Thinking about going electric
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:47 am
I built the following small pot still using a 20qt boiler:
The condenser is a 26” Leibig, with a ½” center.
I’d like to move off of the kitchen stove and into the basement. I’m planning on using 120V and pintoshine’s dimmer-based heating controller. I’ve done some searching and only came across references to people putting water heater elements in kegs, not something small like mine.
Anyway, I have two questions:
What element should I use? It looks like I can get 1500 and 2000W 120V elements. If 1500W is too powerful, I can get a 3000W 240V element that should run at 750W. I think any other 240V elements that I can find will be too long to fit in my boiler. I should also mention that I’ll probably insulate my boiler with reflectix insulation.
The water heater elements have 1” NPSM threads. Would item 4464K586 at mcmaster.com (can’t directly link) work to attach it to my kettle? They also have the same item in brass for considerably less money, but I guess brass should be avoided if a stainless solution is available, right?
Thanks!
The condenser is a 26” Leibig, with a ½” center.
I’d like to move off of the kitchen stove and into the basement. I’m planning on using 120V and pintoshine’s dimmer-based heating controller. I’ve done some searching and only came across references to people putting water heater elements in kegs, not something small like mine.
Anyway, I have two questions:
What element should I use? It looks like I can get 1500 and 2000W 120V elements. If 1500W is too powerful, I can get a 3000W 240V element that should run at 750W. I think any other 240V elements that I can find will be too long to fit in my boiler. I should also mention that I’ll probably insulate my boiler with reflectix insulation.
The water heater elements have 1” NPSM threads. Would item 4464K586 at mcmaster.com (can’t directly link) work to attach it to my kettle? They also have the same item in brass for considerably less money, but I guess brass should be avoided if a stainless solution is available, right?
Thanks!