Home Distiller

Is there a standard for how much space needs to be between two electrical (5500W 240V) heating elements?

Wiring and electrical isn't new to me, but at the same time, it still always grabs me by the short and curlys when doing something new (and I err on the side of always needing people to confirm that my worry is total BS).

So I'm just curious if there is any real risk of an arc/spark should two elements be stacked too close to one another (assuming both are properly grounded, wired, etc, etc)?

Couple of inches of spacing between each element should be fine, three inches if you feel uncomfortable. The key is to be able to remove them for replacement. Elements placed too close together may interfere with one another as they are unscrewed. Elements placed too high run the risk of being exposed. If reducing to one element after reaching boil temp, make sure that element is placed lowest.

Why in the world would you want 2 5500 watt elements in a keg. I have 2 kegs with one element in each and they both rock and roll and have me up and running in minutes.

I run two 5500 watt elements in my 25 gallon boiler. They have individual controls on my panel. I always have both on, and for a clear mash/wash I will crank them both up to shorten my start up time then when I get near temps to start producing I will lower both of them. Where it really shines (no pun intended ) is on a dirty mash and then I just run them both at lower amps to reduce risk of scorching

Windy City wrote:I run two 5500 watt elements in my 25 gallon boiler. They have individual controls on my panel. I always have both on, and for a clear mash/wash I will crank them both up to shorten my start up time then when I get near temps to start producing I will lower both of them. Where it really shines (no pun intended ) is on a dirty mash and then I just run them both at lower amps to reduce risk of scorching

+1. I put two in my 20 gallon boiler. I run it the same way. I just spaced them out about 4 inches or so. Just wanted to make sure the wavey elements turned freely when installing.

Thanks so much for the info everyone! Setup is similar to a lot of people here, going to just play it safe and not stack the ferrule ports so close vertically. Would love to keep everything relatively low for aesthetic purposes, but will just install above and below one of the ribs on the outer part of the boiler and quit with the OCD .

Thanks again!

I have 2 x 4.5kW elements in my boiler. they're 2" difference in elevation and at 90* to each other. I'm currently running on 120 VAC so they don't get as hot as a 220 VAC line would. But I too use them both, appropriately throttled as needed. In effect, it provides a lower (still) watt density than a single element would.

When I get 220 VAC in the shed, I'll run them like Windy City and Hound Dog....throttled as needed unless I'm running reflux, in which case a single element will suffice.

The power of electricity is nice to have...but you don't want to hold it in your hand!
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