V per element. Also, it looks like I had the same idea as you on the pvc install =)
Ok so now for some pics. The install of the actual element is pretty trivial due to the clamshell design.
Here is the element being put inside the kettle. The holes I drilled are the same size as for a standard water heater element.
Silicone gasket goes inside the kettle. On the bottom of the kettle, attatch the bottom half of the clamshell and screw on the nuts.
So thats the easy part. The more interesting part is making the enclosure for it. Since the base of this element has some threaded rods, you have some interesting options for enclosing it that you wouldn't with a normal water heater element.
I decided to make my enclosure with 1.25" PVC (although 1" probably would have worked). Here are the parts
Parts list per enclosure
1.25" PVC tee
1.25" PVC cap to 1/2" NPT thread
1.25" PVC cap
10-32 coupling nut
10-32 nuts
1/2" NPT plastic cable strain relief
a few inches of 10-32 rod, cut from a 3' length
1 washer
Optional?: Some insulation material (I used a thin silicone sheet)
One of the best parts of this element is that attaching the ground is trivial. Just attach the ground wire to a terminal, then sandwich it between two nuts on the threaded rod that's sticking out as shown.
On the other rod, attach the coupling nut. This coupling nut will attach to the custom 10-32 threaded rod that I cut to size, essentially lengthening the rod. You can use this long thread to hold the PVC enclosure tightly to the base of the kettle using a nut and a washer, as you can see in this picture:
Note two things I forgot to mention. First, I had to drill a small hole in the 1.25" pvc cap to get the 10-32 rod to go through. Second, I used a sheet of silicone to cut out some gaskets anywhere the pvc was touching metal. I wanted it to be water tight, but more importantly I wanted to make sure the PVC wouldn't melt from touching the burning hot metal. I later heat gunned the pvc at its hottest spot and it was 150 degrees, which I think is fine.
Here's the final product on the stand.
It's a tad bulky since I have 4 of them. I could make it a bit cleaner and more condensed, but this is hidden under my kettle so I won't have to look at it. Plenty of room for my bottom drain tri-clover valve as well.
And finally, the test run. I took 11 gallons of 165 degree water, temporarily covered the pot, turned on the elements and waited to see how long it took to boil. It took 28 minutes to reach boil, and I removed the cover for a while to confirm that it would keep the rolling boil.
Who says you need 4500 watts to get a good rolling boil with 11 gallons?
Overall I have to say I'm pretty happy with this install
