Kettle Elements

[Bigster]

Andy

Found this - my maths is rubbish but I am working on turning it in to a formula to apply to the 1.5KW , 65 degrees change needed...

The amount of energy required to heat
water is one KCal per litre for every
degree Celsius temperature rise.
A KiloCalorie is 4186.8 Joules.
As a Watt is a Joule per second,
and a kilowatt-hour is 3.6 million Joules,
it is easy to calculate that the energy required
to heat two litres of water from 20 degrees C up to
100 degrees C is about a fifth of a kilowatt-hour,
which costs about a penny GB or two cents US, or to
put it another way, "not a lot".

If the power of the kettle element is 2.5 kilowatts,
it should in theory take 268 seconds to finish, which
is about right in comparison to experimental observation.

[Bigster]

I make it 75 mins to raise 25 litres from 20c to 85c

4186/1500 x 25 litres x 65 temp rise /60 sec per min = 75.58

I think you were on the right lines andy apart from it was seconds not minutes

[Bigster]

Decision made - element now fitted to my budget barrel which has now become a HLT. No going back. In fact 75 mins is perfect as the water should be just at the right temp by the end of the mash.

Used a holesaw to cut element hole, then opened out the 2 inch hole to allow my arm and element in.

3 learning points:

1. Even though a 40mm on thread only had a 38mm hole saw. Glad I used it as any bigger hole and I would have been knackered.
2. If anyone else is intending to use a budget barrel for a HLT then be careful where you put the hole. I didnt use the thickest part of the barrel which is just as well as it has been a bit of a performance getting enough of the element thread poking out of the hole for the bolt thing to screw on to. Think its sorted now but wont be taking the element off as often as I do on the boiler to clean.
3. I was at how much dirt, mould etc was inside the barrel in the bits you cant see or clean at the top of the barrel when only a 2" hole. Replacing my other BB is now top of the list.



Here endeth tonights sermon

[Bigster]

I will take some along with my all new brewery on my next brew as soon as the element lead turns up hopefully this side of christmas ( or can i use my printer lead ).

When I say all new its even more heath robinson than before (bordering on hill billyish ) made out of any old bits lying around ( decking boards feature prominently in HLT tower which looks like something out of tenko and fold away mash tun shelf )
But it takes up far less space in use and between brews.

[Bigster]

excellent - then DL ruddles county brew day is not far away ( and subsequent much hilarity when pictures posted ).

[Bigster]

Also noticed tonight that my electrim element is actually 2.2kw

[TheBigEasy]

I have just ahd the following communication from Exserve about the elements

The price for part number K/S20 is £9.47 each. The postage is £2.99 per order and delivery time is 10-14 working days.

[PieOPah]

I would be very careful about using the BB as a boiler. From the look of things it is 2 pieces of moulded plastic glued together. I might be wrong and they might be heat sealed, but at the end of the day it is still 2 seperate pieces. Obviously this weakens the overall structure and then when you add heat....

[Bigster]

my electrim boiler is 2.2kw but the HLT element from exserve is 1.5kw. Happy with this as I have 90 mins to get to 85c during mash. Hopefully wont be a problem re

2 pieces of moulded plastic glued together.

but good point pop and will be careful

[Bigster]

poo - a trial run today showed the element working fine and the budget barrel and tap taking the strain at sparging temps.However a leak developed from the element seal which had spread a little too much at one point as I had to tighten very hard to stop the initial leaks.

I think if i had put the hole half way up on the thinnest part of the barrel I may have got away with it. Any tips regarding the seal as I am so close. If not its a new tap and modify one of my fermenting bins

[fizzypop boy]

i used a sealant around mine coz it leaked done the trick

[Bigster]

Wahey Exserve have phoned - they have found an element for me in a dusty old cupboard. Its ' in the post ' so as soon as it turns up bigster smurfs new brewery can be unveiled to much guffawing

Well it turned up and guess what - a 1500W instead of a 2400W as ordered . Before I send it back in a (and probably wave goodbye to my money) will it be man enough to bring 25 litres of water to sparge temps , 85c, in a sensible time ( the hour and a half mash time)

If so I think I will keep it...

Well would you believe it - the 2400W element has now turned up. 2 elements for the price of one

Which gets me thinking again about adding the 1500W to my boiler ( making a total of 3700W )
or
replacing the element in my electrim. Currently 2200W - will this cause problems ?

Or maybe just keep it as a spare

[Vossy1]

Well would you believe it - the 2400W element has now turned up. 2 elements for the price of one

win win....Like it

[Road Runner]

Is anyone still using the cheapy £4-5 Tesco kettle elements and are they still working? Do they hold up ok to a 90 min boil time?

I bought 2 a few months back, but haven't yet got around to making a boiler with them. I've just pulled one of the kettles apart with the view to making my new boiler at last & before I use these elements, just wondered if anyone found they didn't hold up?

[tubby_shaw]

Is anyone still using the cheapy £4-5 Tesco kettle elements and are they still working? Do they hold up ok to a 90 min boil time?

I bought 2 a few months back, but haven't yet got around to making a boiler with them. I've just pulled one of the kettles apart with the view to making my new boiler at last & before I use these elements, just wondered if anyone found they didn't hold up?

I made a second boiler about a fortnight ago using a cheap Tesco kettle as a source for the element
It works