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Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 7:12 am
by pickled
Is the allen bolt for the ground wire on my 240V element?
Is there any other grounding that should be done to the still?
IMG_20200503_132656.jpg

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 9:13 am
by still_stirrin
Where’s the element?

Is the blanking plate for closing out the back end of the element adapter? If so, then yes, the hex bolt can be used to ground the boiler. The ground connection would be completed to the boiler through the tri-clamp.

Grounding is an important safety step in the case something develops a short, ie - a “hot wire” pulled out of an electrical connection and contacting the element adapter or housing. The short would return through your ground and trip the breaker.
ss

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 9:18 am
by LWTCS
That grounding lug goes in the inside of the cap. Switch it around.
Cut the exterior jacket off of your service cord to a length that is no wider than the palm of your hand or you won't get everything tucked into the housing.

Once you dog down your clamps good and tight you're grounded just fine.

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 3:14 pm
by NineInchNails
You should remove that screw and install it on the other side of that plate. All of the wiring connections are done within the element guard kit like shown here:

Image

Image

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 3:24 pm
by Yummyrum
Your end cap is different to Nine inches, Uours has a slot .
and if the screw was fitted to the outside , I suspect rhats where its ment to be .

I’m wondering what the slot in the end cap is ? I would have thought that the earth wire is ment go come back out that slot and be attached externally .

You can tell at a quick glance that the earth ( Ground) is positively connected .

The Earth wire should always be the longest wire so that in the unlikely event that someone trips over the cord and cord clamp fails , that the Earth terminal is the last to rip of its terminal meaning that the appliance is Earthed right up until the end .

Having the Earth wire feed out though that slot will mean extra length .

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 3:35 pm
by Jack C
It is also my understanding that the slot in the end cap should be oriented to the bottom. This lets any water from an element seal leak drain out and you can see the water. That gives you a visual so you can repair or replace the element.

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 4:00 pm
by LWTCS
Jack C wrote: Sat May 09, 2020 3:35 pm It is also my understanding that the slot in the end cap should be oriented to the bottom. This lets any water from an element seal leak drain out and you can see the water. That gives you a visual so you can repair or replace the element.
That is correct.

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sun May 10, 2020 12:29 pm
by NineInchNails
Yummyrum wrote: Sat May 09, 2020 3:24 pm Your end cap is different to Nine inches, Uours has a slot .
and if the screw was fitted to the outside , I suspect rhats where its ment to be .

I’m wondering what the slot in the end cap is ? I would have thought that the earth wire is ment go come back out that slot and be attached externally .

You can tell at a quick glance that the earth ( Ground) is positively connected .

The Earth wire should always be the longest wire so that in the unlikely event that someone trips over the cord and cord clamp fails , that the Earth terminal is the last to rip of its terminal meaning that the appliance is Earthed right up until the end .

Having the Earth wire feed out though that slot will mean extra length .
Mine has a slit cut through too. You can barely see it in my pic. I believe the slit is to allow liquid to drain out IF there is a leak. The slit should be pointing downward.

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Sun May 10, 2020 1:45 pm
by pickled
I just realized the 6500W Dernord Element I got will not fit the width of my 8G pot oriented like NIN has in his pics. I'm going to have to flip the tri clamp fitting around and purchase a second to house the wires.
IMG_20200510_144248.jpg
IMG_20200510_144238.jpg

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Tue May 12, 2020 1:31 pm
by NineInchNails
I would just ditch that element and get a 5500W element so you can use the element guard kit the way it is supposed to be used.

I just thought of something. Just how much of the hex portion on that element would you have to grind away to allow it to fit in that element guard kit? If you insist on using that element, you might be able to just grind some of the corners off the hex portion to make it fit.

Re: Grounding the still?

Posted: Tue May 12, 2020 2:13 pm
by StillerBoy
What length is the element.. You can fit a 13" element in those pots..

Mars