Sorry, another element question

[Rogermort]

I have two x 50l SS kegs that I want to turn into electric keggles. What are my options regarding heating elements? I've seen mention of using four x kettle elements but having four leads coming from a keggle seems a bit too Heath Robinson. I have seen 220v x 3kw elements from Hong Kong on eBay for around £12 each. Would two of them per keggle be an option on a UK supply or is there something better?

[sparky Paul]

I would steer clear of elements which have a 3KW rating at 220V.

At 240V, these are going to take nearly 15A each - definitely no go on 13A plugs. Of course suitable connectors can be used, but the elements may or may not withstand the additional current and power increase.

I would stick to UK sourced kettle elements, immersion elements or the very nice stainless ones from Mr Lard.

[Rogermort]

So would two of the 2.4kw be sufficient for a 50l keggle?

[orlando]

I would steer clear of elements which have a 3KW rating at 220V.

At 240V, these are going to take nearly 15A each - definitely no go on 13A plugs. Of course suitable connectors can be used, but the elements may or may not withstand the additional current and power increase.

I would stick to UK sourced kettle elements, immersion elements or the very nice stainless ones from Mr Lard.

Can personally vouch for lardy's elements. Long story but I had one glow red before I could switch it off, turned black when it cooled down, cleaned it up with some HG steel cleaner and you wouldn't know, bomb proof, worth every penny.

[sparky Paul]

IIRC there are a few using 2x 2.4KW elements in that size of boiler, it might be worth having a read through some of the 'build' threads.

You need to keep a rolling boil, and once you get up to temperature it all comes down to heat losses. Lots of KW will get you up to temperature quicker, but so long as you can get there in a reasonable time, even one element may maintain the boil. If you struggle due to ambient temperature, you can also minimise losses with a thermal break under the boiler and/or insulation on the outside if necessary.

[ciderhead]

Backer on their website sell both the round pinned 2.7 and standard kettle pinned 2.4 elements.
Both will perform a rolling boil if you use 2 but it's better if you insulate your boiler.
Personally I would only choose the 2.7 version but you will need to buy the socket for the job, and I got a few from Amazon recently.

[Fil]

also in a thick keg the larger the element hole the harder it is to seal due to the rigid curve of the keg requiring extra work and machining/bashing to present a flatter face for the seal.

the pigtail, U, and bendable elements which require 2 x smaller circa 10mm diameter holes to fix n seal may provide easier seal options.

if concerned about 220 to 240 voltage differences and the power impact when buying ebay china elements you can fix a 16a socket and plug..

are you considering using the spear fixing as a bottom drain? it will allow a simple mesh/perforated SS disk hop filter and provide zero dead space

[Rogermort]

[quote="Fil"]

are you considering using the spear fixing as a bottom drain? it will allow a simple mesh/perforated SS disk hop filter and provide zero dead space ;)[/quote]

Can't believe I've just read that. I've just driven home from collecting the kegs and was thinking exactly that on the journey - why does no one ever turn the keg upside down and cut off the 'bottom'.

Is there a step by step anywhere for that?

[Fil]

afaik there is nothing to it, the thread for fixing the spear is a standard thread, i can only recall a discussion about making a pressure capable FV using a screw in 2" triclamp flange fitting for fixing a dump valve, i would check the hole diameter against the wikipedia bsp thread article and its table of thread dimensions, but BES sell SS pipe fittings stepping down to 1/2" bsp as quick as possible would be the most cost effective option, but you could plumb up with 2" sanitary fittings if cost was no worry
http://www.bes.co.uk/products/165a.asp part #14392


thread table
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_St ... read_sizes

[Kev888]

FWIW until recently my 25gallon boiler had only a single 3kw element (at 240v) - due to limitations of my garage supply. It gave a good rolling boil but needed lots of insulation and the lid partially on in winter, and of course took a long time to heat up initially. I'm not suggesting that as an ideal solution, but it shows whats possible when thinking of the power needed.

4x standard kettle elements would obviously be faster (electrical supply permitting) but seems unusually enthusiastic for a boiler half the size of mine; two would be much more normal. Though three or four smaller ones could give you more options for sustaining the boil without overkill, should you want to do smaller brew-lengths too. (I have seen some American keggles with multiple elements, but their 110v system makes it less practical to achieve high powers per element in a domestic setting.)

Cheers
Kev

[Rogermort]

afaik there is nothing to it, the thread for fixing the spear is a standard thread, i can only recall a discussion about making a pressure capable FV using a screw in 2" triclamp flange fitting for fixing a dump valve, i would check the hole diameter against the wikipedia bsp thread article and its table of thread dimensions, but BES sell SS pipe fittings stepping down to 1/2" bsp as quick as possible would be the most cost effective option, but you could plumb up with 2" sanitary fittings if cost was no worry
http://www.bes.co.uk/products/165a.asp part #14392


thread table
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_St ... read_sizes

To clarify, the 'spear thread' in a Eurokeg is 50mm diameter, not 2" so the 'off the shelf' reducing bushes that BES sell won't do the job. I am trying to find a 50mm reducing bush but it doesn't seem to be a standard part in the UK. Could be back to the triclamp flange fitting!

[themadhippy]

To save multiple holes you could use a 3 phase element and wire it up via switching to connect 1 ,2 or all 3 elements to a single phase supply,of course its going to need a larger electrical supply.

[Rogermort]

I'm starting to think a single 240v 3KW in each is the way to go.

[Brighteyebeer]

I use 1 x 3kw and 1 x 2kw in my 60 litre stockpot boiler. Both elements bring it to the boil very quickly, and the 3kw on it's own mantains a rolling boil.
3kw:
http://www.unifit.co.uk/products/80011/ ... -universal
2kw:
http://www.appliancespares-direct.co.uk ... -1766.html

Each runs from a (separate) wall socket with no probs. Are you confident your kegs are 'legal', not non-returned brewery kegs?

Cheers,
Chris