jamesb
Landlord.
Hi All.
After a particularly long thread in the other place about the safety aspect of using standard immersion heaters I had a think.
The problem is that the standard plastic covers do not seal against any ingress of water due to the big bloody hole where the cable comes out - and no sealing washer against the boss. A big downside too is that they're not shiny
So I sat down and had a little think. Luckily, Manu de hanoi posted here about custom SS designs so I came up with this:
What do you reckon?
The cable gland is a standard M16 chrome one, available widely. I couldn't find a supplier for the washers that would deal in small quantities so I made them myself out of some nitrile sheet (2mm thick) that I bought from Fleabay. I used nitrile over other materials because it withstands higher temperatures and also is resistant to more chemicals. I also had to remove the existing cable clamp inside the heater, but this isn't a problem as the gland will stop the cable pulling out.
Cost:
Nitrile sheet - £2.99 (+2.50p+p)
Cable gland - £2.50
SS cover - 50usd for 3 including shipping (32 quid at the time)
The covers themselves are very good, you can tell they've been made by hand rather than machine but I wouldn't hasten to recommened Manu for any custom SS work you want done.
I've been spraying the heater assembly with water all morning and there's no ingress at all. Wouldn't recommend for complete immersion though - you'd probably want a dowty seal around the nut for that.
If anyone wants the details for the covers, I'd be happy to pass them on - or contact Manu - although there are a couple of dimensions I'd change if I had them made again (my fault, not Manu's).
After a particularly long thread in the other place about the safety aspect of using standard immersion heaters I had a think.
The problem is that the standard plastic covers do not seal against any ingress of water due to the big bloody hole where the cable comes out - and no sealing washer against the boss. A big downside too is that they're not shiny
So I sat down and had a little think. Luckily, Manu de hanoi posted here about custom SS designs so I came up with this:
What do you reckon?
The cable gland is a standard M16 chrome one, available widely. I couldn't find a supplier for the washers that would deal in small quantities so I made them myself out of some nitrile sheet (2mm thick) that I bought from Fleabay. I used nitrile over other materials because it withstands higher temperatures and also is resistant to more chemicals. I also had to remove the existing cable clamp inside the heater, but this isn't a problem as the gland will stop the cable pulling out.
Cost:
Nitrile sheet - £2.99 (+2.50p+p)
Cable gland - £2.50
SS cover - 50usd for 3 including shipping (32 quid at the time)
The covers themselves are very good, you can tell they've been made by hand rather than machine but I wouldn't hasten to recommened Manu for any custom SS work you want done.
I've been spraying the heater assembly with water all morning and there's no ingress at all. Wouldn't recommend for complete immersion though - you'd probably want a dowty seal around the nut for that.
If anyone wants the details for the covers, I'd be happy to pass them on - or contact Manu - although there are a couple of dimensions I'd change if I had them made again (my fault, not Manu's).
