72 replies to this topic

[BrewerGeorge]

I was just concerned how good of a seal I'll get on the curved surface. Flattening a section is a good idea. I think that would work much better with a thin SS kettle, though. I have a thick walled aluminum kettle.

Not sure how thick you mean, but I can beat the crap out of the Al kettle that came with my King Kooker. Damn near make it into any shape I want. If you have a really thick kettle, that might not work of course.

[djinkc]

I was just concerned how good of a seal I'll get on the curved surface. Flattening a section is a good idea. I think that would work much better with a thin SS kettle, though. I have a thick walled aluminum kettle.

I'd try it without flattening it first. The Sanke sealed fine as is first try. With Al I would drill it out a little undersized too - easy to make it bigger if needed and the element will probably tap it anyway since yours is thick.

[stangbat]

I'd try it without flattening it first. The Sanke sealed fine as is first try. With Al I would drill it out a little undersized too - easy to make it bigger if needed and the element will probably tap it anyway since yours is thick.

I agree with this 100% no matter what you are using as a kettle. Don't flatten anything until you try it first. You could end up making things much more difficult if you mess up. I can assure you that flattening a keg is not needed. Using the supplied rubber washer/o-ring and a locknut works great on a keg.

[siouxbrewer]

I just have to chime in and say that I love this thread I may not be going electric any time soon but I hope to one day, or have a dual system like stangbat(so jealous)Really cool topic guys, I'm always impressed with talent here. SB

[3rd party JKor]

I'm glad to heat that the supplied gasket works with a Sanke. My aluminum kettle has a larger diameter than a Sanke, so it should also work.

[3rd party JKor]

I picked up the 5500W ripple element today. Considering the depth of the threads on the element, thickness of the kettle and size of the locknut, I can tell it's going to be a serious PITA getting this thing into the kettle. It looks possible, but daunting.

[dondewey]

I picked up the 5500W ripple element today. Considering the depth of the threads on the element, thickness of the kettle and size of the locknut, I can tell it's going to be a serious PITA getting this thing into the kettle. It looks possible, but daunting.

If the locknut won't fit, I used a stainless female-female coupling and cut it in half. One half for the kettle and one half for the HLT.I went and looked and both elements are 4500W, not 3500W like I said earlier.

[HVB]

I picked up the 5500W ripple element today. Considering the depth of the threads on the element, thickness of the kettle and size of the locknut, I can tell it's going to be a serious PITA getting this thing into the kettle. It looks possible, but daunting.

It was a PITA to get my 4500 watt ULD into my keg. I had one person holding the SS nut while I turned the element. Only caught a few threads but I have had no leaks at all. Brute force and ignorance got it done! Just make sure you have an o-ring on there.

[3rd party JKor]

It turned out to be not as bad as I thought. I used a 36" F-clamp to hold it in the kettle and compress the gasket. Once I got the clamp tightened down it was easy to thread the locknut on from the inside. I think I may even have to back it off a little.

[3rd party JKor]

All I need now is the GFCI breaker and some wire. Are 30A 2-pole GFCI breakers really $100+? Damn, that's what you call a hidden cost in the system.

[HVB]

All I need now is the GFCI breaker and some wire. Are 30A 2-pole GFCI breakers really $100+? Damn, that's what you call a hidden cost in the system.

yes they are! Look on eBay. I got mine there for 50 shipped brand new still in the package. Took some waiting to find the right one but it was worth it.

[3rd party JKor]

I saw this link on another forum: 30A GFCI CableI thought that was kind of nice. It makes the whole rig portable, which may or may not be useful depending on the situation. The cord is 17 feet long, so it will reach pretty much wherever you need it to.I just realized I have next Monday off. I'd love to get a few batches done on this new system. It'll take some effort to get it all ready by then, but I have pretty much everything I need, so it's possible. Although, I may have to bite the bullet and get a full price GFI breaker.

[BrewerGeorge]

... Damn, that's what you call a hidden cost in the system.

You priced stranded wire yet? Don't be tempted to get solid wire. It's much cheaper, but very, very unwieldy. I made that mistake. IIRC, I paid about $12/ft.Actually, that plug on eBay looks like a great deal.Wait a sec...Did you end up with the 5500W element? If so, you need 50A everything.

[3rd party JKor]

You priced stranded wire yet? Don't be tempted to get solid wire. It's much cheaper, but very, very unwieldy. I made that mistake. IIRC, I paid about $12/ft.Actually, that plug on eBay looks like a great deal.Wait a sec...Did you end up with the 5500W element? If so, you need 50A everything.

I did get the 5500W, it shouldn't need 50A, current draw is only 23A. Although, I was thinking about that this morning and I'm planning on getting another element when I do my next system upgrade, so I think I am going to go 50A all around. I bet the 6AWG wire is really reasonably priced . Fortunately, this is going to be set up right next to the panel.

[BrewerGeorge]

I did get the 5500W, it shouldn't need 50A, current draw is only 23A. Although, I was thinking about that this morning and I'm planning on getting another element when I do my next system upgrade, so I think I am going to go 50A all around. I bet the 6AWG wire is really reasonably priced . Fortunately, this is going to be set up right next to the panel.

Oh yeah, I divided by 120...

[3rd party JKor]

I priced some stuff out this afternoon. It looks like the best route (besides prowling eBay/CL) is to install a standard 50A breaker in my panel, then get a 50A spa panel, which is pretty much just a box with a 50A GFI breaker, to install on the stand. HD has them for $50. This is what I'm figuring for cost to get the 50A to the control box:50A 2P breaker: $1550A 2P GFI box: $5010 ft 6-3 Romex: $2550A receptacle: $15 (?)6 ft 6-3 range cord: $20Misc electrical connectors/etc: $30Total ~$155

[dondewey]

That's pretty much what I bought. The two male and female twist lock connectors from mcmaster was the most expensive purchase.

[djinkc]

That ought to get you started. I went with the GFCI in the main panel because I was on an impatient schedule. The wife was out of town for about 3 days and there was a brewery in place when she got home...... Yeah sounds expensive but no more propane refills - especially mid brew. Extremely predicable boiloff volumes too. The weirdest thing is the quiet during the boil. Make that connection from the panel to the spa breaker idiot proof though.50 amps ought to be able to run the whole show. Stangbat has some nice info on his setup.

Edited by dj in kc, 05 October 2009 - 05:58 PM.

[3rd party JKor]

That's pretty much what I bought. The two male and female twist lock connectors from mcmaster was the most expensive purchase.

Where'd you use the Twist-loks? I'm planning on just using a standard range receptacle and plug. The receptacle, plug and 6 ft. cord are $30.

The wife was out of town for about 3 days and there was a brewery in place when she got home......

I like your style, Dude.

Yeah sounds expensive but no more propane refills - especially mid brew. Extremely predicable boiloff volumes too. The weirdest thing is the quiet during the boil. Make that connection from the panel to the spa breaker idiot proof though.50 amps ought to be able to run the whole show. Stangbat has some nice info on his setup.

Connection from the control box to the element is going to be all water tight fittings. I just need to figure out how to protect the connection at the element. Any pointers?I've seen one where someone epoxied a water tight box to the element, but I don't trust the epoxy to hold in the long term. I'm considering tapping into the kettle and bolting the box to the back of the element with a gasket, or some silicone, between the element and box. That just leaves the issue of sealing the tapped holes. It shouldn't be too tough, teflon tape should do the trick.

[dondewey]

Where'd you use the Twist-loks? I'm planning on just using a standard range receptacle and plug. The receptacle, plug and 6 ft. cord are $30.I've seen one where someone epoxied a water tight box to the element, but I don't trust the epoxy to hold in the long term. I'm considering tapping into the kettle and bolting the box to the back of the element with a gasket, or some silicone, between the element and box. That just leaves the issue of sealing the tapped holes. It shouldn't be too tough, teflon tape should do the trick.

I also have a standard range receptacle from the outlet on the wall to the control box. The twist-locks connect to the kettle and hlt.I JB welded a ceiling fan box to my keggle, but I share your concern (won't be surprised if it fails someday, but it's not really a safety concern as the kettle sits directly on the deck and it wouldn't put any strain on the wires if the box fell off); could you find someone to weld some tabs or something near the element you could bolt to?