Author: Marshall Schott
About 5 years ago, just as electric brewing was really starting to take-off, I found instructions online going over how to make a heat stick. This was before I’d upgraded to natural gas and the idea of balancing my propane usage with electricity was appealing, plus I thought it’d be super cool to set the heat stick on a Christmas light timer so that I could awake to pre-heated strike water. About $20 and 20 minutes later, I had myself a heat stick that looked more like a tool for plumbing than it did a brewing utensil. Unfortunately, for some reason I’m still unaware of, it didn’t work out all that great– once the temperature of the water it was heating would hit 150°F/66°C, the GFCI on my outlet would trip, which annoyed me so I gave it away and eventually made the move to natural gas.
I’ve been mostly pleased with my current setup, the only real drawback being that setting up a timer on a gas burner is a pain in the ass, so I accepted that the first part of my brew day would consist primarily of waiting for however long it takes for my burner to heat my strike water. When contributor Jake Huolihan recently converted his brewery to electric and started talking about how convenient his brew days had become, I began rethinking my own setup. Despite having solar on my house, I didn’t want to go full electric because with as much as I brew, I’d end up paying more for the electricity (thanks California) than I do for natural gas. This is when the idea of going hybrid popped into my head, the same idea I’d had years before, though this time I’d make sure to do it right.
There are a few electric heat sticks I’d seen pop-up over the years, most too small or under-powered for my liking. Then contributor Greg Foster bought and started raving about the HotRod Heat Stick from BrewHardware, a place I’ve been buying certain parts from since early 2012. After months of mulling it over, I finally bit the bullet and bought one for myself!
The product reviewed for this article was purchased by the author, which obviously makes this review more honest than reviews of products provided by the manufacturer; the author does not actually believe this and understands at least enough about the nature of bias to get why some might see things differently, though still thinks it’s a banal and cynical argument.
Since I wasn’t quite ready to have a 240v outlet installed near my brewing area, the 1500 watt HotRod was a solid option since it would work on my standard outlet. When placing my order, I opted for the straight tubing just to ensure it would fit nicely in my large brewing vessels. As I’ve come to expect from Bobby/BrewHardware, my heat stick showed up a few days later and was packed very well. I excitedly unboxed it in preparation for assembly.
Assembling the HotRod took all of 45 seconds and couldn’t have been easier. While the element was attached to the power cord, it was detached from the actual unit, likely to make it easier to ship. All I needed to do was attach the element using the provided tri-clamp fitting.
Before taking the HotRod on its inaugural test run, I gave it the once-over just to make sure there weren’t any obvious defects that might cause problems later. The weld connecting the length of stainless tubing to the stainless element casing was solid and very smooth, leaving me confident the innards would remain dry during use.
Before attempting to use the HotRod, I submerged the element in water for 15 minutes then disassembled it just to make sure the tri-clover fitting was water tight. It was.
I put the unit back together and placed it in a kettle of water in preparation for testing, the included hook being positioned over the lip of my kettle to hold it in place.
I loosened the hook’s wingnut to adjust the placement of the element, fastening it when the element was about 1 in./2.5 cm above the bottom of the kettle.
The only thing left to do was plug the HotRod in. Electricity and water can make for a shitty brew day, hence the importance of plugging the HotRod into a GFCI outlet, which I happen to have right next to my brewing setup.
BrewHardware offers a unit that has a GFCI built into the power cord for a small price increase, definitely the route to go for those who don’t have such an outlet available to them.
SPEED TEST RESULTS
To test how long it would take to raise a standard volume of brewing liquor, I decided to heat 9 gallons of water and track the progress every 10 minutes until the water reached 168°F/76°C, a fairly typical strike temperature on my setup.
My groundwater clocked in at a balmy 79°F/26°C out of the faucet and over the first 20 minutes raised over 26°F/15°C.
The temperature continued to climb at a bump over 1°F/0.5°C per minute over the following half hour.
Predictably, the rise in temperature every 10 minute interval decreased as the water continued to warm, but not by much. By precisely 1 hour and 20 minutes, the water was sitting just north of my target temperature.
While the volume of water was a bit high relative to the standard pre-boil wort volume for a 5 gallon batch, I did let the HotRod continue to heat it until a gentle boil was reached, it took another 45 minutes.
| THE VERDICT |
To some, waiting over an hour for water to reach strike temperature might seem like more of a hassle than sticking with a standard gas burner, understandably, as even I can heat the same volume to the same temperature in about 1/3 the time. However, I didn’t purchase the HotRod Heat Stick solely for the purpose of heating strike water, rather my impetus was convenience, and based on this alone, I absolutely love it!
With so much going on in my life, I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my brew day efficiency so that I can continue doing it as often as possible. As someone who tends to brew pretty early in the morning, I always felt like waking up to light a burner only to wait for it to my heat strike water was such a waste and picked up the HotRod Heat Stick as a solution. I initially planned to use a standard Christmas light timer but found most cheap ones were 10 amp. Having decked out most of our rooms with Amazon Echos (excellent brewing multi-timer, only $80 for a refurbished one), my wife recently picked up a Wemo smart plug and suggested I consider one for my HotRod.
It works beautifully! Not only does the Wemo allow me to set a timer for the HotRod to turn on at a specific time, but I can also control it with my voice– “Alexa, turn HotRod off.” Back To The Future being one of my favorite movies of all-time, this tickles the hell out of me!
I performed the speed test in my standard brew kettle for the sake of applicability, but I’ve been using it in my Ss Brewtech InfuSsion mash tun and have found heating to strike temperature requires slightly less time due to the insulation; I have to believe this would be similar for other insulated vessels such as converted cooler MLTs as well.
While I was able to achieve a very gentle boil using the HotRod Heat Stick, it took over 2 hours and that was just water, which is less dense than wort. Since a very vigorous boil may not be totally necessary, a single HotRod could potentially work for brewers looking to streamline their brewing gear and don’t mind a little added time, though I wouldn’t recommend it for batches any larger than 5 gallons (it’d kick ass for 2.5 gallon batches). BrewHardware doesn’t appear to offer a more powerful HotRod currently, though they do have DIY kits that would probably be pretty easy to retrofit with a higher wattage element and 240 volt plug… but as BrewHardware points out:
It is extremely important that you consult with an electrical professional for advice or wiring help. Under no circumstances should these be used without proper wiring, ground fault circuit protection, over current circuit protection. We are not licensed electricians so we cannot provide wiring advice.
With a single 20 gallon InfuSsion mash tun, I’m able to heat the full volume of brewing liquor for 10 gallon no sparge batches of moderate OG as well as all of the strike water for two 5 gallon batches, splitting off half into another mash tun once heated. Overall, the convenience of waking up to pre-heated strike water in addition to being able to supplement my natural gas usage with electricity has more than made up for the cost of the HotRod Heat Stick. I’ve absolutely zero regrets and trust those seeking a similar electric solution will appreciate it as well.
The HotRod Heat Stick is currently only available for purchase direct from BrewHardware.com. Be sure to check out all of the HotRod options as well as everything else BrewHardware has to offer while you’re there!
Support Brülosophy In Style!
All designs are available in various colors and sizes on Amazon!
Follow Brülosophy on:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
If you enjoy this stuff and feel compelled to support Brulosophy.com, please check out the Support Us page for details on how you can very easily do so. Thanks!
33 thoughts on “Product Review | Brew Hardware HotRod Heat Stick”
Why would you think electric would be cheaper than gas? Has nothing to do with being in California.
I have solar, electric is ostensibly free so long as I only use what my panels produce. That’s cheaper than gas.
The average price of electriciy in California is like $0.15/kWh, right? For my last 25L batch, with a 60 minute mash and a 40 minute boil, I used 6.54kWh on my 5500W electric setup. At my cheap Albertan rate, that cost me $0.29. Even at $0.15/kWh, that’s $0.98. How much can you brew with a dollar’s worth of gas?
That’s just for Tier 1, amigo. As you use more energy (from the power company), you bump up into more expensive tiers. In the summer, when AC units run 70% of the day, everyone ends up in tier 4, which is close to $0.35/kWh PLUS you get a “super user surcharge.” It’s pathetic and why we bought solar. My monthly bill went from an average of nearly $400 to a steady $170. Fuck the man!
Super user surcharge? $0.35/kWh? Feck. That’s like $2.29 a brew for me then.. how does that compare to propane or natural gas? Not sure, but I don’t really want to know at this point!
Welcome to California! Propane ran about the same price as electricity would given my brewing habits, while natural gas is quite a bit cheaper (4 x 10 gal batches per month raised my bill by about $8). With solar, I could got full-on electric and it would only take me into Tier 2, which would cost right about what I’m paying now for natural gas, so not terrible. However, we’re looking to get 2 more panels added to our house so we can use all the fucking electricity we want while wiping our tears with dollar bills….
…actually, we’re having a pool installed and want the new panels to cover the cost of running a pump and shit.
I’mma stay in Alberta… without my Brulosophy merch… (yeah, that’s me bugging again!)
The 5500 element in the heat stick is pure power. It can heat 10 gallons of water in fifteen minutes or less and will roll a 15 or 20 gallon boil without any issues. Have my heat stick plugged into the dryer plug whip and 20 foot on the stick. The best brewing purchase I have made in my three tear system.
Did you modify your HotRod with a 5500w element and swap the 110v plug for a 220v? This is something I’ve been strongly considering…
How did you attach it to the mash tun, or did you just leave it free floating? I assume either way you still had to leave the lid off.
I has a little hook that hangs over the lip of whatever vessel you’re using it in that’s not too thick.
A lot of guys use these on their Grainfathers. Allows you to take the standard (North Amercian) 1600W and bump it up to 3100W, just need to run the GF and the HotRod on separate circuits. Cuts ramp times in half.
I built my 3 vessel eherms setup with everything from brewhardware.com. Awesome solutions for us homebrewers. I can see the hot rod helping for small batch brewers with weak stoves.
Really like the idea of doing something like this to have strike water ready in the morning. Do you have plans to control off temp (in case your wake alarm didn’t go off, slept through alarm, etc)?
The “hotrod” is an awesome price of kit… I use a 1500w one to supplement my natural gas stove in the kitchen… I am able to get water heated in around 1/2 the usual time and achieve much more vigorous boils on 10+gallon batches (up to 13+gallon boils) which my stove could do on its own…
I also have a 5500w element that I plan on switching to once I can get on installing a 40amp gfci breaker etc… My buddy can do 20gallon boils with his 5500w version, he claims it is faster and much cheaper than his propane setup was… Electricity is likely less money due to increased efficiency to flame, less wasted heat…
***NOTE As far as I am aware you should only increase your element wattage if you have a hotrod wired with the 10/3 gauge wire, I believe the standard 1500w configuration uses 12/3 gauge which can’t handle the 240/increased power of the big 5500w element….So double check to avoid issues, I got mine custom wired with 10gauge by Bobby for my future plans, though I might end up wanting a 1500w & a 5500w to cover all bases**
Whoops, unintended link there, if it can be edited out please feel free, thanks mod types…
Got it 🙂
You do great work kind sir, not just the stellar modding job either! Cheers!
Always a great review and thanks – in the process of considering electric right now for EXACTLY the reason you state – save time (ie kids!) with strike water ready first thing in the am. While I appreciate the quality of this product immensely is there a reason why folks are risking the water / electric interface rather than a basic hot plate type set up below the pot (ie a drier set up) ?
I’m a massive fan of induction heating which this would work well at (tho my current kettle set up is not compatible hence the interest…)
Just curious – great work as always. Need to get over to Patreon – it just feels wrong taking all the great info for nada…. On it now.. Cheers from Scotland
I use an induction hob with a stainless steel kettle for my boils, and it’s fantastic – but it wouldn’t work with my (insulated) mash tun. There I need some way of direct heat injection. But I agree, the lack of exposed elements is a big advantage. Less to clean, less to get in the way of my immersion chiller, etc. etc.
Marshall,
Have you considered the Inkbird ITC-306t for bringing your strike water up and then maintaining it? That way you don’t have to fuss with a timer and run the risk of being under or over temp when you’re ready to mash.
Thanks.
P.S. Bobby is the best in the business.
The Inkbird is rated for 10 amps while the HotRod pulls 12.5 (1500w/120v), so it’s not a good option. I know there are solutions to this, I may get something integrated at some point.
I built a single vessel rims using 2X 1500w heating elements and reduces the wait by half. I use a controller and RTD probe to maintain pricesely my temperature. Any controller with a Solid State Relay output will do the job !!!
Keep up the good work folk’s, I love reading you !!!!
Thoughts on using TWO sticks to implement a boil or BIAB usage?
Hey buddy! That’d work great, each stick just needs to be plugged into its own circuit.
I use a double pole 20A gfi circuit so both circuits are on the same Line. I also use 6000w heating elements that I plug into a 120v circuit . By doing this, I divide the heating element power by 4 and end un with a 1500w with even lower wattage per square inch than a ulwd and forget about the risk of scortching my wort.
I havé been using two elements with Biab/Braumeister clone for over 2 yearling and it work’s great
Ah my friend you need to buy a sous vide heater. Much easier and remote controlled.
I use a bucket heater, timer, and an ITc-308 the night before so I wake up to strike water ready to go. I set the temp a couple degrees higher because its easier to cool down to strike temp. The bucket heater allows me to heat the strike water in a cooler mash tun.
I was looking at this hot rod for the boil but never got around to going full electric
Yep, and you don’t really need the ITc-308 if you have a timer. Either way the bucket heater is less than a 3rd of the price of a HotRod. Fewer watts, but if just using to pre-heat who cares?
In an effort to decrease ramp times from mashout to boil, do you think I could use my propane burner on a low setting in conjunction with the Hot Rod? Except for the mounting clip on the top of the kettle, no part of the Hot Rod appears to be in direct contact with the edge of tbe kettle, so I don’t see why you couldn’t use it along with a gas burner. Am I missing something?
Thoughts on this configuration.
I just bought one of these Heat Stick rigs.
I attached a 2000W 120v element.
That’s 16.6amps on a 20amp circuit.
But the GFCI is 15amp.
Will it trip the GFCI or is there a little bit of wiggle room with this?
Additional Info:
I’ve mapped out the entire circuit so that Nothing is plugged in/turned on while I’m using the heat stick.
Do you have the assembly video or maybe pictures? It would help me a lot!