element enclosure box

[itchy]

i used a hvac disconnect ($7 at home depo) and made a real nice element enclosure.. by removing the guts and relocating the ground lug it worked out great,, i don't like plastic boxes and this is strong and even water resistant,, you can seriously dump a 5 gl bucket of water on top of this and the inside stays dry. i drilled a 1 3/4 inch hole with a hole saw so it fits nicely over the element,, i haven't yet but i will seal this gap with high heat silicone to fully water proof it... i used 4 3/8" all thread couplings and 4 3/8 by 1/2 bolts to mount it to the keg,, first i re drilled the original holes to fit 3/8.. then i cut down the couplings to get the backset i wanted so the element wouldn't hit the cover, i bolted them to the box,, set it in place,, sanded the keg and couplers.. and simply soldered it right to the keg,, it looks great and is secure,, i especially like that theirs a spot for the ground wire and everything's enclosed. dont mind the appearance of the keg,, i was trying to polish it with a grinder and a scotch bright pad...also in the picture is a 1" copper to copper union i found at the depot,, usually they are brass to brass or brass to copper,, they had tons of unions but this was the only one copper to copper with a brass nut,,, i bought it just in case i need it for my next still...so keep your eye out for these,,, great for disassembling your still.

[kenfyoozed]

Looks good. Like they way you think.

[itchy]

thanks man,,, im going away for a cpl days so i wont be around here,, catch you guys later.

[LWTCS]

Round here(my area) seems ya gotta have a disconnect for every damn electrical doohicky under the sun....Even if the service panel is directly adjacent,,,,,Building dept..justifying their existence .

Reckon the authority having jurisdiction would love that box (with a breaker) if they could.

Nice work

[Bushman]

I like it but the glare from that keg is something else, what did you do spend a day shining it?

[LWTCS]

the glare from that keg is something else, what did you do spend a day shining it?

Soft wire wheel on an adequate hand held grinder and it goes pretty fast Bushy..... Mine looked like that too,,,,,,,,for a day or so

[itchy]

yeah i used a hand held grinder with a scotch brite pad.. i started out trying to just remove some stickers and kept going,,, it goes really fast.. whole keg could be done in about ten minutes.. but as LWTCS implied it probably wont last very long.... lol.. and i cant get a smooth even look to it anyway,,, it's all choppy...

[rad14701]

Just remember, using a plain steel wire wheel or wire brush on stainless can cause surface rust to form...

[Bushman]

Just remember, using a plain steel wire wheel or wire brush on stainless can cause surface rust to form...

Stainless just means it stains less

[WalkingWolf]

Looks nice itchy, and most importantly, gets the job done. Here's a couple pics of mine.

[itchy]

sweet dude,,, looks good,,, i was more scraed of bumping into it and getting shocked then spilling anything on it,, so we are good to go,,,

[Samohon]

Yep, job well done there itchy... And I like the shiny, sparlkly, blingy keg as well...

Thanks for sharing...

[astronomical]

Just remember, using a plain steel wire wheel or wire brush on stainless can cause surface rust to form...

is this why homebrewers spend countless hours with polishes and fiberglass pads? or are they just lovin their keggles a bit much? I tried it with gator grip pads and it was a bitch. I think reflictix has a nice shine to it



Very nice enclosure itchy.. I gotta build one as well and I think Ill adopt your style.