Heating Element Orientaion Inside Keg

[Old Man Bakke]

About to cut in 2 ferrules for some heating elements and was considering how I want the element's oriented inside the keg / wash. My immediate concern was having the element's cross each other, like in a T or cross formation, would that create a hot spot? it seems working with this round vessel and putting 2 elements in, you are inevitably going to have some overlap of the elements at any orientation. is this a valid concern? Do they need to be at different elevations?

[OtisT]

Hey Old Man. Yes, you will need offset elevations. You will want a low or ultra low watt density element, and those extend well beyond the mid point.

Another thing to think about is minimum batch size. The placement of your lowest element will determin your minimum batch size. I placed my element exactly between the 5 gallon band and the bottom edge of a keg, which means my minimum batch size is 3 gallons PLUS the volume of what I will be collecting. That’s a 5 or 6 gallon minimum for most of my small washes. My next boiler will have a lower element for smaller batches. I feel I could safely go 1.5” lower. I would put any second element slightly between the mid point for a little clearance.

Especially with a low element, be thoughtful of dirty washes. I would not let a cloudy wash sit long before starting the run, so the element is not siting in sediment.

Otis

[Old Man Bakke]

hey OtisT

So you have your element some wheres about here....and the second above the next band?

Sorry pic is sideways

[OtisT]

My single element system has the ferrule right where your picture shows. Works great except for the minimum volume reason I described above. On my next boiler would place the ferrule slightly lower, for the minimum volume reason I stated above.

I would put a second element a little higher that what you show. The previous recommendation of 2” spacing sounds about right. Remember that when you run with two, the upper element sets your minimum volume level, so if on,y one is controlled I would make it the bottom one.

With regard to the crossed elements, I would not personally go perpindicular (90deg), simply because of my personal space requirements. I run my boiler in a corner with other stuff around. I don’t have room to get to all sides. Personally, I would put everything within 1/3 of the circumfrence, power cords to one side (so both cords come out near each other and slightly offset vertically and horizontally) and my side drain and Thermowell would be at the other end of that 135 degree arc so I can get to both from the same side. I would also think about what goes on what side. Where is your power, and what side will you work the still from. Just my preference, but since you are making your own you should definitely think about your space.

Otis

[Old Man Bakke]

All good info! thanks OtisT

[StillerBoy]

The picture shows the location of the two elements, plus the drain on my setup.. the lower element, on the 15 gal keg, requires 3 gal to cover it..

Mars

[OtisT]

Damn! StillerBoy, that is one Shiney keg. Did you polish that yourself? If so, what did you use to do that?

[Old Man Bakke]

The picture shows the location of the two elements, plus the drain on my setup.. the lower element, on the 15 gal keg, requires 3 gal to cover it..

Mars

Thanks for the pic. It helps a bunch!!

[StillerBoy]

The pictures show the method I used to attach the elements.. at the time (2.5 yrs back) , the cost for the tri clamp setup was to expense for me, but the price today has come down for the tri clamps..

Hope this helps understand the many different ways available for element setup..

OtisT.. used an angle grinder with different grades of flap disc.. start with 120, 240, 340, then different polishing grade of wax and pads.. and about 5 hrs of playing.. all my boilers are polished, if I'm to supervise them, might as well have something nice to look at.. lol

Mars

[Bushman]

Hey Old Man. Yes, you will need offset elevations. You will want a low or ultra low watt density element, and those extend well beyond the mid point.

Another thing to think about is minimum batch size. The placement of your lowest element will determin your minimum batch size. I placed my element exactly between the 5 gallon band and the bottom edge of a keg, which means my minimum batch size is 3 gallons PLUS the volume of what I will be collecting. That’s a 5 or 6 gallon minimum for most of my small washes. My next boiler will have a lower element for smaller batches. I feel I could safely go 1.5” lower. I would put any second element slightly between the mid point for a little clearance.

Especially with a low element, be thoughtful of dirty washes. I would not let a cloudy wash sit long before starting the run, so the element is not siting in sediment.

Otis

Don’t you mean highest element as the element needs to always be submerged?

[OtisT]

Otis
Don’t you mean highest element as the element needs to always be submerged?

Yes. My bad. Thanks for catching that.

[paddy1000111]

As Stillerboys keg shows, I wouldn't worry about the gap between the two elements as long as it isn't less than an inch or so. The fluid effectively cools the heating elements so they are only able to get to 100 degrees before the water boils off, takes the energy away and then fluid takes its place and the process starts again. 1" allows fluid to move in and gas to move out quite easily so there will never really be an actual hotspot. The only thing that can go wrong is if they are less than say half an inch and it causes a hot spot on the element which will shorten its life. The elements like continuous heat all the way along, warm up and cool down equally and they last for a long time. If they have a hot spot or you chuck a cold wash on a hot element and their lifetime shortens

I'm now looking at my keg and wondering about polishing it. It's brand new so has just the grey finish. At the same time my boiler is insulated so I wouldn't ever see it!