New boiler

[Chicken Dipper]

Hi guys, it was my 40th last weekend, and my family bought me a 50l SS boiler from Rob The Malt Miller (Awesome job, cheers Rob)! And a couple of elements from Peco Services.

The elements come with a rubber seal each, which I guess goes on the outside?

My problem is that the boiler is curved and the element is flat, so I need another washer/ gasket but what should I use? Silicone, Kevlar, something else?

25kg of malt arrived from Get Er Brewed this afternoon so can't wait to try it out!!

Thanks Chris

[Hogarth]

No, I think the washer should be on the inside.

Have you tried putting the elements in as they are? You might get a satisfactory seal without any extra washers.

[Chicken Dipper]

Yeah, just been playing with it, I think you're right its much better with the washer inside, but the metal nut against the outside of the boiler just seems like it needs something..

[Dads_Ale]

I used a copper washer on my elements. Available on ebay, mine was 40mm internal diameter.

[Chicken Dipper]

Thanks DA, out of interest, did that make the side of the pot distort when you tightened it?

[chris20]

When I fitted an element to mine it didn't distort. The element I have came from Mr lard, it has a chunky washer which went on the inside and then I tightened the back nut up with a pair of mole grips. If you do it too tight then it distorts the washer too much. I fitted mine and started filling it with water when it leaked I just adjusted the back nut until the leak stopped and continued filling to capacity and let it sit for an hour

[Chicken Dipper]

Thanks guys, will get some water in it this evening

[Dads_Ale]

Thanks DA, out of interest, did that make the side of the pot distort when you tightened it?

I didn't notice any distortion as the copper washer is fairly soft. I mainly used it to stop the nut binding directly on the boiler.