Bulk Buy Hot Water Elements

[sqyre]

I got my 3600 watt element from Helios (brisbane), i think it set me back $90. (you need a 15amp socket minimum)
The bloke i dealt was extremely helpfull, even more helpfull when i mentioned i was a Home brewer..
The element i got is 350mm long and screws into a 1 and 3/4 inch thread. (going by memory)
They have a good range of single and double elements and in various lengths. (good for matching up with different sized hlts.)

I had to get the nut seperatly and had it welded to my HLT.
If you have a stainless HLT,the nut will have to be stainless and tigged on.
Don't bother trying to braise brass, etc. as it will only crack and start to drop off after a few months..
You also need to house the end of the element in a case as the terminals are exposed..

I fill my HLT with Hot water straight from the Hot Water system and 20litres can be brought to the boil in about 15-20 minutes.
So all my Water additions strike,mashout and sparge are all brought to temp seperatly (minimum water to cover the element = 15litres)
Makes life real easy on brew day..

Im thinking of going dual 3600 watters with my next upgrade... ( i have a 40 amp feed to the shed)
The other option i have considered is a switch over from the Stove supply (32amp?)
It means i can only run either the Brew stand or Cook dinner... but with Mrs Sqyre now brewing it doesnt really matter.. :super:

Sqyre...

 

[razz]

You better think carefully about that one Sqyre, you may get relegated to the kitchen !

 

[Andyd]

Hey CM2,

I'm going to be hunting for elements soon too. So far my investigation says go for the lower surface loading too, like everyone's saying. Helios have one (the TM24) that looks like it might be a goer. The catalog says this one's SL is 32kW/M2. I also spoke with the guys at Grimwoods, who suggested one of theirs (Don't have the model on me, but it's a 2400W with 74kW/m2 SL). That one was $108 I think, + $4- for the stainless steel housing for outside the kettle(sees like a good thing to have in a liquid environment to me

Andy