2200w Elements From Craftbrewer

[captaincleanoff]

Anyone have experience with the 2200w elements from craftbrewer?

thinking of installing them in my 100L kettle.

thinking 3 should boil 80l pretty well...

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=3853

 

[adryargument]

Do you have the power facilities available to power three of them?
Alot of people have issues powering two....

And i believe craftbrewer ones are 3x the quality of ebay ones

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

How does it attach to the kettle ?
GB

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

How does it attach to the kettle ?
GB

Answers own question by reading
GB

 

[Guysmiley54]

I was just about to buy one of these but they are now out of stock... DOH!!

Any idea where else I could buy one?

 

[Greg Lawrence]

I was just about to buy one of these but they are now out of stock... DOH!!

Any idea where else I could buy one?

http://www.kegking.com.au/

 

[Rodolphe01]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2200W-Stainless-Ste...=item3364631f68

No affiliation, not bought one myself, nfi if any good - but they look the same as the craftbrewer one.

 

[pimpsqueak]

I was just about to buy one of these but they are now out of stock... DOH!!

Any idea where else I could buy one?

JB Brew Supplies also has them. Mine arrived today

edit: whoops, I see that above ebay link is for a JB Brew Supplies one... the only difference is that they're cheaper direct from the JB site.

 

[Parks]

I have one of these in a 50L pot and quality seems great.

Only done about a dozen boils but they look the goods, especially for the price.

 

[ampy]

Just got an email from Ross, elements should be back in stock early next week

 

[Maheel]

i have one from CB but the wiring set up is a little different and to be honest i think they could be made a bit better. (thats no reflection on CB just the product)
the "no" weld idea is great and solves some issues

the wires are like a computer / jug plug and it is in two bits, about 30cm hangs from the element on mine and the "jug" cord plugs into that.
because this bit "hangs" whenever you move your pot / keg the bit of wire swings around etc and i feel it is creating stress issues on the cord where it enters the element.

i have concerns about the longevity of the wiring to the element. some heat is generated in the plugs and the wires of it and think it would have been better if thicker copper was used...

the part that "covers" the area where the wires go into the element fell of mine during installation i glued it back in.
i can also "see" the 3 insulated where it enters the element as some of the outer insulation had maybe shrunk.

i have also been told by a member of another forum that his failed and the wires just burnt off, he took it apart and it looks like the wires on his where just crimped on and may have contributed to the failure.

in the above pic the cord plugs direct into the element, i would prefer that if the pic is accurate but i also might weld on a fitting and use a screw in type next time

mine looks like this one , two part cable
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2200W-Stainless-Ste...=item3364631f68

 

[Ross]

Maheel

Not sure if you have an early model or the latest unit - The early model was certainly a little poorly finished, but after feedback the problems were rectified & the latest model is a pretty good unit & nothing else close for the price that we've found. The units (even the old one) have a full 3 year guarentee, so if there are any problems please don't hesitate to return.

Cheers Ross

 

[dougsbrew]

get yourself some cable ties or the like and strap it to the insulating collar so that it stops the movement where it goes into the unit.

 

[domonsura]

We also sell these units at Beerbelly, the early units were not so great, but they have improved vastly. They are very popular, and an easy instant solution for an HLT paired with a controller. Previously, there was nothing close price wise by a country mile.

 

[Guysmiley54]

Great stuff guys! Thanks for the replies.

Just out of interest, is it difficult to run more than one from the same power circuit without tripping the circuit breaker?

 

[Maheel]

Maheel

Not sure if you have an early model or the latest unit - The early model was certainly a little poorly finished, but after feedback the problems were rectified & the latest model is a pretty good unit & nothing else close for the price that we've found. The units (even the old one) have a full 3 year guarentee, so if there are any problems please don't hesitate to return.

Cheers Ross

thanks Ross

thats the type of service we come to expect from CB, backing up their product !!! :icon_chickcheers: and 3 years that's a lot longer than my 50" plasma..... :drinks:

good to hear of the updates so much of my review is redundant i would buy another as it is such a simple and cheap solution.

cheers

 

[dougsbrew]

Great stuff guys! Thanks for the replies.

Just out of interest, is it difficult to run more than one from the same power circuit without tripping the circuit breaker?

if your house is wired properly and your circuit breaker in meter box is 20 amp plus then yes.
however dont have your big screen tv going at the same time or pop the kettle on for a brew.

 

[Hammo7]

Hey guys.
I also have one of these elements (I must have nearly got the last one of the last batch).
Have not been able to do a brew with it yet, still waiting on some more gear to arrive.
I did a trial run in my keggle the other day and it got 32 litres of water from 45degrees to 70 degrees in 22 minutes. from 70 to boil took under 35 minutes (I got sidetracked and when I returned it was at a full boil).
I can certainly handle those times!! Now that I have the element mounted in my keggle, I think that those times will decrease.

On a different note, what sort of controller would be best to use with this element to maintain mash temp?

Cheers

 

[raven19]

On a different note, what sort of controller would be best to use with this element to maintain mash temp?

Slightly :icon_offtopic: however it depends on whether you are talking HERMS or RIMS.

HERMS - a tempmate or similar temperature controller should be fine.
RIMS - a PID with SSR will be required (linky in my sig on my RIMS build if interested) otherwise you risk overshooting your liquor temp.

Cheers!

 

[Hammo7]

Slightly :icon_offtopic: however it depends on whether you are talking HERMS or RIMS.

HERMS - a tempmate or similar temperature controller should be fine.
RIMS - a PID with SSR will be required (linky in my sig on my RIMS build if interested) otherwise you risk overshooting your liquor temp.

Cheers!

Yeah, Sorry for the OT.
I will be doing a BIAB to start with. I was thinking that I would use the tempmate or have a look at one of those STC-1000 off ebay.
The element is very low in the keggle - just touches the curvy bottom (had a mate pop a hole in it with his plasma cutter so was easy to go through the welded part) bit. I'm hoping that it won't get too hot around the grain. would I just be better off wraping the keg in a blanket to try and maintain constant mash temp?

Thinking I'll have to put this in a different thread!!