Unfolding U-shaped water heater elements?

Hey everyone,

I ran in to a problem when all of my parts for my RIMS set up arrived.

I bought a Camco 1500W, 120V element as I wanted to use a normal 20A circuit comfortably. When the parts arrived, the element didn't fit in to my 1" bushing. Considering the element has 1" threads, this is extremely disappointing. Not only that, but the element is supposed to be 9", but in actuality it's more like 5", and the other 4" comes from the bend.

I have read a couple posts on some people unfolding their element so that it will fit better, and reach farther down the tube.

For those of you who have done this, how did you do it without breaking the element? I was thinking of using a vice or something really solid to grab the element and just pry it with my hands. I was then thinking about taking some water, adding sugar, and testing the conductivity to make sure there is no exposure/danger concerns.

My other alternative is to squeeze the two metal rods together so that it maintains it's bend and fits in to the bushing. My only worry is that the element is REALLY small, and might not effectively heat the wort. Here are some pictures of the element, bushing, and tube.

I think I would try to return this element and get one that is long enough to sit in the flow stream of your RIMS tube.

I can't recommend straightening that one out either.
The energized heating element runs through the center of the outer metal shell and is insulated to prevent it from grounding out.

If you start bending around on it, I would worry about damaging that insulation, if not immediately, then at a later point in time.

I've had luck squeezing the bends a little tighter by putting it in my bench vise with some wood block scuff protection. I imagine some channel locks would work as well. I've gotten that element through 1" NPT holes all day long. The length of that tube does beg for a longer element through, even if it's a 220/5500 ran at 120v (1375watts).

Just a heads-up. If you bought that element thinking it is a ULWD read this. Looks like the same one to me.

. . . but as for bending, the copper elements bend easy.

You can certainly bend copper elements, incoloy is going to be difficult though. Best to anneal copper before bending, they can split.

The internal nichrome wire is protected by a powdered insulating material. You can test the resistance between the terminals to check that it is still OK and not shorted or broken.

Thanks for all of your replies, they've been very helpful!

I talked with a CS rep from amazon, and they agreed to send me a new one without having to send it back (I picked it up in Niagara Falls, and came back to southern Ontario). I'm happy I don't need to drive 1.5hrs to just mail the damned thing!However, I'm not convinced I'm going to get the right element. AnOldUR gave me a link to a thread which was really depressing.... these elements essentially don't exist. The 02853 are not sold anymore.

Anyways, I've decided I'm just going to purchase another element, and if by the stroke of god the right Camco element turns up... I'll have a spare . So now I'd like to have some input on what length element/what material I should buy if any of you are willing to give your thoughts. Note that I am using the Auber 1/2" NPT RTD with 4" probe. Here are the three I'm considering:

1. http://bostonheatingsupply.com/sp10868gl.aspx
2. http://bostonheatingsupply.com/SP10874KL.aspx
3.http://www.drillspot.com/products/8...537_Electric_Replacement_Water_Heater_Element

For the elements from Boston heating, are those lengths the actual element lengths? Or would that include the threads and entire base? The drillspot element states that the length is essentially 10". I have attached a picture of my RIMS tube with measurements. As you can see, it seems that even the 11.25" element will have over an inch between it and the probe (assuming that is the elements length, and not total length). I believe that is enough space to give an accurate reading of the average temp of the liquid leaving the RIMS tube. Lastly, does the 2000W element look a little short to be LWD? or is it just likely that the other two are close to the ULWD range?

Thanks again for all your help, and let me know what you think
Cheers

Edit: BTW, the nipple is 1.5"x8" if it's any help!

After researching, I answered most of those questions. One thing I haven't found is how close the probe can be to the heater element without skewing readings (locally the temp is going to be higher than the average bulk temp).

Lastly, would it be more worthwhile to have an extra 1.5" of element length, or 300W? (Apparently both are LWD, but one can generate 300W more while being an inch and a half shorter). This is even harder to decide, as little contact is made with the first couple inches as this part of the element is below the inlet, which makes me think the length may be more important.

im not a rims guy, but i'd guess that a little longer is what you want, after all, too hot and you can be scorching wort.

theknub said:

im not a rims guy, but i'd guess that a little longer is what you want, after all, too hot and you can be scorching wort.

Click to expand...

I would normally agree, but all of these 'state' that they are LWD, so I assume there is no chance of scorching (plus, with RIMS it isn't usually as big of a problem). So really, I'm wondering if the extra length of heater that the wort passes over (about 1-1/4") would be more beneficial that an extra 300W in therms of heating. The only reason I think that the longer element would help, is because a fairly significant portion of the element is below the inlet (26-30%), which i feel the majority of the wort never sees.

option 1: 11.25" long, 1700W
option 2: 10" long, 2000W

if you look at the diagram, 11.25" would put the end of the element about 1.5" away from the probe tip. That seems like plenty of room to give an accurate reading, but maybe it isn't!

either system can do it, just with less liquid in a concentrated space is my thought process... but that is me personally.

obviously heat transfer is the name of the game and i would think it would happen better with a longer element. i would guess that 300w will make very little difference. can i guess that this would not be run at 100%, but something more like 60%? if so, 300w prob means you run it at 62%. no big deal IMO.

as for distance from probe, it seems like far enough but i can't answer that.

JayMac, what did you end up using for RIMS element and did you have to bend it?