Heating Elements

[Benoit]

They come in some pretty wacky shapes & various sizes but I only seem to see the long immersion heater types used in boiler builds. Has anyone used anything different or can anyone share any pros / cons to the different shapes? I'm guessing if everyone is using the same thing then there must be a good reason for it but I'm curious as to how it's specifically good for stilling?
This is also a cheeky ploy to generate some conversation & see where people have sourced theirs from, what weld spuds or ferrules they have used to secure them in etc

Curiously

Benoit

[Mash]

I think the long straight ones are used for ease of fitting, because that is often the only access.

This is a cracking UK link for spuds and all sorts of stuff. I am planning to visit the guy sometime.
http://www.distillingdominoes.co.uk/weld-in-spud/ the blog site is well worth a read too.

Really nice chap - I get the feeling it is a passion and not about the money.

[Anavrin]

If choosing one for distilling, look for one that's "low watt density" LWD, for the same power they are longer so the heat is spread out over a larger area, so it doesn't scorch your wash.

I've been looking at one that brew UK have its 3kw LWD at £60 just haven't bought one because I don't really need one yet till mine breaks

[Benoit]

I'll have a look at the brew uk site, cheers Anavrin. Did you buy the element guard kit from still dragon? Seem to remember it being talked about but I can't remember by who!

Benoit

[Anavrin]

Yeah I bought the element guard kit, when I made my keg boiler I had a hole cut and a 2" tri-clamp ferrule welded on the side for the element guard kit to mount.

[Benoit]

What are your thoughts on it? Worth the money? Do they only accept 1" element nuts?

Benoit

[Anavrin]

Yeah 1" thread is all you will fit through a 2" tri-clamp hole, you don't actually need the guard kit if you buy the one from brew UK.


http://www.brewuk.co.uk/lwd-element.html

It looks like it was a gaurd of its own, all you would need to do is mount a 1" threaded brass cylinder connector or if you can get welding sorted, get a 2" ferrule fitted like I did and SD sell an adapter, it's a 2" tri clamp disk with a 1" threaded hole in the middle, it should work with the element so long as there enough clearance to fasten the clamp.

[Benoit]

£30 for a guard kit & £15 for an element from Amazon is the most appealing option at the moment I think. I'd love to get my hands on one of those camco wavey elements, they're supposed to be rediculously low watt density....don't much fancy paying the postage & import on one from the states though!

Benoit

[Benoit]

Sourcing 1" elements is proving to be a right royal pain in the backside, I thought I had one nailed on Amazon but when I double checked the description it seems not. How can something 1" wide have a 1.26" screw thread??!

AC 220V 3KW Electric Heating Water Boiler Heater Element Silver Tone https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GN6ZD6Q/ ... 1wbEHNW7P1

Asked a question & got conflicting answers as well, can any one help out?
I can see welding nuts to triclamp blanking plates in my future!

[Anavrin]

I got a e-mail from Amazon asking me the question, theses must have been the elements I bought and because you asked a question they must email people who have bought them before.

They are 1" BSP thread, however imperial threads are not so simple as metric in the sense that this would be the thread size on the outside of a pipe with a 1" bore hole.

So in reality it will be bigger that 1inch if measured across

[Anavrin]

They're also a little shorter than they look, and more powerful, my power meter reads 3.5kw if I give it full power but I don't let it go above 3kw to protect my 13a sockets on the wall.

They also stay very clean, just rinse them as you rinse the boiler after a strip and they look like new again, my old immersion heater element used to need scrubbing to get it clean again.

I bought two, but still on my first one, no problems so far, like I said they're not as long as they look, you can see a pick of mine being measured in my keg build thread.

[Icefever]

Finding a element with a 1" BSP thread in the UK is a pita. I bought one from China on Ebay.

[Squint]

I bought my 1'' elements for my keg from this ebay seller in the USA
also the bolt on CAMCO fitting, maybe worth sending him an email,

it was 6 years ago, but seems to still be trading and he did ship to the UK

http://stores.ebay.com/CENTURY-SALES-US ... m322&_vc=1

[Easydrinker]

Squint, welcome,
You sort of snuck up on us over the Xmas period, and we missed you arriving, sorry.
Buckle up,it may get rougher from here.

Robert.

[Benoit]

Thanks Anavrin, or should I say "Winchester Distillery"
It's a small world really, keep bumping into you guys all over the internet! Anyway, one on order & away we go. I keep my fingers crossed for an element guard kit to appear in the clearance section at Still Dragon with a scratch or such like but it hasn't yet, my inner Yorkshireman is preventing me from hitting the checkout button!