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I bought a 1500 watt immersion element with built in thermostat control for my 8 gallon boiler before reading this forum and discovering that was a mistake. I've been using it for mostly stripping runs which it works just fine for as the thermostat control is useless and I just run it full blast as that's all it can do. I've done one spirits run on collected low wines and it came out just "ok" in my book. That spirit run was my first attempt at making cuts and I'm sure I didn't do as well as I will in the future with more experience so that may have accounted for some of my disappointment.

I've recently purchased the harbor freight router controller and attached a heat sink to the back as someone else detailed in another thread. My question is: Can I plug my thermostat controlled heating element into the router controller with the thermostat set to the highest setting (meaning it's basically always on) or will the thermostat have any negative effects in working with the controller?

I'm no electrician and although this seems like it should work without any issue, I'd rather defer to someone with experience or better knowledge of wiring and electricity. Any help would be appreciated.

It should work. If you can turn it all the way up. And it stays on. There won't be a problem. Even if it shuts off. It won't cause problems with the controller. May cause problems with the run. As you have already figured out.

So I had the exact same situation (with the thermostat that goes to 11). I went out and got this router speed controller (http://www.amazon.com/MLCS-9410-20-Amp- ... ed+control" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow).

It works ok, the mail issue I have is that for what ever reason, the dial when turned to 100% gets hot and does ok but is not the true full power. When you click the selector switch from variable (reliant on the knob setting) to full power, you can hear the element kick up significantly hotter than the 100% setting. What I did for a little bit was use the full power to get the wash up near temp then kicked it over to variable and limped it up to temp. I have sense purchased one of the controller kits from SD and it works like a charm, alternatively several people have put up great step by step controller builds. If you already have the router speed controller give it a shot itll work (provided you turn the thermostat up to 11). If you're going to buy it consider buying the kit or following one of the tutorials that includes links to the parts via amazon, it's really shockingly (I know, I couldn't help myself) simple.

Virtually every controller puts out less than 100% potential power due to how they work... Generally, 95% is the standard maximum... One of my controllers comes closer to 99% but it is custom made with more parts than most commercial controllers... It's considered a zero hysteresis controller, meaning that it is functional from 0 - 100%... All that said, the best way to get 100% is to use a bypass switch...

+1 Rad

I just found an on/off/on switch, 220v, 35 amps for less than 5$ at Napa auto parts. I couldn't pass it up.

That's really good to know, the energy delta on the router controller seems much larger than the SD controller. I'll see if I can do some measurements and see what the current draw difference is between the two controllers.

One other thought if you're going to do the speed controller, I noticed mine would get pretty hot by the end of the run. I suspect if this was a long term solution you might be better served patching in a larger heat sink. Mine was hot enough the last time I used it I used thermal paste to temporarily stick it to a large aluminum fry pan, wasn't elegant but it checked the box so I could finish the run and not worry about it combusting.

I really don't understand why these still shops include the thermostatically controlled elements. Of all people you'd think they'd know better.

Thanks for all the replies. I tested the setup on a stripping run today. For the most part I ran it full blast because of that, but I did turn on the variable control for a bit. The unit got a little warm over time. I was expecting it to get scorching hot like it had been described to, but perhaps it builds up to that over a long run. It worked like a champ. I can't wait to do a spirits run with it which should be in about a week as I need a bit more low wines.

In my experience, there isn't much need for a controller when using a 1500 watt element in an 8g boiler. You'll barely get the opportunity to turn it down. Takes about all the power you have to keep it going. At a minimum, there is very little difference between stripping runs and regular runs. I didn't really know the difference until I converted to a 5500 watt element.

Bob Loblaw wrote:In my experience, there isn't much need for a controller when using a 1500 watt element in an 8g boiler. You'll barely get the opportunity to turn it down. Takes about all the power you have to keep it going. At a minimum, there is very little difference between stripping runs and regular runs. I didn't really know the difference until I converted to a 5500 watt element.

This would all depend on what kind of still. And the still you have. For pot still I didn't need to run my full 1375 watts with a 15 gal boiler.

Prairiepiss wrote:

Bob Loblaw wrote:In my experience, there isn't much need for a controller when using a 1500 watt element in an 8g boiler. You'll barely get the opportunity to turn it down. Takes about all the power you have to keep it going. At a minimum, there is very little difference between stripping runs and regular runs. I didn't really know the difference until I converted to a 5500 watt element.

This would all depend on what kind of still. And the still you have. For pot still I didn't need to run my full 1375 watts with a 15 gal boiler.

I usually plug my 1375W element (240V, 5500W element running on 120V) directly into the electric service for stripping runs and could probably use even a little more power if I had it. For spirit runs I use a controller, but only slightly turn the power down. I run a 5 gallon pot still.

Piss, I wonder if the size of the boiler really makes much difference after it comes up to heat. I guess there might be some loss of heat due to the added surface area, but how much I don't know.

1500 watts should make the same amount of vapors. The difference between a 5 gal charge and a 10 gal charge. Really isn't that much. Now you go to a 20 gal charge. There would be a noticeable difference. But heat up will be the most noticeable difference. Unless you are running in a snow storm. Then all bets are off. And you are to die hard to be using a 1500 watt element. And should upgrade immediately.

S-Cackalacky wrote:I usually plug my 1375W element (240V, 5500W element running on 120V) directly into the electric service for stripping runs and could probably use even a little more power if I had it. For spirit runs I use a controller, but only slightly turn the power down. I run a 5 gallon pot still.

Very similar to my experience. 5500w on 120v w/ a 7.75g boiler. Strip at full bore, spirit and refluxing at maybe 90%. When I swapped to 240v, I have to cut to maybe 55% to strip, 40% for spirit/reflux. Absolutely love the time savings.

S-C, I agree with PP - time for you to step to the big leagues! If you don't have access to 240v, look into a step-up transformer. They're about $150. Cheaper than running a new circuit.