We will show you some ideas on getting a heating element into your kettle. All of the heating elements shown are commercially available
for $30 or less. Major hardware stores should stock a 3800-watt heater for less than $10.
Note: This is not a how-to or assembly guide for heating devices. We are showing some examples and the advantages and disadvantages
of some approaches.
We recently expanded our product line to include a more complete solution with our element kit. We are now offering a nut and o-ring for your heating element.
There are two approaches here, heatsticks and permanently mounting a water heater element in a kettle. We STRONGLY recommend permanently
mounted in a kettle. A heatstick can start a fire if it is accidentally turned on when not in a kettle, and is an electrocution hazard if not
built correctly. For either solution, connect a ground wire to the kettle and make sure that water cannot come in contact with the live wires.
PUTTING A HEATING ELEMENT IN A KETTLE
This is a water heater element, as you would purchase one from a hardware store.
You need to insulate the electrical connections. There is no limit to the number of ways you can do this. Here is a conduit coupling filled
with JB weld. The nut and o-ring are used to mount it in your kettle. (Those are what we can sell to you.)
These are all of the pieces that is necessary to connect the heating element to your kettle.
The green wire must be connected to the side of your kettle! That way if something goes wrong with your heating element, you don’t get
zapped. This is what it looks like when completely assembled:
Here is an example of the element installed on a kettle.
It’s easy to drill a small hole for attaching the ground wire on the bottom of the keg. Just don’t drill the part that holds the liquid!
Here is a spa heater element in a small kettle. Spa heaters tend to be powerful but small. That means they might be good for a HLT (heating
water only) but a little too potent for boiling wort. The watt density of spa heater elements is pretty large.
This is a spa heater element installed in a kettle.
The spa heaters are more expensive, but come with their own mounting hardware, and are easier to work with because they can go in the
bottom of a kettle. The disadvantage is having a fixture on the bottom of a kettle means you must set it on a special stand, like the wooden
one shown above. Here is the junction box, very simple:
This is a spa heater element's connection box on the bottom of the kettle.
Note how the ground (green) wire is fastened to the side of the junction box. This protects you from electric shock if the element should fail.
Now you wonder, how do I put a hole in my precious keg! When you drill stainless steel, you have to drill SLOWLY, stop often to let it cool
and use lots of OIL. Plan where you will put the hole. Imagine the heating element relative to any thermometers, screens, valves, etc before
you start drilling.
There are several different tools that can be used to drill the hole in your kettle, step drills, hole saws, etc. If this won’t be the last hole
you drill in something metal, you could consider a hole cutter like this one
which can be purchased at here.
A more homebrewer-friendly approach is the step drill.
Make sure you are drilling somewhere the metal shavings won’t mess up tires, kids’ feet, or electronics. And don’t forget to use cutting oil, such
as this one.
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