Heatsticks with no jb weld.
I rounded the nut on the heater element and this allowed it to slip back in the metal drain pipe which then allowed the 1 1/2" to 1 1/4" drain pipe nut to seal on the gasket. Heater element was first pushed through the gray gasket and was able to use a 1" copper female pipe thread fitting to draw the heater element to the gray gasket. My only concern is the gray gasket and may replace with a silicone high temp food grade gasket.
Haven't done a full brew session yet but did bring 7gal of 120º starting water to boil in 35 min using both 2000 watt sticks. Heat rose at a rate 10º every 4 min.
I brew in a bag, and I can bring 8 gallons to mashing temps in under 30 minutes. After mashing it takes under 30 minutes to bring it to a boil. My pot is wrapped in reflectix which helps a lot.
Heatsticks with no jb weld.
I rounded the nut on the heater element and this allowed it to slip back in the metal drain pipe which then allowed the 1 1/2" to 1 1/4" drain pipe nut to seal on the gasket. Heater element was first pushed through the gray gasket and was able to use a 1" copper female pipe thread fitting to draw the heater element to the gray gasket. My only concern is the gray gasket and may replace with a silicone high temp food grade gasket.
Haven't done a full brew session yet but did bring 7gal of 120º starting water to boil in 35 min using both 2000 watt sticks. Heat rose at a rate 10º every 4 min.
Finding a gasket was not easy. I ended up using a 1" Tri Clover Gasket Silicone.
Here's the link:
http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-Gasket-Silicone-TC10SILGASKET.html
I had to alter it so I didn't get leaks. The copper fitting I used I ended up cutting the excess copper off the fitting so I basically just had a copper nut that screwed onto the stick. What I had left over was used as a punch for the center of silicone gasket. I sharpened the copper pipe fitting end and centered it on the gasket and used a hammer to punch out the center hole so that it fit snugly over the heating element. I also had to carefully cut of the raised ring that runs on both sides of the gasket so that it was flat on both sides. The reward off all this is that I now have a stick I can take apart and replace elements if I need to.
I have brewed 7 12 gallon batches so far with no problem.
I took your idea and used a 1" NPS stainless steel lock nut and a silicone o-ring. Got the lock nut from bargainfittings.com. I could not get a seal without it. I thought filing the nut on the element would be much more difficult, but it's made of a very soft material (aluminum I guess) and a bastard file made quick work of it, took me about 30 minutes. I will be testing the assembly this week sometime.
1" Silicon sealing washer (if you search silicon gasket you'll never find it) also available from Zorro tools. Got mine off them via eBay.
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I just don't get how a good seal is being made between the pipe and compression nut
Most modern kitchens built in the last 20 years have at least one and likely two 20 amp outlets on dedicated circuits. The newer 20 amp horizontal plugs are for specific large draw 120v tools like a table say or floor sander, btw I have never seen an appliance with the 120v 20a style plug?
From what I have read, there is no great danger in drawing 17 or 18 amps from an outlet on a 20 amp service, but I would like to hear more information from those in the know.
These specific plugs are intended to prohibit plugging a large draw 20 amp appliance into a 15 amp circuit, and not necessarily the opposite application.
20 amp 120v outlet in my kitchen.
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Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
I used JB weld in the past, on my most recent sticks I used 100% silicone. The silicone takes a few days to cure, and needs to breath to cure, so don't cap the stick until the silicone is cured.
FWIW I prefer the silicone...clean all surfaces well before assembly, I also wipe with rubbing alcohol to be sure thre are no trace oils left and the silicone sticks well.
Also the chrome nut in a 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 fits better than the zinc nut supplied with the drain pipe IMO.
Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/
So is there any recent updates on what sealant to use? Are people happy with JB weld as far as longevity/strength and the fear of putting something unwanted into the wort? Or is there a better alternative?
I don't like epoxy. There is little to no opportunity to repair something that is buried in the stuff. I simply grounded everything well and sealed the stick up. I didn't cover the back of the element in anything. I am sure to always use a gfci. Works well. Food grade silicone gaskets and Teflon tape did the trick.
yeah, I was kinda thinking of that approach, what did you ground to if you didn't screw the hole in the side of the chrome tube?
This is covered somewhere in this thread...I prefer to splay the ground wire out and fold it back over the threaded portion of the drain tube, when you screw the large cap nut on, the ground wires are crushed in the threaded mechanical connection, then trim off the excess wire.
found it for you....
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/heat-stick-grounding-439100/
so is there any benefit of the 90 degree option? It has been said that direct contact with kettle and element doesn't cause anything which I would see as the only negative for the straight option.
Mine is 90° and has contact with the dip tube in my keggle...no issues after one boil. Two more scheduled this week, but I also got some 1" lock nuts/o-rings in the mail to get the seal a little more proper.
I would think that maybe the heat rising straight up the the seal on the straight versions would be an issue...maybe that's why some seals are failing?
thanks, yours looks pretty nice, I would prefer the 90, I am thinking of getting a 24" chrome pipe so it is all pipe in the kettle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FL6NAPA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
24" is a bit overkill but I can't find anything between 15 and 24. I think the kettles I'm looking at are 18 or so
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