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Simpler Weldless Heating Element Installation

Post #1 made 14 years ago
by kzimmer0817
I am anticipating converting to electric BIAB. I confess that I have not done a BIAB yet, so will probably use propane for a couple of brews first.

I am fascinated with the build by thughes as well as a few others on this and the HBT forum. Most are patterned after Kal's from The Electric Brewery.

I'm having a little difficulty understanding all the details regarding the way Kal attaches the element to the kettle. I'm not asking for a detailed explanation about that right now. I really liked the look of the Tri Clover stainless steel element adapter I saw on another forum, but it requires welding of a part - and, I guess, would require a stainless steel kettle.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried a weldless adapter approach that's simpler than Kal's such as:

The following weldless element adapter:
http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productc ... 7p2652.htm

And the following type of heating element that is already wired and hooded (so it appears):
http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productc ... -p2669.htm

Would anyone see a problem with using these two pieces in a 15 gallon aluminum kettle attached to the temp controller? I'm thinking that it might allow the element to be mounted even a little lower in the kettle than when an electical box is attached to the outside of the kettle.

Thanks,
Keith
Last edited by kzimmer0817 on 06 Dec 2011, 04:07, edited 4 times in total.

Post #2 made 14 years ago
by thughes
The short answer: There is no problem using those 2 pieces and doing it the way you describe.

;)

The long answer:

I am using that same weldless install kit. Kal uses the o-ring and a washer between the box and the kettle with the 1" lock nut on the inside of the kettle, I simply used the above kit and eliminated the o-ring and washer between the box and kettle. Works fine!


As to the second part of your question, that "heating element kit" is simply the element with a ground strap and some shrinktube to protect the connections. I used Kal's method simply because it provided an easy method for attaching the ground wire and it also provides an attractive way to protect the wiring. I have seen others simply slide a short PVC pipe section over the exposed wiring connections and pot it with silicone or epoxy.

Using a single-gang electric box (instead of the 2-gang box Kal uses) allowed me to mount my element as low as possible. Eliminating the box and using some other method to protect my wiring was a moot point for me because the element cannot be mounted any lower than it already is due to the curvature of the kettle side as it transitions to the kettle bottom.
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