Hand Held Immersion Heaters / Elements

[Cortez The Killer]

Yep I've got 2 of the 4108B - luckily I've got 2 separate circuits easily accessible from the brewing area

Not having done a double batch with the immerison heaters - I'd reckon you'd need more than a single 2400w - how much more I couldn't say

A 3600w will need a circuit with 15 amps running in your home

I do remember reading some where that some one was using a 2400w and a 1800w for 44L double batches and that worked well - so I imagine that 2 x 2400w would also do the trick

I did taste the wort when pitching the yeast a couple of days later - and didn't notice any burnt /off flavours - just your normal "holy crap that's bitter! ... yet somehow sweet" taste

Total brewing time was just short of 4 hours (including a stuck-ish sparge - 0.75mm is way too small a gap) so I can't say there was an increase in brewing time over the nasa

If the provision is available to go electric and you are comfortable doing so - then it may be a viable option.

Hope that helps

Cheers

 

[raven19]

Cheers Cortez!
I shall keep this in mind for sure.

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

Hi Cortez,

This is something that interests me as i'm looking at going go straight into electric. Do you have any sort of temp controllers on those elements of are they just running full bore?

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Full bore

I made a 26L batch tonight

Initial boil volume was 33L

Having both 2400w on was a bit much

Only having one on was just a touch more vigourous than I usually run my nasa at

I believe that some people have some sort of controller on theirs - that intermitenly turns the element on and off quickly

But i have seen some with temp controllers too

2400w is fine for upto at least 26L from expirence

Cheers

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

Full bore

I made a 26L batch tonight

Initial boil volume was 33L

Having both 2400w on was a bit much

Only having one on was just a touch more vigourous than I usually run my nasa at

I believe that some people have some sort of controller on theirs - that intermitenly turns the element on and off quickly

But i have seen some with temp controllers too

2400w is fine for upto at least 26L from expirence

Cheers

Thanks for that.

 

[fergi]

what sort of price are we looking at for one of these,and where do you get them from
cheers
fergi

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Mine came from here http://www.tobins.com.au/HTML/ClassHTML/188.htm

But search yellow pages for "elements" locally and you may turn something up

Cheers

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Mine came from here http://www.tobins.com.au/HTML/ClassHTML/188.htm

But search yellow pages for "elements" locally and you may turn something up

Cheers

I bought mine directly from Tobins and they mailed it out pretty quickly. My boiler is an old beer keg and I find if I insulate the keg (I use an old sleeping bag) the boil is very vigorous (25l - 30l boils) and takes less time to reach boiling. I suspend the element from an right angle shelving bracket and have no problems with recommending them.

 

[sponge]

So would you recommend an element such as that over your gas burner? I have heard of using both to get the wort up to the boil asap and then only using the gas burner to keep it on a rolling boil....

 

[Cortez The Killer]

I'm sold on electricity at the moment

The NASA does the job too - but it is loud - though you heat anything up in no time

The element is not as fast - but if you plan your time you won't be hanging around in limbo waiting for it

Sponge if you wanna borrow my immerison heater and give it a whirl to see how it goes you are more than welcome

Cheers

 

[Fatgodzilla]

I'm sold on electricity at the moment

The NASA does the job too - but it is loud - though you heat anything up in no time

The element is not as fast - but if you plan your time you won't be hanging around in limbo waiting for it

Sponge if you wanna borrow my immerison heater and give it a whirl to see how it goes you are more than welcome

Cheers

Take the Cortez offer. I find it doesn't take long to get the keggle boiling especially if the keg is insulated (graduated to old woollen army blanket). It keeps the boil constant and is whisper quiet (unlike me !). The convenience of the electric element over gas should convince most people and I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[eric8]

Has anyone ever noticed burnt flavours when adding the hops, especially if using flowers or plugs?

 

[sponge]

I'm sold on electricity at the moment

The NASA does the job too - but it is loud - though you heat anything up in no time

The element is not as fast - but if you plan your time you won't be hanging around in limbo waiting for it

Sponge if you wanna borrow my immerison heater and give it a whirl to see how it goes you are more than welcome

Cheers

Cheers for that Gino. I may ask for the burner for xmas then and see how it goes (because hey, it doesnt hurt to have one laying around anyways, especially when we've got a 4WD'ing trip coming up in january) and then compare it to the element, because if it works pretty well then I may just invest in one.


Thanks again, Sponge

 

[jimi]

I'm presently a little worried my immersion el may have caramelised my wert a bit, but I take it that it's not a common suspicion and I can't recall anyone having a similar complaint (??)
I have a 2400w immersion and I usually just use it to get the boil up quickly and the sparge water. However the last batch I did I had two bottles of gas run out on me (spare was being used on bbq) and I had to rely on the immersion for much of the boil.
The batch has come out a bit darker than the specs indicated which isn't good for a pale lagers appearance. It's still fermenting now so there's not yet a definitive answer as to whether its caramelised my beer as well or not. I'll report back. For the record it was a 90min boil and I reckon the immersion had to do it all for about 30min.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

I'm presently a little worried my immersion el may have caramelised my wert a bit, but I take it that it's not a common suspicion and I can't recall anyone having a similar complaint.

No one has these suspicions cos it doesn't happen ????

But now you have me thinking .......................

Caramelisation is essentially the burning of sugar in the cooking process. I guess there is an argument for saying the sugar in the wort is burnt by the element, but I would assume the constant boil would move the "sugar" away from the elements before caramalisation can take place. But could this happen before the boil takes place.

Why do people make you think on Fridays ???



Edit : Nah. I do 90 minute boils with my element and have not noticed a caramelisation effect. My pales and kolsches have stayed pale.

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

I'm presently a little worried my immersion el may have caramelised my wert a bit, but I take it that it's not a common suspicion and I can't recall anyone having a similar complaint (??)
I have a 2400w immersion and I usually just use it to get the boil up quickly and the sparge water. However the last batch I did I had two bottles of gas run out on me (spare was being used on bbq) and I had to rely on the immersion for much of the boil.
The batch has come out a bit darker than the specs indicated which isn't good for a pale lagers appearance. It's still fermenting now so there's not yet a definitive answer as to whether its caramelised my beer as well or not. I'll report back. For the record it was a 90min boil and I reckon the immersion had to do it all for about 30min.

Isn't there something about the watts per square cm rating, (or something like that). That can have an effect on this so called scorching?

 

[Cortez The Killer]

I'll post this time calculator here for an immersion heater / electric element

I pinched this from somewhere on this forum - but have never been able to find it again - so I apologise to whoever set it up

Basically enter you volume, wattage, start and finishing temps and inefficiency (10% seems about right from experience) - and it'll give you a heating time

Cheers

View attachment Electric_Element_Heating_Time_Calculator.xls

 

[crundle]

Thanks for posting the heating time calculator Cortez,

I have just bought a 4108B immersion element, should arrive in a few days. I am hoping that the issue with where the lead enters the unit have been fixed by now in the manufacturing process, but if it hasn't does anyone have photos of what they have done to fix the problem?

I gather it is just a matter of using an epoxy to fill the area where the lead enters the main unit, but I don't have mine here yet to look it over.

What is the consensus with these units as far as how to sit them over the keggle, hanging from the side or from a bar or similar going over the keggle? I could imagine that being mounted on the side of the keggle would limit the amount of steam that the lead area is exposed to, but perhaps this position is not the best for circulation of the wort during the boil?

thanks for any help,

Crundle

 

[PostModern]

I have just bought a 4108B immersion element, should arrive in a few days. I am hoping that the issue with where the lead enters the unit have been fixed by now in the manufacturing process, but if it hasn't does anyone have photos of what they have done to fix the problem?

They have extended the insulation from the handle to about 40mm along the cable with a flexible sheath, in the same moulding as the handle. Looks better than my old one, which arced in the handle and went BANG one day!

 

[Cortez The Killer]

What is the consensus with these units as far as how to sit them over the keggle, hanging from the side or from a bar or similar going over the keggle? I could imagine that being mounted on the side of the keggle would limit the amount of steam that the lead area is exposed to, but perhaps this position is not the best for circulation of the wort during the boil?

I used to hang mine in the middle on a rod but now just hang over the side. My keggle has camping mat wrapped around it to insulate. I get a pretty good rolling boil with it in at least 30L.

I've been meaning to make some thing to shield the connector on the heater from the steam - but am yet to get around to it

Can't say that my immersion heaters show any sign of coming apart

Cheers