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About the Element Guard Kit.........

edited September 2013 in General

Does it come with everything needed to install an electric element onto a keg? In other words.....I don't need to buy a 2" ferrule to weld onto the keg, as it the kit already includes it?

Also, looking at the pics, why is the silicon gasket cut, with a piece missing from it? Will that not cause a leak?

Thanks.

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Comments

  • The silicon gasket is supposed to be cut, that way if there's a leak the liquid drips out and you know about it before the connection is covered in liquid.

  • Makes sense, thanks. Do I need to buy another SS ferrule, tri clamp and silicon gasket to install the EG kit?

  • Hi Spokerider,

    You will need a ferrule, gasket, and element. At this very moment I only have the short ferrules available but will be getting more shortly.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • Thanks for the info. I have lots of stuff to order. If your store web site allows it to be placed into my cart, does that mean that you have in stock? Am I good to just go ahead and order? Thanks.

  • We supply without the ferrule and clamp as some people will already have it on their boilers. For example the onion shaped boilers we sell from 120l and up come with 3 element ports, all have clamps and gaskets and ferrules. If you use all 3 you will have 3 spare endcaps :)

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • Thanks for the explanation. It's nice to be able to buy just and only what one requires.

    I just ordered a bunch of stuff from you. Can't wait to get started!

    Thanks.

  • Is that you with the order for all the 1.5" gear?

    Looking forward to seeing what you build if so as i can't imagine it. :))

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • @punkin said: Is that you with the order for all the 1.5" gear

    Looking forward to seeing what you build if so as i can't imagine it. :))

    Nope. I'm putting together a 2" boka with a 58 liter keg for a boiler. I just ordered the DIY controller, the red / blue water hoses and fittings, Element Guard kit, ferrule, clamps, coupling, adapter, alcholmeter, and a few gaskets.

    Will someone please shoot me a pm with the email for who ever is looking after my order to North America? Not sure who it is..... Just wanna confirm shipping mode / info.

    Thanks.

  • Your going to have to PM me your email addy so that I know who you are. I get a bunch of orders daily and your email will help me track you down more quickly. I should have or will send a freight invoice.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • A friend turned me on to these stainless strain reliefs...... nice upgrade.... not saying you should switch or offer both, that is up to you ;-)

    Amico Stainless Steel PG16 Waterproof Connector Glands for 11-15mm Cables

    I am not sure what brand come with the EG, but the brand that makes those also makes these:

    Amico 10 Pcs PG13.5 White Plastic Waterproof Connectors Cable Glands

  • We have talked about this internally at SD. The plastic glands and the metal glands that I can source have different end cap hole sizes AND different cable grip sizes, the metal ones being larger than the plastic ones (PG vs. mm or something weird like that). The price is also a bit strange as the metal is over 20 times the price of the plastic.
    With the help of the great @Law_Of_Ohms, we are re-designing yet another round of element guard end caps to accept the plastic PG19 and standardize on that size instead of PG16 because heavier supply wire is being demanded by our customers.

    Another 500 piece element guard run is scheduled to be produced based on his drawings and on customer feedback. This should help to make it easier for the people that cannot think for themselves and can only copy StillDragon (cough, cough, milehi, cough).

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  • cough, cough haha,haha, cough, cough

  • ^^^^ cough, cough, what he said!, cough cough..

  • @Lloyd - Have you thought about anything besides the tri-clamp to hold the cover on? Heck, maybe 2 or three screws in the outer ring? countersunk phillips or hex screws would look nice..

  • @CothermanDistilling said: Lloyd - Have you thought about anything besides the tri-clamp to hold the cover on? Heck, maybe 2 or three screws in the outer ring? countersunk phillips or hex screws would look nice..

    That is definately a good idea and one that's been sugessted before mate. We have recommended that customers do this for themselves in the past. I may see what i can do to implement this for Australia and New Zealand at least.

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • Any idea when those new endcaps will hit North America. I need a bunch of the element guards and if it's going to be a month or so I might wait. It didn't take much to modify the old design to work with the PG19. I used a carbide die grinder to open the hole up away from the grounding screw. Then I just had to slightly flatten one edge on cord grip nut to clear the screw and ground lug. Took 5min at most.

  • @thunder88, it will probably be about 3 to 4 months before they arrive in USA. I should get the sample end cap today and if its good I'll order 500 more. Then the assembly can begin and hopefully they can get onto the last boat to USA for the year.

  • @Lloyd, any plans to offer just the endcaps to us in NA. Although my simple fix works it would be nice to have the proper design for a 10/3 wire and PG19 grip without having to buy a whole new guard.

  • @thunder88, I hadn't planned on it. Good idea, I'll order a few extra end caps to be machined.

  • @Lloyd, cool. Look forward to seeing them in the near future. I am the envy of my group at the moment with the nicest guards around. That won't be the case for long. One thing I noticed and mentioned to smaug was it was a real chore to get the Camco ripple elements in the guards. The small threaded hole coupled with the length of the guard and the big humps on the element caused it jam up on that last really big hump.

    For those that are attempting this, the trick is to compress the element a bit with a plastic clamp. This gives just enough room for it to pass over the hump. You can then spread the element out a bit once your done.

  • I did not have trouble with a camco ripple elements, but then again, I may have just naturally squeezed the element a bit as I was inserting...

  • I have also found it difficult to insert my rippled 5.5kW camco element. Took me a good half-hour of playing around.

  • I have a third EG coming and a camco still in the package, I will document as i assemble them for a friends beer brewing keggle.. But in reality, the only way to make it easier would be to shorten or widen the EG, and neither one of those is easy or really desirable.

  • edited October 2013

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    I don't have a 2x2.5" reducer, don't have anything 2.5", but it may be possible.
    The element adapter is custom made with a recess to position the 2" long ferrule for easy welding. The same recess could be used for a 2 x 2.5" bowl shaped reducer. The 2.5" end cap would need the machining and I'd need to stock 2.5" clamps and gaskets. I doubt the overall finished height would be as short as the existing EG. The reducer, any reducer, carries a price premium.

    The price would be about $20 more so if there is interest I'll pursue this. As a test I could make 50 pieces but I can't produce less than that. I kinda need more than one person to step up and say they'd buy it.

    The picture above is an element adapter with a 2x3 bowl shaped reducer to give you the idea. A standard conical reducer would be excessively long.

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  • @Lloyd, it's honestly not a big deal to get the wavy element in. I have 3 guards and learned the trick on the first one. The last 2 were easy once I knew to compress the element. I can take a photo of what I mean by compress the element tonight since that could be interpreted in many ways. I'll post it later this evening.

  • edited October 2013

    those pics remind me of this failed experiment.

    image

    image

    Its a big 4in, 5mm thick aluminium plate, and the SSR controller is bolted to it on the inside.

    It just gets too hot running @ 3600W for my liking. 2400W is fine.

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  • Wow loo that is pushing it

    Can it be that easy

  • for a 2400W element its fine, 3600W it doesn't have enough surface area and needs a heat sink

  • That is why I suggest an aluminum extrusion heatsink profile that is D shaped, with a TC flange turned into the end, or possibly just long screws... the flat part of the D is where the SSR is mounted, all the fins will keep it relatively cool...

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