Going Electric

[DavidHatton]

Hi, i want some advice on selecting the right element to fit in my 33L pot.
i have seen 2.4kw and 3kw from 2 home brew stores online, sockets wise i have 2 double wall sockets and a specific socket for the washing machine, any suggestions!! would a standard wall sock be able to cope with either of the above elements?

Any advice is appreciated.

David

 

[dad_of_jon]

Hi, i want some advice on selecting the right element to fit in my 33L pot.
i have seen 2.4kw and 3kw from 2 home brew stores online, sockets wise i have 2 double wall sockets and a specific socket for the washing machine, any suggestions!! would a standard wall sock be able to cope with either of the above elements?

Any advice is appreciated.

David

1 amp = about 230 watts so 2.4kw = 2400watts = about 10 amps. My kettle is 3000watts (3kw) so around 13 amps. A standard wall socket/plug is rated for 13amps with NO adapters on it.

so yes they be fine, but if you were to use another kettle and a washing machine/dishwasher/tumble dryer and iron at the same time you'd most likely trip the electrics. Which is the perfect excuse not to do housework when brewing :thumb:

 

[britton]

3kw is your absolute max for a 13A plug and socket but I would not advise it as the socket will get warm. 2.4kw will be ok.

 

[dad_of_jon]

3kw is your absolute max for a 13A plug and socket but I would not advise it as the socket will get warm. 2.4kw will be ok.

YES as britton says it will get warm, but with a household kettle you are on full load for a few mins, whereas with a proper brewing boil it could be for up to 90 mins.

 

[DavidHatton]

Thank you Gents,
think i will opt for the 2.4kw element!
I think it will be enough to boil what i need at my max.

D

 

[britton]

I bought a few kettles from Argos for £5 and stripped out the elements from them, think they are 2.4kw.

 

[BeerCat]

My Bufallo induction hob heats my 32l pot and its 3k. The plug does get warm as said above. To be honest i run it flat out and get far too much boil off most times. Should be able to do a 25l batch easily but hardly ever get above 20l without dilution. Consider getting a PID to control the element as well although some people mught not think its necessary.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
If your sockets are on a ring main circuit it will be rated to 32A; a 3kW heater draws about 13A, so it would be well within the capabilities of the circuit.
British Standards for a twin socket say that it must be able to bear a load of 20A for 4 hours (14A on one side and 6A on the other), so a 3 kW heater would be within tolerance.
MK, a manufacturer of sockets, says this: "Research by ourselves and third party organisations has shown that all MK double sockets can safely withstand a continuous load of 19.5A for an indefinite period."

 

[Fil]

after buying every lemon element going or at least it seemed like it when upgrading from my first diy ag brewery. i would strongly suggest fitting 2 x ex budget kettle elements.
(and buy a couple of spares just in case, you probably will never need em if you buy em, but if you dont...... )
2 x to provide 1) fast heat up to strike, sparge, and or boil temps to minimise the time elapsed during a brewday 2) simple 50% 100% power control option, and 3) backup for an element failure.. (few elements are designed to burn @ full power for 60-90 minutes.. )

if with 2 x elements plugged into the same ring circuit results in tripping the mcb, you can use a suitably rated fully unwound extension lead to provide one element with power from a separate ring circuit.

imho the only downside of the budget kettle elements is the compatitively tight spiral shape which can take an extra minute or two to scrub back to shiney with a kitchen scrubbie asap post boil (leave to long and it dries harder than reinforced concrete needing a citric acid/lemon juice soak to clear..) . And the lack of an off the shelf backing, tho there are lots of options there.. i went with £shop click lock food box enclosures

 

[JapanBrew]

Thank you Gents,
think i will opt for the 2.4kw element!
I think it will be enough to boil what i need at my max.

D

My experience 2.4 will be hard to boil anything above 20 liters. I have 2 elements, 1.5 and 2. The 1.5 is on or off while my 2 is connected to my PID then I adjust the output power to get the boil I need. I would recommend a 3kw.

 

[Budgie]

I use a 2.4kW element from Brew Builder in my 33 Litre BK and have never had any problems with it. I ended up building a voltage controller so I could turn it down as once it gets going, it doesn't half boil!

I also insulated my boiler with 2 layers of radiator reflector, (about £3 from Toolstation) which makes a noticeable difference to heating time.

 

[DavidHatton]

I use a 2.4kW element from Brew Builder in my 33 Litre BK and have never had any problems with it. I ended up building a voltage controller so I could turn it down as once it gets going, it doesn't half boil!

I also insulated my boiler with 2 layers of radiator reflector, (about �£3 from Toolstation) which makes a noticeable difference to heating time.

Hi, thanks for the tip! which of the elements did you buy, the standard kettle element or the immersion element?

cheers D

 

[Budgie]

I went for the standard kettle element - purely for ease of set up. Cut a 40mm hole, screw it in, job done.