How to use the Tesco Value kettle heating element

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I decided to upgrade my elements and figure out a better way of enclosing my switches and wiring after my last brew where I had a boil over which led to all the electrics in the house tripping...So after much faffing around and what not I can unveil my boiler mark 2...

boilermk2024.jpeg


I will post below my "how to" on improving (IMHO!) on this already well documented "how to"...BigYin...hope you dont mind?

I went out and bought myself two of these:

boilermk2000.jpeg


And found that the design has changed slightly since the last time I bought them. The new design makes it much easier to steal the elements AND it also means you don't need to do any wiring or soldering, you just need...

A screwdriver
A roll of insulating tape (or duct tape)
A flat head screwdriver
A hack saw
Sandpaper
and a tube of sealant and sealant gun (I used white Stixall - amazing stuff!)

So you start off with the bottom part of the kettle, and remove the two screws, they are strange three pronged screws so you need a flat-head screwdriver at an angle to get them out - you'll figure it out when you see it:

boilermk2001.jpeg


Then use same flat-head screwdriver to push off the two plasic clips holding the bottom part of the base on:

boilermk2002.jpeg


You should now have this:

boilermk2004.jpeg


Then you need to remove the two screws from inside the lid and on the bottom of the kettle:

boilermk2005.jpeg

boilermk2007.jpeg


Then you can unclip the outer part of the handle, like so:

boilermk2008.jpeg

boilermk2009.jpeg


Now take the kettle and remove the two screws on either side of the switch and then the three screws holding the element in place:

boilermk2010.jpeg

boilermk2011.jpeg

boilermk2013.jpeg


You should then have this:

boilermk2015.jpeg


Now take your hacksaw and cut the handle from the kettle, leaving enough space between the handle so as to allow for the curve of your boiler...it will make sense when you come to it!

boilermk2016.jpeg


You should then have something akin to this:

boilermk2018.jpeg


Now fit your element to the side of the boiler like so (if you look back a few posts you will find instructions on how to do this):

boilermk2019.jpeg


You should now be able to fit the handle part that you previously cut off and it should fit onto the top of your switch like so:

boilermk2020.jpeg


But you don't need to do this just now so take it back of...

Now take the cable from the base of the kettle and (using insulating or duct tape) stick it in place so that the three prongs are in contact with the connectors on the cable...this bit is very fiddly and didn't manage to take any photos...sorry!!!

Once you have the cable in place, I used the sealant to basically glue it in place (NOTE you will need to sand down, using sandpaper, any parts of the plastic container that you plan to add sealant. Otherwise it will not stick properly!)

This was the most time-consuming part of this process and was a right faff trying to keep the parts in the right place long enough for the sealant to stick!

So now you have this done...you can put the handle back on and stick it in place with more sealant and you should have something along the lines of this:

boilermk2024.jpeg
 
One of the next maintenance jobs I need to do on my boiler is take the elements out for a proper clean up - easy enough to do on my boiler, just a few screws - I hope that with the way conan has siliconed on the kettle parts there's still enough access to get the element out? :hmm:
 
I've followed a similar path with two Tesco heating elements but after searching far and wide I'm still reluctant to run both the elements at once given that together they would pull up to 4400watts/17+ amps.
I've tried wiring them up in parallel which took about 20-30 mins to boil but I'm too scared to leave this running for too long, I've tried series but there just wasn't enough power getting to either of them which I gave up waiting for it to boil after an hour and a half and a single heating element took about an hour to boil.

Plugging them into two separate power sockets seems to be the best choice but I still feel uneasy about this. I'm very amateur at electrics but would anyone know of another solution to wire them in parallel e.g. installing a regulator or something so it can pull as much power as it can without melting sockets?
 
Apologies if this is covered elsewhere but has anyone adapted this excellent idea ( thanks Big Yin ) and installed the Tesco elements in a stainless steel stock pot ? Any issues ?

Thanks
 
like you I am wary of messing with electrics. I am in the process of upgrading my brewery and have bitten the bullet and got a professional in.
3 hours later 4 seperate sockets installed for the brewery alone, all on a newly installed ring main so I could if I ever wanted to have all 4 sockets doing a boil

The cost... £50 plus 6 bottles of homebrew, well pleased with that.
 
AndyBWood said:
Apologies if this is covered elsewhere but has anyone adapted this excellent idea ( thanks Big Yin ) and installed the Tesco elements in a stainless steel stock pot ? Any issues ?

Thanks

Yes, it's been done by a few, including myself.

You will need a decent hole saw to cut the hole and a silicone bake mat from Aldi / Lidl to ensure you get a good seal around the hole :)

Do be careful with how to connect the cable to the elements, the connections will got hot unless they are really secure, either solder them, or use block connectors for a secure mechanical connection, or buy the hot plugs from Maplin for a couple of quid each.

As mentioned above, don't run both elements off one double socket, or at least don't do it too long or too often, as it might cause problems with the socket internals due to heat build up.
 
AndyBWood said:
Thanks TRX - I'm going to have to think of a good idea to stop me doing this - running out of excuses !

There is no good excuse to stop, trust me, I've been there and tried :(

Bergmans for the pot, Tesco / Asda for the kettle elements and Aldi / Lidl for the silicone baking mat and you're done.

The pot cost me under £40 delivered, 50 litre and shiny :)

Two kettles cost me a tenner, sadly I missed the £1.50 each offer Tesco ran :(

Silicone baking mat was £3.49 and there is enough there for me to make a load os spares as well when I need them :)

The kettle plugs (hot plugs) from Maplin are £2.50 each and seem to work OK, I'm concerned about the longevity of the clamps inside the hot plugs, but for now they are fully insulated and splash proof so I'm sticking with them until they melt :)

I made my fist full length brew yesterday, it took the boiler about 20 minutes to get a rolling boil from mash temperature and kept it there nicely when only one element was running :)
 
TRXnMe said:
Bergmans for the pot, Tesco / Asda for the kettle elements and Aldi / Lidl for the silicone baking mat and you're done.

I would avoid Asda. They are 40mm, but they have also changed the internals and the pins are smaller. I bought one and it was fine. I then decided to add another a few weeks later. They had changed the kettles. They looked the same outwardly but internally very different. Needless to say it went in the bin as I had dismantled it, and couldn't return it.
 
bobsbeer said:
TRXnMe said:
Bergmans for the pot, Tesco / Asda for the kettle elements and Aldi / Lidl for the silicone baking mat and you're done.

I would avoid Asda. They are 40mm, but they have also changed the internals and the pins are smaller. I bought one and it was fine. I then decided to add another a few weeks later. They had changed the kettles. They looked the same outwardly but internally very different. Needless to say it went in the bin as I had dismantled it, and couldn't return it.

So the pins are too small for the hot plugs now? That's bad news, it's probably saving them halfpenny a unit on metal in the things, if so expect the Tesco ones to go the same way soon. I think I might go buy a couple as spares next weekend.
 
There must be some reason I can think of not to do this……….… :hmm:

But….. if not, ok to PM you TRX for some specifics ? Just sent an email to the ebay stock pot people to enquire about UK delivery.
 
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