I just finished wiring and protecting the element for my boiler. It's a 5500 Watt element that I'll be running at 120V, so I should be getting 1375 Watts out of it. I'm using a 14 gauge cord. I used JB Weld to attach a 1" PVC coupling to the back of the element, and then filled it in from the back with silicone, in case the JB Weld didn't make a perfect seal. In the back of the coupler, I glued in a 1" to 1/2" threaded bushing, and finished it with a watertight strain relief. I think the wiring should be pretty well protected from moisture.
The only thing that I'm not in love with is my grounding solution, but I think it should work. I'm using a very thin walled (cheap!) stock pot, that I think would be hard to weld to. To ground my element, I drilled a hole in the PVC coupler to allow the ground wire to come out, then drilled and tapped a hole in the edge of the element. I attached my ground to that.
Gonna be a real bitch to re-tighten the terminal screws on the element if they ever work loose. If they do work loose, you will be the first to know ....from the smell of burning silicone sealant and PVC.
In reality, except for the rubber washer, it should be good.
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Soggy Bottom Boy wrote:Gonna be a real bitch to re-tighten the terminal screws on the element if they ever work loose. If they do work loose, you will be the first to know ....from the smell of burning silicone sealant and PVC.
In reality, except for the rubber washer, it should be good.
Thanks for the feedback. If I unscrew the cord grip, I do have a small opening through which I should be able to access the screws. Maybe I should cover the terminals with silicone sealer, too. That should prevent them from loosening.
I plan on wrapping the rubber washer with teflon tape, and if that doesn't work, I'll buy a teflon o-ring.
MuleKicker wrote:Just teflon tape the hell out of the threads. The rubber washer wont be an issue, cuz it will never get wet.
Mine threads into a stainless lock nut which has straight threads on the inside of my pot, so the gasket is necessary for sealing. I did get to wrap it with teflon tape and it worked well with no leaks. Tonight I'll power it up, and see how long it takes to come up to temperature.
