Water in heatstick?

[Dgonza9]

So I tested my heatstick today. Worked fine, but after I had shut if off and disconnected it, I tilted it upside down and water came out of it.

I had basically taped around the connections and then poured in some thinned JB Weld to make a cone of JB Weld around the connections. I used a 1 1/2 by 1 1/4 reducing chrome slipnut from Macmaster Carr along with the original gasket. I did not put silicone or JB Weld on the threads of the Slipnut.

Should I disassemble it and put JB Weld or silicone on the slipnut to keep water from getting in there? Or does it not matter so long as connections are encased in JB Weld?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Duckfoot]

I am not 100% sure of how you have everything setup, but the one thing I can say is = Electricity + Water = BAD!!!!

 

[JuanMoore]

Epoxy encased connections or not, I strongly suggest figuring out a way to make the assembly water tight.

 

[goodham]

The exact same thing happened to me this week. I built two heat sticks, one straight and the other a ninety-degree. After I wired the elements with my 12/3 wire, I made a cardboard mold around the terminals and sealed it totally with thinned jb weld. After assembly, I submerged them and they took on a ton of water.

My new plan is to seal them with some high temp RTV silicone and reassemble. This way they will be water-tight and I can replace the element, should it fail, without purchasing a new chrome drain pipe.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Epoxy encased connections or not, I strongly suggest figuring out a way to make the assembly water tight.

Agreed, the stick must be water tight. The epoxy cap on the wires will eventually fail as moisture will penetrate along the wires and cause shorting. Even w/ JB weld on th threaded portions, I have disassembled a heatsick w/ a large pipe wrench and Norwegian steam....(brute force).

 

[Dgonza9]

Since I did the tape job and cone of JB Weld around connections I think I'll try mixing up some more thinned JB weld and pouring into the upside down stick to coat the leaks around the slipnut. That should make it water tight. I probably will put JB Weld on the threads of the second slip nut fitting as well, or maybe aquarium silicone.

I bought some silicone for the project, but realized before I used it that it might not be safe for the application or the temperatures involved. Aquarium sealant?

I think also, for future reference, using the taped cone and pourable JB Weld can make it hard to fit properly in the 90 bend heat sticks. I had some trouble with the slip nut, actually.

Lemme go see if I can make that baby water tight.

 

[Dgonza9]

I am not 100% sure of how you have everything setup, but the one thing I can say is = Electricity + Water = BAD!!!!

Very true. Though I'm going to make the stick water tight, I did take some precautions so far. 20 amp GFCI receptacles on separate circuits with each receptacle wired to its own switch to control it.

This way I put the heat stick in, then throw the switch to turn it on. I don't have to be anywhere near the keggle or stick with an active heat stick.

Still, that puppy needs to be waterproofed.

 

[Dgonza9]

FYI, I poured thinned JB Weld inside the heatstick last night. Just ran a test and it's waterproof now. I think that's the way to go, though I'll be curious to see what Goodham does.

Just tested two of my three heat sticks and they work darn well. Just gotta get the ventilation system setup down there and I'm ready to brew in the basement.