burner size

[oldpete]

im just putting the finishing touches on my first still based on a 1/4 barrel keg, i would like to be able to run it indoors because well i live in the north and winter is the best 8 months of the year. would a 1500watt element set on the largest dimmer or rheostat able to handle it with out having to wait forever for it to heat up. i have a gas burner i use for brewing beer but no easy access to water for a fair chuck of the year due to having to use it outside. im limited to running 110 so the really big watt elements are out of my reach

[Husker]

oldpete
im just putting the finishing touches on my first still based on a 1/4 barrel keg, i would like to be able to run it indoors because well i live in the north and winter is the best 8 months of the year. would a 1500watt element set on the largest dimmer or rheostat able to handle it with out having to wait forever for it to heat up. i have a gas burner i use for brewing beer but no easy access to water for a fair chuck of the year due to having to use it outside. im limited to running 110 so the really big watt elements are out of my reach

You can externally heat up the wash to close to boiling temps outside of the boiler, and the transfer into the boiler, thus leveraging a much larger wattage (such as the large elements on your stove). Doing this can greatly reduce the initial heatup time to boil. Just be careful transfering hot liquids. I believe that a 1.5Kw internal element should do just fine, once the boil starts.

Also, heatup of 24L of 16% wash from 26C to boiling is only 67 minutes, so using your 1.5kw element is not "that" long of a heatup time. Be sure to wrap your boiler in a thermal blanket. The above timing is with no (or little) heat loss. At 1500W if you are losing 250W (or more) from thermal loss, then it is the same as having a smaller element.

H.

[oldpete]

did a little poking around with my eletrically inclined buddy (he is an electirction) turns out there is a junction box i can tap into for 220 right by where i would be set up in the basement. new idea, install a 4500w element and after heating up just make a custom whip so i can change to 110 to run. this an acceptable idea? by some rough math that would be 1125w for operation which by the condenser caculator i have covered