Since we are going there its important to diclose as much info as possible.
Do you have experience using both? Its hard to realise what your missing otherwise. as I learned myself with many "upgrades" or changes.
Good point. I do not. Have you used 120v in your brewing evolution? There's no doubt 240v has many advantages.
There are limitations and more inconveniences with 120v setups. They can both be made to work fine but...
The elements are lower power but higher watt density
Hold on while I do some maths. I've never checked this before, and please double check my numbers and assumptions.
OK, looking on Electric Brewery and Brewhardware I found some numbers. Camco straight foldback 5500 watt is 11.875" from end of threads to tip, and is 120 watts/in2 (LWD). Wavy version is considered ULWD at 60 watts/in2.
Looking at the picture, it appears that the straight foldback has about 75% of its total length in the foldback portion. So, total length if it were straightened would be 11.875 x 1.75 = 20.8" total length.
5500 watts / 20.8" = 264 watts/inch of heating element length.
Assuming the tube diameter is the same between the straight element and wavy one, that means the wavy ULWD would have about 132 watts/inch of heating element length.
For comparison, I'll look at the elements I currently use. It's the cheap Dernord 1650 watt elements off Amazon.
LINK
They are 9.25" from end of thread to tip of element, and they also look like about 75% of their total length is in the foldback portion. Straightened length would be about 9.25 x 1.75 = 16.2". (I can double check this later I hope)
1650 watts / 16.2" = 102 watts/inch of heating element length.
Assuming that the element tube diameter is approximately the same between these Dernord and Camco elements would mean that each inch of tube length has the same amount of surface area. I think this is a pretty safe assumption. That means the 240v 5500 watt Camco wavy element would have a wattage density that is about 30% higher than the 120v 1650 watt Dernord foldback element. 132 watts/inch versus 102 watts/inch.
This is just my particular selection of elements. I know there are tons of folks out there using the straight elements and their wattage density would be much higher. But, based on this we can't make blanket statements that 120v elements are higher wattage density.
requiring more dedicated circuits and elements to achieve the same capability as one 240v element. Theres no denying that. For 10 gallons and up the divide grows between the two.
No doubt. To take 7 gallons from 170°F to boiling, assuming 60% efficiency, it takes about 9 minutes longer with 3300 watts versus 5500 watts (22 minutes versus 13 minutes) and 19 minutes longer with 15 gallons (47 minutes versus 28 minutes).
Even then you have to take certain percautions or I should say make sure you avoid certain scenarios with 120v elements that can lead to scorching. That has been shown over and over again if you do a search on scorched or scorching. Depending on the dimensions of your kettle and work arounds such as 240v elements wired on 120v or special ULWD elements that happen to still fit in the kettle the limitations can be avoided but it required more attention to the hardware and setup and usually costs more.
See above wattage density calc. Doesn't have to be an issue with 120v.
You also have more hole in your kettle to drill, more elements to clean and more cords going to those elements,
Not to be snarky, but it takes me an extra 15 seconds of scrubbing to clean the second element. But you're absolutely correct you do have more hardware (cords, extra holes if you kettle mount, or extra heat sticks if you choose that route).
Because of the likely higher density the elements are more prone to having wort bake onto them and require more cleaning diligence than an ULWD element to prevent this eventually effecting flavor or scorching. There are less, stainless non corrosive element options for 120v than 120v from what Ive seen but they do exist and are becoming easier to find. most of the 120v setups I see have copper elements where the zinc coating has long flaked off into the wort. again making cleaning more important to avoid toxic conditions.
Again, this doesn't have to be an issue if the correct elements are chosen at the onset. There's not even a dusting on the elements when I finish. And they're all stainless.
As someone who went from a 4000w 240v ulwd element to a 5500w element in my boil kettle I can say the difference is very noticeable with the 11-12 gallon boil volumes.
My element was supposed to be 4500w but was only 4000w as many elements are actually up to a few hundred watts less than their advertised rating so results could and do vary.
Yup, agreed. There is some time difference. Based on the above time numbers, I'd guess you saw somewhere in the range of 10-15 minute difference.
