Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

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patwestlake
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Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by patwestlake » Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:37 pm

Just a quick check before I hit "buy".... 50 litre kettle which will be heated via 2 peco electrim 2.4kw elements. I plan to run the elements in parallel from a single 40a ssr and PID. This way I figure that each element will do about half the work (according to their individual impedences) and so I get twice the element length per actual kw input so minimising scorching wort. It also means I have an installed standby should I get a failure. Supply isn't an issue as I'm on a dedicated 32A feed.

Comments please on either the general setup/theory and the quality of the electric elements for kettle duty. I do standard 60/90min boil 23 litre brews but fancy that unplugging one element will also give me more flexibility when doing half batches than one big element.

Thanks in advance

Pat
FV : #99 Highway to Helles (Munich Helles)
Next up - #100 Farmhouse in Your Soul (Saison)

Drinking :
#98 Bells Light Hearted (3.9% IPA)
#97 Decadence 64 (Mosaic IPA)
#96 Wicked Weasel (Fursty Ferret Clone)
#95 Penarth Gold (Loweswater Gold Clone)
#94 Cheeseburger Cavalry (US IPA)

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vacant
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by vacant » Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:34 am

Search forum for "peco rust". Results from 2014 to 2016. I wouldn't buy them unless they had changed spec.

Search forum for "peco". Results from 2017 include scorched and failed examples.

I've never used Peco. Better off with 2.4 Tesco/Asda etc kettle elements which I have in my plastic 70 ltr boiler. Also be aware Backer elements have changed spec and aren't the quality they used to be (got an old one in my second hand 50 ltr shiny pot and have bought a new one - flaky finish on one sent back, replacement still not as good as original)
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patwestlake
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by patwestlake » Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:23 pm

Just received the following from Peco;

Hello Pat

Thank you for getting in touch.

Our elements have a stainless steel heating tube but the back plate (the threaded part that holds the element in place) is nickel plated copper. The cost of producing these with a plate turned from stainless is prohibitively expensive I'm afraid.

Best regards

Adrian Cottrell

So that is not an alternative. Are the Asda/Tesco elements all stainless?

Pat
FV : #99 Highway to Helles (Munich Helles)
Next up - #100 Farmhouse in Your Soul (Saison)

Drinking :
#98 Bells Light Hearted (3.9% IPA)
#97 Decadence 64 (Mosaic IPA)
#96 Wicked Weasel (Fursty Ferret Clone)
#95 Penarth Gold (Loweswater Gold Clone)
#94 Cheeseburger Cavalry (US IPA)

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vacant
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by vacant » Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:30 pm

patwestlake wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:23 pm
Are the Asda/Tesco elements all stainless
Looks like I'm a bit out of date - can't see any corded kettles any more :( Used to be able to get "basics" kettles for a little over a fiver and rip the 2.1 or 2.4kW elements out.
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keith1664
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by keith1664 » Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:40 pm

I’m using the Peco elements with no rust issues.


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patwestlake
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by patwestlake » Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:22 pm

I suspect the "nickel plating" of the boss is relatively recent, so older units will be fine. Not sure how they continue to sell the plastic kettles without issues though..... Waiting for answers from 2 Irish sheds as to what theirs are made of. Still looking for 2 x 2.4kw if anyone's got any ideas? Not sure I'd trust a cheap I kettle element these days either for the same reasons in anything but an HLT.

Pat
FV : #99 Highway to Helles (Munich Helles)
Next up - #100 Farmhouse in Your Soul (Saison)

Drinking :
#98 Bells Light Hearted (3.9% IPA)
#97 Decadence 64 (Mosaic IPA)
#96 Wicked Weasel (Fursty Ferret Clone)
#95 Penarth Gold (Loweswater Gold Clone)
#94 Cheeseburger Cavalry (US IPA)

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HTH1975
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by HTH1975 » Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:15 am

These look good quality. They’re not cheap mind, but quality never is... https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1569810925

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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by guypettigrew » Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:54 am

For the last few years I've been using two of these from Angel Home Brew in my boiler. No problems at all.

Guy

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LeeH
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by LeeH » Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:08 pm

HTH1975 wrote:These look good quality. They’re not cheap mind, but quality never is... https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1569810925

Look to be the same as the malt miller elements.




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orlando
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by orlando » Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:47 pm

Not cheap but I've used them for a long time. Tolerant of boiling dry too. :oops:

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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by alexlark » Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:00 am

guypettigrew wrote:For the last few years I've been using two of these from Angel Home Brew in my boiler. No problems at all.

Guy
Same here. No problems at all with these. Nice lock nut included too.

patwestlake
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by patwestlake » Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:45 pm

Cheers all,

FWIW, both Get Er Brewed and The Home Brew shop confirmed that their elements are from Peco, so HLT only. The ebay/Maltmiller ones are a bit rich for my pocket but look good. Just waiting on confirmation from Mr Lard at Brewbuilder about where he gets his from - hopefully not Peco!!

Pat
FV : #99 Highway to Helles (Munich Helles)
Next up - #100 Farmhouse in Your Soul (Saison)

Drinking :
#98 Bells Light Hearted (3.9% IPA)
#97 Decadence 64 (Mosaic IPA)
#96 Wicked Weasel (Fursty Ferret Clone)
#95 Penarth Gold (Loweswater Gold Clone)
#94 Cheeseburger Cavalry (US IPA)

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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by guypettigrew » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:38 pm

Not keen on the Angel Home Brew ones?

Guy

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HTH1975
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by HTH1975 » Sat Jan 12, 2019 2:33 pm


lord groan
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Re: Elements for 50l kettle - before I buy!

Post by lord groan » Sun Jan 13, 2019 12:40 pm

I had to buy a new kettle just before xmas, only needed an emergency one for short term use so went with this from argos
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9016710
£5.99, element rated 1850-2200w depending on supply voltage. Still the sort of element I used on my first boiler build - I instantly went back to that build when I saw the element!
No sign of nasties on the element after use. If you want a nice kettle design - buy something else, its a horrible thing to use as a kettle but the elements a good 'un
Cheers

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