Interesting...

CothermanDistilling

BoilCoil @ Blichmann Engineering

and comes in sizes to fit 7.5gal pot to 55-gal drum...

TheMechWarrior

Density is stated as low but I don't work in those units, is it low?

CothermanDistilling

lower than UWLD they say, 30w/in it is on the 'additional info' page..

All BoilCoil Electric Heaters are rated at or below 30 Watts/in, less than Ultra-Low-Watt-Density!

This is a sponsoring retailer they link at homebrewtalk.

CothermanDistilling

BoilCoil General Dimension Drawing (PDF)

TheMechWarrior

I saw a standard recently, it may have been US or EU regarding maximum allowable element density for a still. And the number was really low, 7 from memory but I don't recall the units.

Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Unsensibel

@TheMechWarrior no, didn't see anything but must be EU regulation considering that distilleries get approval here with the 5.5kW ULWD in tank heating elements...

@CothermanDistilling saw those yesterday as well... steep price-tag compared to a Camco - $180 for the 5.5kW

CothermanDistilling

well, a stainless camco one is $60, you are getting double the surface area at least from looking at it, and it comes with connector, cord, and plug...... but yeah, they aren't going broke...

Unsensibel

Another thought popped up in my head:

Has anyone ever "unbent" their elements? I'm thinking of taking a ripple element and bend it to follow the inside curve of my 50L kettle. That way there's not at much of a heat pocket on the fold back...

grim

Find larger low density 480v elements and run them at 240v - 1/4 power - you'd get even lower watt densities than the ULWD elements.

Smaug

Grim, I would imagine you could wire several in series and reduce density further?

Unsensibel

just realized that this was stuck in draft...

I'm not looking at watt density for this. I was wondering if with a sickle shaped element (instead of fold back ripple) I can generate more natural convection in the pot as it spreads the heating our more evenly.