Electric Element Adapter

dunktek

Why does the tri-clamp element guard show a notched out portion on the housing and the gasket trimmed? I have some of these from another supplier and they don't have that.

Thanks

Lloyd

The weep slot.
Should your element seal fail and you get a leak, it will drain from the housing alerting you that there is a serious problem.
The weep slot - located on the custom end cap and not the housing - should be installed pointing down, of course.

cunnyfunt

It is so if your element guard is not correctly fitted and you have a slight leak, the notch is so your fitting does not fill with liquid and you can physically see the leak.

It's the little details that make SD products superior in my opinion :)

cunnyfunt

One finger typer lol

Lloyd

StillDragon is distilling gear produced by active distillers for ourselves and for other distillers.

We don't often get it perfect the first time, the Element Guard has seen many subtle changes over the last couple of years. Changes are always in response to customer feedback and our quest is to provide the best gear at the best value.

The beer forum guys have been buying EGs heavily lately and have decimated stocks and caused a shortage for us distilling guys. This is unfortunate and we are trying to compensate.
A production run, from start to finish, takes several months regardless of the size... 2000 pieces takes about as long to manufacture as 500 pieces.

The very first EGs EVER produced by anyone was us and it was 100 pieces that lasted almost 6 months. That was about 3 years ago. Later, 200 pieces lasted 3 months. Later still 500 pieces lasted 3 months. Then 1000 pieces last about the same. We are now making the first run ever of 2000 pieces. After many, many production runs we are now up to producing 2000 at a whack.

I'm not sure if we are getting ahead finally or just catching up but until this 2000 is produced we are running on fumes - there are very few EGs left in inventory and it's an even money bet that all stocks will be depleted before the next batch is ready. It's always been like that on some items, especially Element Guards, where we constantly double production but demand outpaces supply. SGKs, bubble caps, downcomers, plates, Tees... all have seen shortages of supply.

We strive to have a balanced inventory and if we overstock on one item then we cannot fund the stock of another item. Funding the production of 2000 Element Guards bites into the funds needed to produce other items (do the math, 2000 x $36 for an EG). And that's just one item. We stock almost 400 items now.

So when your distributor says please be patient on an out-of-stock item we really are working on it!

I'm reminded of the movie Titanic where the engineer says, "In all mathematical certainty the ship will sink", I say with will mathematical certainty we will run out of Element Guards before they can be produced and delivered to the distributors.
Tan and I have done all that we can to produce the next batch of EGs but it takes a lot of time and effort and we are waiting on the housings and end caps to be produced to be able to complete them. The copper lugs, the silicone gaskets, the PG19 cord grips, the 2" clamps, the electric shrink wrap, the grounding screw, the plastic bags and the outer case box that holds 40 units are all ready to go now. The "element adapter" is the key to production. It has the long 2" ferrule welded to it to make up the housing. It is a bit special and must be produced in a minimum order quantity of 500 pieces to be produced - no exceptions. That's no trick now because we always need so many but there is only one factory in all of China that will make it for us at a price we can accept and they are slow. It is a key component that is specially machined for StillDragon.
I tend to overstock this item because it is both the Element Adapter and the foundation for the EG housing.

All this may be information overload for most folks here but it should give insights into my world. Element Guards are a long and drawn out process and represent an amazing bargain considering the complexity. Sure, we could easily charge more but that ain't SD!
If anything, we strive to lower prices while providing better products. That's why we lowered the EG price from $46 to $36 and did so while improving the design.

punkin

Also when we were selling 50 in six months it was a simple deal for Lloyd and Tan to sit and cut the slot in the gasket, nowadays when we are selling more than 50 a month it's not practical, but we recommend you do it. Same with changing the wingnut on the triclamp that connects the endcap to the element guard body to a hex nut that needs a spanner to undo. That's something we recommend the customer does for safety sake.

Duck0fDeath

The good thing about most of us is that we are a patient bunch :)

Smaug

@Duck0fDeath said: The good thing about most of us is that we are a patient bunch :)

And really good customers too.

punkin

Absolutely Smaug. The amount of customers i have had switch from elsewhere is incredible. The guys and gals are loyal and appreciate me doing my best even though i make too many mistakes.

The feedback and support we get through our customer base is what drives the innovation here (besides Fester and LoO working all day every day on chat). \m/