Installing Heater Element

[Mattese]

Hi guys,

Sorry if this has already been discussed - I bought a weldless heater element from Craftbrewer a couple of weeks ago, and was about to start driling holes in my kettle to place it.

Then I realized I had no idea where the best place to put the sucker is.

I did a bit of a search, but couldn't find anything.

Is it best towards the bottom of the kettle? Or the middle?

Sorry if this is basic, but thought I'd ask the more experienced brewers.

 

[DU99]

Heat rises from the bottom..most rigs i have viewed are towards the bottom end.but lets see what others do say

 

[haysie]

at a guess the bottom, never seen a kettle or an urn with the element in the middle, then theres Murphy`s Law

 

[thesunsettree]

i'd say as close to the bottom as you can manage without it touching.

matt

 

[Mattese]

Yeah, logic dictates that it should be toward the bottom, but I thought I'd ask before drilling holes in my pots...

Thanks for the feedback

 

[thesunsettree]

i'd say as close to the bottom as you can manage without it touching.

matt

the reason i say this is because when i did mine i thought it was pretty low. however it could have gone about 2cm lower, which would have been better but i'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. when we drilled it i was concisence of staying on the flat side of the keg (on the outside) but in reality we over compensated, but like i said, no great loss. but if i was gonna do it again i would try harder to get it lower.

matt

 

[amiddler]

I put mine too far up, about 75mm. If I make another HWT it will be as close to the bottom as possible.

Drew

 

[real_beer]

Put it as close to the bottom as possible & have your tap outlet draw from above the element to reduce the risk of blowing it in case you forget to turn the power off before you take any water out.

Hi guys,

Sorry if this has already been discussed - I bought a weldless heater element from Craftbrewer a couple of weeks ago, and was about to start driling holes in my kettle to place it.

Then I realized I had no idea where the best place to put the sucker is.

I did a bit of a search, but couldn't find anything.

Is it best towards the bottom of the kettle? Or the middle?

Sorry if this is basic, but thought I'd ask the more experienced brewers.

 

[roller997]

Put it as close to the bottom as possible to get the maximum capacity of the vessel.

Heat rises and most immersion elements usually destroy themselves if they are not covered by liquid so the lowest possible point is the most logical.

Cheers

Roller

 

[MaltyHops]

Put it as close to the bottom as possible to get the maximum capacity of the vessel.
...
Cheers

Roller

I had a chat with Raven19 about this as I'm looking at doing something similar
soon and we concluded a gap 0f about 70mm above the pot bottom might be
good to avoid trub and allow for whirlpooling.

T.

 

[raven19]

As per Malty's post above +1 imo.

(For a HLT on the other hand, right to the bottom for sure)

The shape of the wall of your kettle may determine this too - I know my keggle has a slightly curved wall at the bottom making things interesting in terms of element being parallel to the base of the vessel.

 

[Mattese]

Thanks for all the advice - To the bottom it goes.

Next question - Where is the best place to install the temperature probe? I was thinking of putting it in at right angle to the heater in around the middle of where a normal batch would be.

No particular reason for this, just an arbitrary spot really.

Anyone have any idea if this is a good placement?

Sorry for all the questions regarding this - I don't want to have "Excess" holes in my kettle!

Cheers,

Matt

 

[DanRayner]

Why do you need a temperature probe on a kettle? Surely you just want it to boil? And the best way to tell if your wort is boiling is to look at it.

 

[MaltyHops]

Why do you need a temperature probe on a kettle? Surely you just want it to boil? And the best way to tell if your wort is boiling is to look at it.

A temp probe would be handy if a P.I.D. controller is going to be used
at some stage - e.g. see Raven's Rims, Build Log article.

Then again, a probe pressed against the side of the kettle covered with
insulation might also do.

T.

 

[Fourstar]

Why do you need a temperature probe on a kettle? Surely you just want it to boil? And the best way to tell if your wort is boiling is to look at it.

im planning on installing an element into a HLT plugged into a tempmate with a probe and a timer so i can get up first thing in the morning with the water sitting at mash in temps. Also for consistency.

 

[argon]

im planning on installing an element into a HLT plugged into a tempmate with a probe and a timer so i can get up first thing in the morning with the water sitting at mash in temps. Also for consistency.

This is precisely what i do. I have the thermowell installed at the same height as the element. It's located at a 90 degree angle from the element. (ie if the element is at 12 o'clock the thermowell is at 9 oclock) Setting up the HLT with a timer, tempmate and element is probably my favourite part of my brewery. Saves so much time and it's nice to have that worry free operation.

Also, I recently got a sight glass (yet to be installed) and this will make things even easier. IMHO a good HLT is invaluable.

 

[MeLoveBeer]

This is precisely what i do. I have the thermowell installed at the same height as the element. It's located at a 90 degree angle from the element. (ie if the element is at 12 o'clock the thermowell is at 9 oclock) Setting up the HLT with a timer, tempmate and element is probably my favourite part of my brewery. Saves so much time and it's nice to have that worry free operation.

Also, I recently got a sight glass (yet to be installed) and this will make things even easier. IMHO a good HLT is invaluable.

I've also got an electric element, thermowell and sightglass on my HLT, but installed my thermowell at the same height as the tap (figured that I wanted to measure the temperature of the water that would come out). Its essential to give the water a bit of a stir now and again if you're keen for an accurate reading, but its pretty good.

Love being able to setup the night before with a timer and be ready to roll when I get out of bed in the morning of brew days.

 

[argon]

Just to clarify (and agree) my element, tap and thermowell are all at the same level.

I also only take the temp reading as being accurate once i've given the vessel a big stir.