Element too close to hop sock?

[Crouch]

I put one of these hop bazookas in my boil kettle tonight and noticed that the element sits very close. It is approx 1/2" above the bazooka ... any opinions, is this likely to be a problem?

Its a 5500w element in a 70 litre pot.

Cheers

 

[TheWiggman]

Stainless steel isn't it? I can't think of why that would cause any problems. What are you worried about?

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I would be more concerned about the copper and brass not the stainless.
Nev

 

[TheWiggman]

Some heating elements are made out of copper so I reckon that would be ok (though I don't know if there'd be a drastically different grade for that purpose). If there's a boil going on the temp around the element will be 100°C or a bit over. Surely not a risk to anything there. No more of a risk than having it anywhere else in a boiling kettle.

 

[Crouch]

Stainless steel isn't it? I can't think of why that would cause any problems. What are you worried about?

No worried as such ... just covering bases, never done an AG brew nor used hops directly in the boil kettle without it being in a bag

I would be more concerned about the copper and brass not the stainless.
Nev

I'd love to upgrade everything to SS at some stage, finding 1/2" stainless tubing and compression fittings online has turned out to be tough, though I'm sure someone in the know will point me in the right direction

 

[Burt de Ernie]

I would be more concerned about the copper and brass not the stainless.
Nev

Whats the concern with the copper and brass?

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

brass has a tendency to leach lead at low pH , copper just gets mancky.
Probably wont kill you but I prefer not to have them in a brew vessel.

 

[Camo6]

No worried as such ... just covering bases, never done an AG brew nor used hops directly in the boil kettle without it being in a bag



I'd love to upgrade everything to SS at some stage, finding 1/2" stainless tubing and compression fittings online has turned out to be tough, though I'm sure someone in the know will point me in the right direction

Hey Crouch, for 12mm or 12.7mm annealed 304 SS tube I used Geordi in Cheltenham. They have a great range of fittings too but mainly higher quality therefore pricier ones. I sourced a bunch of comp fittings from this ebay seller for my build. The quality was great considering the price. I've got the feeling there's a good stainless mob in Preston but can't remember their name. There's also plenty of HB shops that have competitively priced SS fittings.

 

[Kingy]

I've got a dirty big mancky copper pick up tube that sends the boiling wort through a brass ball valve into a plastic container. I transfer that to a plastic fermenter to ferment, once done I drink about 2-3 litres average per day per week.
I feel healthy. If that helps.
I also run low ph rum wash through a mates vapour boiler condenser thingy copper thing. Hope that don't kill me.

 

[Kingy]

I just brought a bazooka actually. ( yet to be installed tho) I'll let you know if I feel any adverse effects.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Yeah I was bullet proof too when younger, now just wiser.

 

[tallie]

No idea about proximity to the element, but if it was me I'd use a right-angle join where the pickup meets the side of the vessel and run the bazooka around the side of the kettle. That way, you can whirlpool most of the hop debris to the centre of the kettle and drain from the side.

 

[TheWiggman]

finding 1/2" stainless tubing and compression fittings online has turned out to be tough, though I'm sure someone in the know will point me in the right direction

You need some brewing supplies? Online? If only there was an online brew supplier here somewhere...

 

[Crouch]

No idea about proximity to the element, but if it was me I'd use a right-angle join where the pickup meets the side of the vessel and run the bazooka around the side of the kettle. That way, you can whirlpool most of the hop debris to the centre of the kettle and drain from the side.

I was thinking about that .. it was also mentioned by my wife's Dad.

Cheers