Reddit mentions: The best water heaters & parts

I did a 100 day backpacking trip around the world with a North Face Backtrack 50. It was small enough to be a carry on. Some advice others have mentioned here, first aid kit is very important, along with copies of your passport and some passport photos just in case. You should also have photocopies of your credit cards and their 1-800 number if you're bring them along. A lock to keep your belongings safe. Travelers duct tape is also useful. They're small and doesn't take up space but very handy to have. If you'll be doing laundry yourself without a machine, a sink stopper and cloths line are useful too. Eating utensils are also useful like this immersion heater, or fold up cups etc.

Wardrobe is fine, though it's better to use synthetic fabrics for t-shirts and such since it dries faster and doesn't wrinkle like cotton does when you shove it into a bag. Also to not stand out as much as a tourist, all your cloths should also match. Greys and browns work well with everything should you decide to wear the same cloths a few days in a row. If you're paranoid about getting robbed, a money belt is also good. If you get past the dorkyness of it's wonderful. I had most my stuff in it while keeping some money in my pockets. You don't want to be whipping the belt out for every purchase. That's all I can think of at the moment. If i come up with more I'll edit this comment.

If you have decided to move forward I suggest going with a Solid State Relay system based around PID controllers. A company "Auber" produces one called the EZ-Boil. The EZ-Boil has the very nice (and unique) feature of not only having PID control but also having easy to access Duty Cycle control for boiling your wort.


https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=560



Other PID controllers in this category like the Inkbird ITC-100RH do have duty cycle control but it is not nearly as easy to use as the Auber.



Make sure you use a GFCI (Ground Fault Circut Interrupter) for more safety. They can be had on Amazon for cheap and will save your life if something goes wrong. GFCI plugs will cut the power with a contactor to your element if the continuity between ground and common is broken. Instead of you being shocked and hurt the power will be shutoff.

Amazon Link to a GFCI rated for the correct Amperage. https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-16794-20-Amp-120-Volt-Right-Angle/dp/B00HRF31AC/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3G4AFGNJ0277U&keywords=gfci+plug&qid=1565642998&s=home-garden&sprefix=GFCI+pl%2Cgarden%2C140&sr=1-4


Bobby from BrewHardware in New Jersey stocks essentially all the stuff you need to build your own electric setup. I would also recommend these elements from Amazon, a buddy purchased them and they have been great. TC Element

If your buddy is a TIG welder and doesnt mind helping out you are in luck. TC ferrules can be attached to your kettle with hard-soldering and thats great but nothing will beat a TIG welded connection in terms of strength. If your buddy is not a TIG welder or doesnt have access to one it is very possible to solder on your connections with a solder formulated for bonding to stainless steel. Soldering on a TC ferrule



Links to Ferrules and Electric brewing parts on Brew Hardware https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ptbulkhead_tool15tc.htm



Goodluck! if you have any questions let me know.

In coming wall of text.

Ok, so water heaters. On demand water heaters suck for various reasons. First and foremost of the savings. The savings they give is tiny, the cheapest water heater available here uses 73W in standby. Some quick math: 73W = 0.073kW 0.073kW *24hours *365days /year = 640kWh/year. Now that's a fair chunk of change, but a whole house on demand water heater is going to cost about $1500 normally for a decent one, installed. If you don't have to make any changes to your electrical panel, which is iffy depending on where you live and what the electrical service is now. But what does 640kWh cost you might ask. At $0.12/kWh, the national average in the US, it's about $77/year. That cheap as hell water heater is only about $400 and can easily be installed by a home gamer. That would take about 14 years to pay for itself, right there. But I'm not done yet. On demand water heaters also use more power to heat the same amount of water because in the process of trying to heat the water so quickly they lose a lot of heat to the surrounding area while they heat. I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but it's not insignificant.

Then there's maintenance. Because on demand water heaters put so much heat into the water they often boil the water right at the elements (the resultant output is fine because that very hot water mixes with cooler water) this causes sediment to fall out of suspension from the water and it gets deposited on the elements. This means that on demand water heaters lose even more efficiency and require maintenance every year to chemically remove the deposits.

Finally there's the issue of what those water heaters do to the grid. That instant demand change wrecks havoc on the grid and because of that those demand changes often cause peaker stations to be required. Peaker stations are much more expensive to run and much more expensive to buy power from (at the utility level) and they create a lot more pollution. On demand water heaters use so much power that some utilities in the US have started a different fee structure. They record the homes highest usage over a 15 second time frame and charge a much greater fee for that power vs the power that is averaged out over the month or two months between meter reads.

Between all of that, even if you do live in an area where the ground water is warm enough that you can go with a reasonable sized on demand heater, I highly doubt you'll ever see any savings.

Which sucks because you want to save some money, right. Well, there isn't really a product on the market that's going to work the miracles we'd both like to see. There's heat pump water heaters, which is a fantastic idea, but almost all of them pull heat from the space they're in, they need a near by drain, and they make a lot of noise. There is one mini split heat pump water heater on the market in North America, but it's retardedly expensive. It's in the realm of $5000 installed. I personally, am waiting for more competition to come to that segment of the market and I have every intention of getting one when they're reasonably priced.

So, what should you do. You're not going to like this, but here goes. Get a next step from the bottom of the barrel water heater. It should be in the realm of 50W in standby. It should have ~R10 insulation and heat traps installed in the inlet and outlet. Then, add one of these R10 blankets, and put one of these and two layers of this under it. That should get you in the range of about 30W in standby or 262kWh/year or about $32/year.

Optionally: Put in the powered anode to reduce your maintenance costs and make the job easier. And to greatly reduce the time it takes to do the annual draining of the sediment in the water heater, replace the drain valve with a 3/4" ball valve, 3/4" hose barb, and a 3/4" hose.

I have the above listed setup. My annual draining of the water heater takes about 30 minutes vs the old valve that took about an hour.

Now, if you want to save even more, lets talk low flow shower heads. Niagara Earth has two models of shower head, one is 1.5gpm the other is 1.25gpm. We have one of each and they work really well. There was a difference vs our old 2.5gpm shower heads, but it's still a very liveable shower than for the $8 on Amazon the price can't be beat. A 2.5gpm shower head, used for 8 minutes/day, uses about 1670kWh/year. With the 1.25gpm shower head that's down to 835kWh/year.

If you do laundry in hot water, stop. There's simply no need to with today's detergents. An old washer uses in the area of 40-50 gallons per load. It takes a 3000W water heater an hour to heat 13.1 gallons, so each load in an old washer uses about 10kWh/load. If your a family with kids that can easily be 5 loads per week or about 2700kWh/year, just for laundry. A high efficiency washer doesn't use nearly as much, so the savings there wont be as high if you switch from hot to cold laundry, but still, it would be significant.

Also, stop using hot water for hand washing. Typically most people are done washing their hands long before the hot water ever reaches the tap. Then all of that hot water that did flush into the pipe is just going to cool down and heat the house up. Meanwhile the water heater also has to reheat more water.

And finally, use the energy saving setting on your dishwasher. There's a ton of variation in how much dishwashers use, so I wont bother doing the math.

You do all of that, and I guarantee you'll see a significant difference on your power bill.

Maybe I should make a separate post for this...

Also, if you made it this far, my hat is off to you. Most people can't geek out over hot water like I can.

I want to do this too, and I too suck at building things so was looking for more plug and play solutions.

No one, as far as I am aware, makes an electric kettle. So if you want to mount an element directly in the kettle, you'll have to do that yourself. Alternately, you could build a heat stick. There are also immersion bucket heaters you can buy, but the largest I have seen is only 1000W. I do not know if 1000W is enough to keep a few gallons of water at mash/sparge temperatures - maybe someone can comment and answer that for me as well!

Auber Instruments makes a plug-and-play PID controller. It's not designed for this specific purpose in mind, of course, but it would still work. The problem here is that controller only has a 15A circuit, so the max heating element you could hope to control is about 1500W - which again, I'm not sure that's enough power for the HLT.

If a 1000W immersion bucket heater + the auber plug-and-play controller will cut it... that's probably the easiest method.

For anything over 1500W, the only prebuilt controller I have ever found, and I have been looking for a long damn time, is this one. Some caveats here, this controller is 220V so you'll have to be able to plug it in at your house. That said, if you want to run a heating element over 2000W in the HLT, you'll likely need a 220V circuit anyway. As you can see, it's also pretty pricey - but to be honest, it's not that much cheaper to build one yourself. While it doesn't specifically list the max wattage that controller will handle, it is the same controller bundled with their BIAB system, which uses a 4500W element - which is more than enough for an HLT.

For the HLT/HERMS coil, again you have to decide if you want to buy or build. JadedBrewing offers a pre-built HLT/HERMS setup in both aluminum and stainless steel - the only thing you would have to add is the electricity, and some ball valves.

Alternately, you can pick up any kettle, drill the holes yourself and get fittings from either brewhardware or bargainfittings.

EDIT:

Ok I got bored so I wanted to figure this shit out for myself.

Here's what I'm thinking - hopefully someone smarter than me can verify this is accurate, because if it is I know what I'm buying this weekend.

• It takes 4.184 joules to raise 1g water, 1°C
  
• 1G water ≈ 3,785.41 cm3, 1cm3 = 1g, so 1G water ≈ 3,785.41g
  
  So 6G water, a nice amount you might want in your HLT weighs ≈ 22,712.47 g
  
  Assuming a starting water temp of 110F (43C) from the tap, to mash temp of 158F (70C) - we need to raise that 22,712g water 27C
  
  22,712g 27C 4.181j = 2,565,729.216 j required to raise 6G of water from 110F - 158F
  
  1 watt = 1 joule/sec, so:
  
  time (in seconds) = joules/watts
  
  time = 2,565,729.216 / 1000 W = 2565 seconds ≈ 43 minutes
  
  It would then take about 24 minutes to get from mash temp of 158F > sparge temp water ~ 185.
  
  So my conclusion, then, is that this 1000W bucket heater + the auber ins plug-and-play sous vide controller, would work for an HLT/eHERMS. Am I way off here?

Chronomite SR-20L/120 HTR 120-Volt... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033RQNV2?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

This is what I’m working with. Health regs always vary, but mine only cared that you get hot water suitable for hand washing. This low flow system worked great. You’ll have to get your own conduit and instead of wiring directly to the box and breaker, I got a male plug for a few bucks from Home Depot and turned it into a plug in situation.

My water flow situation was already set up kinda funky, so I had to install a valve in the line to force water through the heater when I wanted it. Otherwise it was just too much running through the lines to really get hot.

The basic idea of my setup is that there’s a large water tank on the roof. The lines come down through a wall mounted water pump, then either into the water heater, or straight into the sinks depending on weather I have that valve I installed open or closed.

Hope that helps

It's impossible to say without knowing what model crock pot you have. You can usually find the voltage by looking at it. There should be some kind of label or sticker on the bottom. Most likely, if you're living in a country that's 110V, it most likely is 110V. If you don't know, I would assume it's 120V to be on the safe side unless you live in another country that has the 220v-240v standard.. then assume it uses the higher number.

With that said, to safely do this, you also need to figure out the wattage of the heater element and the amperage rating of the relay. PIDs itself usually only support 3 Amps. With only that, you can only safely switch a 360 watts heating element. Most DIY PID controllers wire a separate SSR that's rated at either 10A or 15A to allow the use of more powerful heaters. Check the numbers first before you start wiring.

To be honest, I wouldn't mess with the nice programmable crock pot. It's such a waste to do so. Crock pots are a poor choice to connect to a temp controller anyways. They are slow to heat up because the ceramic bowl will absorb a lot of the energy before the water heats up. Then when the water reaches the desired temperature and the PID shuts the crock pot off, the water temperature still rises because the ceramic bowl is still heating it up.

You'll be better off using a dumb rice cooker, a coffee urn, or even a water heater element.

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02103-Screw-In-Heater-Element/dp/B0006IX8AA/

Connect this to an AC cord and just plug that into the PID. You can use any container as long as you properly submerge the heater element to the correct dept.

9a, northeast florida. Doesn't get too cold here, but cold enough I lost a fish in October without a heater. The temperature controller is an STC1000, commonly used for homebrewing but it works great for the tank as well, the temperature probe it comes with is water proof, and its cheap. The heater is a 5 gallon bucket heater, designed to get 5 gallons quite hot, but does a good job of keeping 250 gallons at 65. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BDB4UG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Right now it's in the 40s outside overnight, but usually in the 50-60 range, with really cold snaps to the 20s. I have my system in a plastic tarp greenhouse. The tarp just keeps the wind out because its too thin to actually hold any heat. I'm upgrading to a "real" greenhouse type of 6 mil sheeting that should help hold in heat and maybe reduce the time the heater has to stay operational.

I also have a mini rocket mass heater I built on the side of the tank as an experiment. The exhaust runs through about 60lbs of sand stacked against the side of my wood and pond liner tank before exiting out the top of the greenhouse. Plan was to run that for a few hours before really cold nights, heat up the sand and help keep the side of the tank warm. In reality I dont think the heat is transferring through the wooden walls the tank much if at all. And any ambient heating the sand and heater are doing is being lost through the thin plastic sheeting. I'm interested in seeing how that changes with the thicker plastic too. I only just got the mass heater working though, so it doesn't influence what I said about the water heater.

Technically, the primary reason to fully boil the wort is to reduce the volume and concentrate it. DMS decomposition occurs starting at around 120F IIRC, and evaporates down to 100F or so. The Oxide (DMSO) is much less volatile, and does not evaporate until about 180F, but is generally produced in much lower quantities (especially if you are doing extract, since there really should be no reason for excess oxygen to enter the wort). Hop acids and whatnot dissolve just fine at non-boiling temperatures.

Honestly, it's far from ideal if you cannot reach a full boil, but it also isn't the end of the world. It's more important to not cover the wort if you can avoid it, and keep it as hot as possible. You'll end up with beer on the other side, and it will probably taste fine, if not a bit weaker than expected, though once again, since it is an extract brew you can just use less water to top it off (or throw in some extra extract to compensate). If you want to stay electric and indoors, you can try something like this to help you get a better stove boil.

I have the ecosmart11 tankless hot water heater. I like it for space efficiency and simple installation, but it requires a 60 amp breaker dedicated to it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LZRF9M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You might be able to get by with an Ecosmart8, but it still requires to be wired directly to a 40 amp breaker. This is lots of amps to dedicate to hot water, especially if you are working from a 50 amp service at an RV park or wherever you have your trailer parked. Zero overhead even with the 8 for things like A/C and cooking. You could make it work if you were very careful about when you were using hot water, but I would skip it and go with a propane unit like jamilbk linked.

I am thinking about going with a standard issue front load washer and dryer, but just stacking them to save space. The top load washer combo with the dryer on top commonly used in condos and apartments are small in stature, but take up almost the same space as a real front load washer and dryer that are stacked. These front load washer/dryer combo units are really costly and seem to have more complaints about performance and repairs.

Regardless, if you are living in a tiny house on wheels, dedicating space to a washer and dryer might not be on the priority list.

Yeah I have all of my plumbing inside as well, except for the black water and grey water tank.

So the hot water heater....I wanted an on demand unit. I originally bought this unit https://www.amazon.com/EZ-101-Tankless-Water-Heater/dp/B003327HDK. I started realizing I just didn't have anywhere to put it. You may have better luck cause you are starting totally from scratch it looks like, but my van already had walls up when I bought it. I still have this unit, and I sat on it forever trying to figure out where to put it. It just wasn't going to work. I couldn't mount it easily and run the vent piping.It also draws its combustion air from the space it is mounted in which could be a concern depending upon your use. I was just planning on opening the roof top vent and securing it while sleeping. If you are in the SF bay area I will sell it to you cheap. 50 bucks and its yours :)

I realized I had to buy a different unit, and it ended up being very expensive. I bought https://www.amazon.com/Suburban-5132A-Demand-Water-Heater/dp/B013002JD2 I found it for about 600 on Dyers RV. I have it installed. I haven't used it yet, but it was very easy to install I just had to drill a 4 inch hole in the side of the van and it does intake and exhaust through a hole there with a concentric vent so there is no fire hazard because the exhaust comes out of the inside of the concentric circle. It requires very small clearances. 1/4" on the top and sides so it saves a lot of space. It is definitely a big budget item, but it will be worth it in terms of space I believe.

I brew 5 gallon batches with two of these 1000 watt bucket heaters. 1500 watts each would be a bit better and quicker, but they work fine and are easy to clean.


Just make sure you plug them into two separate breakers.

I guess he was saving water, and instead of using hot water, he used this to keep the water hot, or heat it up. he passed away in the tub with this thing still in there, it might not have been an active boil, i'm pretty sure it was just like a huge slow cooker..yeah, near boil, until it dried up. i'm sure that it was a few days before they found him.
http://www.amazon.ca/Bucket-Heater-Allied-14In-1000W/dp/B000BDB4UG

Here is how you can get a happy compromise. Purchase a normal water heater with a replaceable anode. Where
I live, that would be anything but the cheapest, 6 year warranty models.

Then, before you install it, remove the anode and coat the threads with a never-seize product. Years down the road, this will allow easy removal.

Then buy a second anode. All the Big Box stores sell them. Replace it every five years or so. This will keep rusting to a minimum, and lengthen the tanks lifespan considerably.

Then buy a water heater blanket. This is a product that offers you an additional R-10 in increased insulation:

https://www.amazon.com/Frost-King-SP57-11C-Blanket/dp/B000BPCWQY

This route will save you several hundreds in cost versus the Marathon system.

I am only going by the legal advice I was given by our lawyer (that the hot water going out for a short time doesn't make it inhabitable).
The way it was explained to me is that you can still take cold water and heat it on the stove if you need hot water, for example. Not being able to take a hot shower sucks but it's not render the place unlivable.
11 days seems like a long time when it's happening but, by your account, they seemed to be making an honest attempt to fix it.
I would advise in the future to fight this when it was happening, and not months after the fact. You might be able to come up with a compromise like buying something like this (just an example).

The heat sticks will help get you to strike temp, but not really to boil. If you do decide on one, I would recommend changing the male plug end to one of these:


https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00I97LLEA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Or just make sure you plug it into a GFCI circuit.


Alternatively, you can punch a hole near the bottom of the grainfather, below the basket line and add one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02853-Screw-Foldback-Element/dp/B000KKVZUO?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

That will give you far better results than the bucket heater...but you're then drilling a hole in your brand new toy.

found this... seems like a decent option and something you can stow away when you aren't using it. I really would go tankless and easy to use for renters that want the same thing, rather than rigging something up that isn't very appealing to the eye or even slightly complex in operation

edit:[this](http://www.amazon.com/Marey-Portable-Propane-Tankless- Heater/dp/B005DROEZC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_60_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=31FltoZQhML&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160SR96%2C160&refRID=12Y7PQC4FNS6NV01QPDE) one might be better, but the reviews are mixed. Having a shower head is nice as well for the renters to rinse off if they need to

Aquarium circulaters, immersion water heaters, some sort of plastic cover (limit evaporation), and a temperature probe to monitor water temp.

Sounds like a good weekend project, definitely /r/redneckengineering worthy

https://www.amazon.com/Takagi-T-KJr2-Indoor-Tankless-Natural/dp/B0057X27OC

I'm not near there but I'd bet someone on here is. This is the Takagi tankless, I've installed several of these, they are super easy. $532 for the tankless + about $100 for the valves and pex.

I travel with one of these. I also travel with an Immersion heater and trusty thermometer as well as hand grinder, (not sure of the model, I've had it quite a while.)

I'll start with the electrical device, it's a heat stick. You can build one yourself, but I opted to buy one from Amazon. You stick it in the wort and plug it in and it adds some direct heat to help boil faster. It makes a night and day difference in the speed it takes to get to boil.

I made the insulating jackets myself out of some Reflectix and Foil Tape. I can't really tell you how well it's doing with 10.5gal pot since I wrapped it right away so I don't have any good before/after there, but with my 5 gallon pot it allowed me to get to boil a couple minutes faster and also allowed the pot to hold the boil on its own, meaning I could take the heatstick out once it got boiling.

Another thing you can't see in the picture, is the 8" element is a canning element, which is a bit higher wattage than my regular 8" element so it burns a bit hotter, which helps with boiling.

My setup is indeed a cooler box with a ball valve poking out it, using the steel braid from the outside of a hose to lauter (and a few other things like a 1/2" nipple through where the drain was and a hose to drain it) but you can just use a kettle with a grain bag in it. If you go the cooler way, make sure everything is stainless or brass cause it'll taste like shit if your stuff corrodes in the mash.

Something like this could be used to supplement your stovetop. I actually do the boil in 2 separate 5 gallon kettles on the stove top myself, so don't need one. If you want to do it on a stove top in one big kettle you may need supplemental heat, 1500W should be plenty. Most people buy an outdoor propane burner for it.

Not specific 120v ones, but the best ones will have the most surface area for their rating. Look for "ultra low watt density" ones, they are longer and wavey. They will last longer because they have less wattage being output per square inch of surface area.

I would get ones meant for hot water heaters rather than beer brewers, as those are just marked up a lot and aren't really any different. Something like this would do just fine.

First get a Lowes 10% off coupon -- I believe these are available from the post office by looking/asking for the packet of stuff they provide with change of address forms. Then go to Lowes and look for the scratch and dent stuff. Many of these will only have cosmetic damage to the relatively thin outside skin, while the important part, the vessel which actually contains the water, is perfectly fine. IIRC, there's relatively little difference between models, and you're effectively paying for the rated (warrantied) lifespan. So with a smaller (40G) scratch-and-dent unit with a shorter (6Y) lifespan plus the 10% coupon, you might just be able to get away with spending under $300/electric, $400/gas for the water heater itself.

As for installation, the plumbing is straightforward if you use "shark bite" connectors and flex hose. It's not as good as soldered copper, but if you're not looking to get 40 years out of it, it's a viable alternative -- and very simple to DIY. See: http://www.amazon.com/SharkBite-U3088FLEX18BVLF-Flexible-Connectors-18-Inch/dp/B005O19OTS and a million youtube vids on how to do this. Oh, and get a simple copper pipe cutter to cut your existing pipe to the right length -- they're only a few bucks.

The hard part is electrical or gas work. This is the part where you might want to call in a pro -- especially if it's gas. But if everything above is already done, getting someone to work on only this part might save you a bundle. And if you live in Columbus, you might also be able to skip whatever permit fees an installer will collect for the city.

This concludes the cheapskate's guide to water heater replacement. Don't forget to post back and let us know how it goes, whatever the solution you end up with.

I bought a bucket heater to use on my stovetop. I had a hard time even bringing 3 gallons to a boil and this thing is awesome. I put the pot on the stove, and use this heat stick inside of it as well. I can get a pretty decent rolling boil going. The only problem is that both the heatstick and my stove shut off at a certain temperature, so the boil is not consistent. Still a great solution until I move outdoors and start using a turkey fryer.

in kettle? No, not personally, but I do use a heat stick, and you can DIY that or get one for pretty cheap off amazon.

They work really well! Apartment brewing forever temporarily!

I have thrown this guy in my pot the night before and will wake up to water sitting at 160+. works great. can also use it to help a stove top get large volumes up to a boil

I've been using a similar one about three times a month during my brew sessions for over a year now, I've never had a problem. So long as you have a GFCI outlet you'll be fine.

It saves me a ton of time getting to a boil on my gas stove top.

Edit: Now comparing this one to mine, I realize this doesn't utilize a ground prong (not sure if that matters) nor does it have the safety shut off if it's out of water, so this thing will cook as long as it's plugged in, brewday cattle prod anyone?

I'm looking into going electric for my 2 gallon all grain batches. I don't want to drop a few hundred dollars on a new kettle and induction cooktop, as of right now. Also living in an apartment, so I can't go 240v.

Would a water heater element this size get a good boil on 3 gallons of wort?

Using a 5 gallon boil kettle, FYI. Thank you!

I've installed two of the Takagi T-KJr. They're built like tanks, have been around forever, and are pretty efficient. They're also pretty inexpensive ($500-$600). I'm up in Wisconsin, so if this heater can keep up with our crazy delta Ts in single bath houses, I know it'll be able to keep up with your needs just fine. There are some larger heaters from other companies like Triangle Tube and Rinnai that are good, but they are much more expensive or oversized for what you need.

Here's my setup.

I have a 10 Gallon Triclamp stainless kettle. It comes with a heating element port already attached so you simply need to screw in a heating element.

This is my heating element -- 1500w which is the max limit for a 15A circuit. Stole a heavy duty 3 prong cord from an old PC -- it plugs into a GFCI outlet.

Now, 1500w isn't quite enough to bring 7-8 gallons to a rolling boil so I use a 1000w Immersion Heater. Bucket heater plugs into a second GFCI outlet on a different circuit.

Total cost ~$300 Canadian or like Free in USD.

Heats hot tap water to strike temp in 15 minutes and gets it to nice rolling boil in about 20 after that. About the same time as my propane burner.

Out of curiosity, what makes that heater better than the cheap sub-$10 ones like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Water-Heater-Aluminum-Watts/dp/B00PFZFK78/

Seems like the additional wattage is unlikely to do that much unless it's being used for actual boiling...?

A tankless water heater is always going to be more energy efficient than a tanked one. Every tanked water heater has 'standby loss' which is the heat that dissipates through its insulation. How bad your standby losses are depend on what kind of tanked water heater you buy. According to the US dept of energy tankless water heaters are 24% - 34% more efficient than a conventional water heater.

However, they can cost more to install which are dependent on:

1. The temperature of your water
   
2. The flow rate of water you're trying to heat
   
3. What kind of electrical service you have
   
   If you live in an area where the water is warm, you don't have some crazy flow rate requirement (2 baths running simultaneously), and you have electric service that can support your tankless water heater, than go tankless!
   
   From your comments below it seems like you're in Hawaii which means your average water temperature is 72 degrees.
   
   That means you can buy the tiniest of tankless water heaters to meet your needs. The Eco 11 tankless water heater requires one double pole 60 amp breaker, it will provide 2.38 gallons per minute of water and costs $250 on amazon. The installation costs should be minimal depending on your breaker box.
   
   The benefits are great:
   
   
4. No standby energy losses - when it's not heating up water, it's off.
   
5. Infinite hot water, take as long a shower as you want
   
6. Much lower risk of flooding due to a 'catastrophic failure' which can happen to tanked heaters.
   
7. Less failures as tankless water heaters last much longer than tanked ones. [Ecosmart even offers a lifetime warranty.] (http://www.ecosmartus.com/warranty/)
   
   Good luck!
   
   
   

I'm glad I posted this now. I wasn't aware of Legionnaires prior to this. Now I know I need to take steps to keep the water sanitary. 1 tea spoon of bleach per 10 gallons will be sufficient, as well as regular cleaning of my "tank".

Alternatively I could invest in a stronger heat source such as this and use it to pasteurize my water tank occasionally.

According to the wiki, the bacteria that causes legionnaires dies within 2 minutes @ 150f.

I would recommend you just buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/MARSHALLTOWN-Premier-742G-Bucket-Heater/dp/B000BDB4UG/

Good solution if you don't have an outdoor brew space. Adds enough BTUs to do a full boil on 2 gas stove burners.

You're wrong. The average cost of electricity is ~$0.11/kWh. 1000w is enough to boil three gallons of water very quickly, just google 'water boilers 1000w: http://www.amazon.com/MARSHALLTOWN-Premier-742G-Bucket-Heater/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1356817956&sr=1-1&keywords=Bucket+Water+Heater . The true cost of the extra cup of coffee is a tiny speck of that, as we are calculating just the increased energy usage vs normal coffee heating, so we're talking maybe a penny's cost for each pot of coffee.

A small coffee at McDonalds costs is $0.99 before tax.

One extra cup would greatly offset the cost of heating a pot. That's a 900% return on that investment. That's insanely huge, and now you see why McDonald's did it.

On top of that McDonalds sells ~1 billion cups of coffee a year (http://scheingrosslaw.com/mcdonalds-coffee-lawsuit/). A pot of coffee makes ~12 cups of cofee. That's a 8% increase in coffee sales with a 0% increase in food cost. That's 80 million cups of coffee that cost McDonald's less than a penny each to produce.

You can see very easily now, why McDonald's would say 'fuck you lady'

FWIW:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077K428LC/ref=dp_cerb_1

Garden hose+ propane tank + portable water heater = bliss.

I’ve used these style heaters off grid for years, they work very well!

Random thoughts:

• if your tap water is colder than room temp, fill the kettle the night before so it has time to warm up a bit
  
• put a lid on the kettle (only for heating up: you want the lid off for your boil)
  
• upgrade your propane burner. E.g. the new Blichmann burners put out 140k BTU/hr and some of them top out at a crazy 220k BTU/hr.
  
• make sure you have a wind-screen around your propane burner. Sometimes cheap or DIY stands omit this and it causes the burner to be a lot less efficient
  
• make sure you have adjusted the air/propane mixture. you don't want any orange flames.
  
• some sort of submersible electrical heater
  
• heat some of the water up in a smaller pot on your kitchen stove, then combine
  
• find something else to do while the water is heating up. prep ingredients, sanitize your fermenter, drink a beer, etc.

I bought a heat stick to help with the boil and it boils quite nicely now.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BDB4UG/ref=s9_simh_gw_g469_i4_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1S0G8JPEZT1W9E7JJR0T&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

This is difficult to answer because everyone tours differently. It's entirely possible to travel anywhere in the US, Canada or Mexico and not spend a single penny on lodging. You have to be very flexible with how far you are willing to travel in one day and where you are comfortable sleeping though. Sometimes I can find a free place to camp within a couple miles of looking. Other times I've had to ride 20 miles.

If you like staying in motels plan on that costing about $30-$60 per night on average anywhere in the US/Canada. In Mexico they run $10-$20 on average.

Campgrounds in Canada are expensive--usually $15-$20 a night on average. Along the West coast in the US they have hike/bike CG's that charge about $5. There are no campgrounds in Mexico except a couple on Baja. It's not hard to find free places to camp here but I prefer motels.

Food costs can also change a lot depending on how you tour. If you bring your own stove, cooking stuff and food you'll spend a lot less. If you stop and eat meals in restaurants that'll add up. You will eat a lot of junk food. On any given day I burn 5000-6000 calories so I have to keep eating. I probably spend $10-$15 on just between meal food per day. In Mexico all food is cheaper, especially at roadside stands. You have to buy bottled water down here so that adds some extra cost. I usually cook my own food even if I'm staying in motels. Get an immersion heater!

Bicycle costs can be high especially if you go with expensive components. I've replaced 2 chain rings, a chain, a rear cassette and paid $300. I could have bought cheaper ones but I don't want parts breaking in the middle of no where. If you can tune your own bike (or car) you'll save money too.

Sounds like you could use a [collapsable kettle] (https://www.amazon.com/Useful-UH-TP147-Electric-Collapsible-Travel/dp/B00ZJHXNIU).

Or even better, you could use an [immersion heater] (https://www.amazon.com/Lewis-N-Clark-Portable-Immersion/dp/B001U0PB1C/ref=pd_lpo_60_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=HQQTG0FG7821QSZJFXMB).

Immersion heaters work with any size container you want.

Something like this might save you a lot of aggravation.

Agreed. Those propane units are awesome.

You could also use a camp shower bag. Hang outside during the day to warm. Now, those aren't going to be very long showers, but enough to get a person clean. I suspect you'd need a bag per person.

Another option is this added to this. Again, it's going to be a short shower, but it will work.

A thermocouple is $160?

You can probably find a universal type thermocouple and start there.

Also a quick google search leads me to this which looks looks like your pictures: https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Water-Heater-9003542-Assembly/dp/B000XOEZ9U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

EDIT: Top review on amazon mentions your model number, so looks like it will work.

awesome.
so something like this would do the trick?

In the USA one can order on Amazon latin-america style "suicide showers" that might run on the 20A 120v bathroom circuit, but with that little voltage and current you aren't going to find more then a 40°F rise in water temperature -- so it might work to conserve already heated water at a low flow-rate, but the water will be little more then room-temperature once the apartment's hot-water storage tank is depleted and you are drawing directly from cold-climate ground-temperature water.

Otherwise, the exact thing you seek is available, but be aware that it requires power like an American clothes dryer. The electric showers I used in Europe/UK also required ~32A 240V power.

I can't say that I've never used a camp shower outdoors with the shower hose though the window...

In all of these cases, I'm not sure that the water-volume from the cheaper options would be to your satisfaction.

Have any of you used something like THIS to help your stove keep up, or have any similar suggestions? I did my first boil last weekend and the coils on my stove actually burned through their coating. I plan on using propane outdoors in the spring after this upcoming Minnesota winter.

This is probably the best tool I own when it comes to BIAB on an electric stove. With it, I can boil 6.5 gallons of wort in about 15-20 minutes (in conjunction with the stovetop on high).

Hi all, my goal is to construct a fluid bed roaster capable of roasting a half-pound of coffee per go.

For the motor, I'm looking at this electric leaf blower, and for the heating element, I'm looking to dissect this heat gun.

I'll use a pyrex baking tube, and a cocktail shaker to cap it off at the base. And then some machining magic to couple it to the mounting pipe.

Does it seem like this will get hot enough to roast a 1/2 pound?

I'm trying to upgrade from my current popper setup which can roast a max of 60 grams at a time (and that's with me constantly agitating with a shish kabob stick).

Edit: One possible improvement could be increasing the wattage of the heater to 2000W. Does anyone have a recommendation for a really cheap blower (or just the element itself)? Or would this water heater element work?

If I reclaim the air from the exhaust back into the pump, would this allow a 1500W heater to work?

I bought a bucket heater, and it is great! Plug it in, go do some stuff and come back later to strike temp. Or set up with a temp controller/timer, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BDB4UG?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

why not just get two of these

https://www.amazon.com/Camplux-Ventfree-Outdoor-Portable-Tankless/dp/B077K428LC/

or

https://www.amazon.com/Gasland-Portable-Propane-Tankless-Outdoor/dp/B07CJ36VBJ/

​

>Problems with running two showers off one heater?

the heater can only raise so much water by so many degrees. running two showers may exceed the flow rate that the heater can warm up to anything usefully hot.

​

/not a plumber

Oh, these are the heating elements I was planning on using.

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02203-Screw-In-Heater-Element/dp/B0006JLVBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398455516&sr=8-1&keywords=water+heater+elements+2000w

If I wired them individually, I can plug each into a regular outlet, right? Wiring them together, through the nicer PAC box, and then out to 240v?

I used this one from Amazon. It didn't fit through the hole either, but I just smacked it with a hammer a few times until the bend in it made it small enough to fit through the bushing.

I imagine something like this would do the trick. Off flavors from the aluminum should be minimal. It certainly isn't as cool as the iron rod though.

which bucket heater on amazon use 1500 watts? I can only find this one that is 1000 watts. http://www.amazon.com/MARSHALLTOWN-Premier-742G-Bucket-Heater/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=pd_sim_lg_3

Please let me know! I've been looking forever for a 1500 watt pre-made heat stick.

A complete pilot light/thermocouple/ignitor assembly for an AO Smith GCV 40 101 water heater. I see plenty of references to GCV 40 200/201, but not 101.

I think this is it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XOEZ9U/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

...but I don't know if that one is suitable for propane. edit: it's listed as being for natural gas. Still looking for a propane unit.

You can purchase one of these for pretty cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Gasland-Portable-Propane-Tankless-Outdoor/dp/B07CJ36VBJ
It runs on LP and is highly portable. I have one of these in my back yard.

https://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precision-Premier-742G-Bucket/dp/B000BDB4UG

Looks like the first reviewer on Amazon did exactly what you're doing.

Thanks!

E.g. https://www.amazon.ca/MARSHALLTOWN-Premier-Line-742G-Bucket/dp/B000BDB4UG ?

I built a hot water bath using a temperature controller and heating element I got from Amazon. Whole thing cost me $70. Mounted the heating element in a plastic tub, wired up the temp controller, added a small aquarium pump to keep everything mixed well.

Element: https://www.amazon.ca/Camco-02203-2000W-Heater-Element/dp/B0006JLVBW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487969670&sr=8-3&keywords=heating+element

Controller: https://www.amazon.ca/docooler-Temperature-Controller-Thermocouple-Fahrenheit/dp/B00F05UI8O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1487969690&sr=8-4&keywords=temperature+controller

Thank you! Just purchased this water heater, by browsing your list. It's exactly what I need to get my water up to temp on my dinky stove!

What about tankless? They seem much more efficient than the standard kind of water heater, even if you're wanting to heat already-warm water.

I haven't brewed since I moved and am stuck in a house without a water spigot. I am about to pull the trigger on this water bucket heater so I can brew inside on my stove top. Long weekend and beer brewing sounds good to me!

If egg-boiling is on the horizon, one of these might be better: http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Immersion-Water-Heater-Voltage/dp/B000AXS0UE

If you have an exposed cold supply line not on a heater that has a copper-galvanized connection, can you splice in a short CPVC run to create that same barrier between the metals? Or use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005O19OTS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UoMDDb5NPQJK9

There are these USB/plugin hot plate cup warmers out there, but i haven't tried them myself. https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-Warmer-Office-MWBLK/dp/B000CO89T8/

There are also immersion heaters designed to heat contents of a cup. I also haven't tried it myself, but always tempted to buy https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Water-Heater-Aluminum-GCG/dp/B00PFZFK78/

I'd use a vacuum stainless steel flask. That would be less work and less energy used as you'd only have to fill it once.

Have you tried pre-heating your french press with some additional boiling water so it doesn't cool so fast? You could also wrap it in a towel, insulating foam, etc..

I haven't looked, but I assume you can find vacuum-insulated french presses.

Another possibility is one of those submersible water heaters, but it might be tricky to hold a good temperature.

Hey dude:

I brewed a lot in a small bachelor's barracks in Korea with a shitty coil stove top.

1. You don't want a 5 gallon pot; boil overs for days. I had a 7.5 gallon pot and for a full-volume boil, that was a bit too small. Even for a stove top, you'll really want a 10 gallon pot with a ball valve (i had a siphon. Siphons suck. A lot of people will tell you (myself included) that one of the biggest steps you can take for your beer to taste better. If I could do my first step all over again, i'd have gone with one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-gallon-Kettle-Stainless/dp/B00OBMB7CI?th=1 (or a Spike).
   
   
2. Get the bigger pot even with a smaller stove. You can get a number of 110v water heaters on the relative cheap that'll bring it up to a boil super quick. I had (I think) this one, and it worked just fine to bring 6 or 7 gallons up to a boil in combination with my stove. https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Premier-Line-742G-Submersible/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1509719891&sr=8-3&keywords=bucket+heater
   
   
3. You'll want to cool that down. An icewater bath tub will take its good god damn time getting there; you might want to look at an immersion chiller (NY Brew Supply sold me a 50 foot one on the dirt cheap back then).
   
   For the record, I did all of this (and got an insulated bag for temperature control) before I did my first batch; if you make it more painful on yourself and get an inferior product, then you'll probably not want to do it again.

I brew ten gallons on the stove top with a 15 gallon blichmann boil kettle and a heat stick.

The manufacturer says it wasn't designed to be food-grade safe regarding the welds for the casing, but hey, at the amount I drink, brewing at least three times a month on a 10-gallon scale, I'm pretty sure cancer from the heat stick is the least of my concerns.

Perhaps using something like this.

This being an electric element, you SHOULD NOT get in the tub while this is immersed and plugged in.

Instead of a kettle, you could use an immersion heating coil like this: http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Immersion-Water-Heater-Voltage/dp/B000AXS0UE

Also, instead of hauling jugs of water from the store that has been sitting in plastic, why not just get a brita or (even better) a tiny Berkey filter?

You can ask the cafe attendant for hot water, or just bring something like this (I think mine was under $10 at the local hardware store)

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02853-Screw--Foldback-Element/dp/B000KKVZUO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458421941&sr=8-2&keywords=camco+1500+w+element

This guy? If so, no, you're fine.

Ah. Yup, that'd certainly do it. Just another reason to go with bucket heaters or 120v water heater elements.

the p-dub? wow I'm honored :D

http://www.amazon.com/Thermwell-SP57-11C-Heater-Blanket-gallon/dp/B000BPCWQY

Fiberglass is what they make water heater blankets out of :/ I guess it's just a fire hazard by it's very nature. I plan on upgrading to a gas tankless heater sometime soon but I haven't had the budget for it.

That's what they're called. Water heater blanket and water heater insulation pad. They sell them on amazon and at home depot. You just need to measure your heater to make sure you get the right size. Most of the blankets are 'universal' cut to fit, so it's more of a question of how thick to get it.

I was going to get this one, but eventually decided that since my water heater was in the same room as my gas boiler - it wasn't really necessary.

DIY sous vide style might be what you're looking for.

I've used this in my sous vide rig. You could wire this up to whatever electric (analog controlled) heating device you want. Then you only have to make it once and you'll know how long it takes.

Let me know if you want to know more.

• Aeropress
  
• Porlex grinder (fits inside aeropress handle)
  
• A handful of paper filters and a reusable SS filter
  
• Small scale for measuring beans (water I do by volume in the AP)
  
• Third Wave Water (Only if I'll be staying in one place for more than ~4 days because you need to buy a jug of distilled water)
  
• Immersion water heater (if I suspect I may not have an electric kettle)
  
• Good beans

Growing up I knew somebody that had one, but only one person.

We have a kettle that goes on the stove at home. In the absence of a stove, my ma uses an immersion heater and the rest of us heathens boil water in the microwave.

stinger although what we used was home made.

I'm planning on using an Inkbird temperature controller to regulate a heating element in a cooler used as a HLT. Will there be an issue if there is nothing hooked up the the cooling connections of the Inkbird?

They're not all that expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Takagi-T-KJr2-IN-NG-Indoor-Tankless-Natural/dp/B0057X27OC

You can get a water heater style heating element and install that into your kettle. If you have 120v (standard for US) then you can get this one, if, however, you have 240v (also US, but for electric driers, ovens, and furnaces) then you can get something with a little more power.

I use this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_LKjTub0HX6E86

I just plug it in and set it into the center of the wort. This stick elevates the temperature in my kettle to a rolling boil without fuss.

If it comes down to using electric I have been using [these] (http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precision-Premier-742G-Bucket/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1382967988&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=bucket+heater). I have them hooked them up to a spa thermostat to turn them on and off.

you need a digital temp controller ( here ), a 1000watt horse trough heater ( here ) and a submersible pump ( here ).

For the driftwood you can always get a 55 gallon drum and a bucket heater and insulate the drum to actually get it to near boiling temperatures or add a second bucket heater to get it boiling. I used the foil covered bubble wrap stuff when I did mine. Plus had it sitting on a 2" piece of styrofoam to keep it off the cold ground. With one heater I got it to about 180℉. Walked into a muggy jungle garage when I did that.

Allied Precision The Premier Line 742G Bucket Water Heater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_B15Bwb6FH6K18

You could consider getting one of these.

But you can still buy them.
Even for the car!

found one of these at a thrift store the other day...

http://www.amazon.com/MARSHALLTOWN-Premier-742G-Bucket-Heater/dp/B000BDB4UG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345641614&sr=8-1&keywords=bucket+heater

I don't know if you'll be able to find a commercial product that is 1500W.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0057X27OC/ref=psdc_3754791_t1_B00DDPZ5HM

For the $500 model.



https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00DDPZ5HM/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3NJ9RMM8KBCU&colid=3NFJLKZEG7L6I

For the condensing, $1100 model.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-02853-Screw-Foldback-Element/dp/B000KKVZUO

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001LZRF9M/ref=s9_pdx_hm_awbw_bFkn9_g60_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=mobile-hybrid-11&pf_rd_r=0186YQ1BPXTVTN3F0KVG&pf_rd_t=30901&pf_rd_p=d35238a4-975c-5224-bcca-be7ef5e2c1d7&pf_rd_i=3754791

I'm upgrading my setup but I'm unable to build a complete eBIAB system. In the meantime I'm looking at buying this heating element to supplement the stovetop. I've seen it pop up around here nDoes anyone have any experience with this?

No experiance with it but thinking about one of these
bucket heater

I'm just a regular joe coming from /r/all, but I had the thought of using heat. I'm thinking either a torch set to a low flame, or a handheld electric heater like this.

Obviously potentially dangerous and destructive, but I think if you keep your eye on it and be careful, you could achieve a nice melted layer on the inside.

Edit: Thought of something else. You might be able to buff the inside smooth, like with a small felt buffing tip or a smooth metal piece of some sort in a drill. This might technically be called burnishing.

A bucket heater can add enough heat to do the trick, I used this one for several years on my weak stovetop - http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precision-Premier-742G-Bucket/dp/B000BDB4UG

I used this one when I was stuck brewing on the stove in my last apartment:
http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precision-Premier-742G-Bucket/dp/B000BDB4UG

Gave me no issues at all, though I've since moved into a house where I can brew outside with propane.