Low power electric as pre-heater for steam stripping

[TwoSheds]

I'm distilling whisky on the grain, good and sloppy, and generally steam strip but I'd like to try to pre-heat to cut the amount of water it adds during heat up.

Would be safe to use a 5500w 240v element on a 120v circuit to pre-heat? It's a Dernord wavy low watt density element and would only be putting out 1375w at 120v. I could even add in an SSR controller to get down to 1% increments of control. I know it would be slow, but I typically can load the still in the morning and let it preheat while I work (I work from home.)

What do folks think? Is it safe or am I just begging for a scorch with a corny grainy bourbon in there? Anyone tried it?

Thanks.

TwoSheds