Which Elements to Go For

[George Downs]

Hi all. I’ve been doing some extensive research on this but thought I’d ask here too.

I’m looking to switch from propane to eBIAB. I’m just designing the new setup now. One question I keep coming back to is which elements to get.

I’m looking at a 50L kettle, and thinking of either getting two 2.4kw elements (scorching worries) or one 3kw Ultra Low Density element (no scorching, but worried about sustaining a boil.

Further info:
I’m in the UK on 230v. My circuit can easily handle 32amps as I’m going back to the breaker.
I normally only make 20L batches, but I keep running out of room in my brew kettle, so upgrading to a 50L kettle for more flexibility.

So, will a 3kw element do the trick? Will I be looking at painfully slow boil times? Can 3kw sustain a rolling boil?

Thanks in advance folks.

 

[Elky]

3k should be fine for 20 liter batches, but it would be undersized for larger ones should you decide to take advantage of your larger kettle from time to time. My best advice would be to use the largest ULWD element you can find that will work with your equipment. There is no risk of scorching with a 5500 watt ULWD element so your 3000 watt selection will be fine if that’s what you decide on

 

[George Downs]

Thanks. I was looking at this, but it doesn't say Low Density

 

[Elky]

I don’t think the straight 5500s are ULWD, I think they are LWD though. See if you can find something like this. The same wattage with a larger amount of surface area is what brings down the watt density

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/element5500_ripple.htm

 

[George Downs]

Copy. So Wiggly 5.5kw is the way forward! Thanks!

 

[George Downs]

Copy. So Wiggly 5.5kw is the way forward! Thanks!