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BrewBuilt® SlingBlade Electric Heating Element (240V)

BrewBuilt® SlingBlade Electric Heating Element (240V)

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Description

The BrewBuilt SlingBlade is an innovative electric heating element designed to promote a rolling boil and even heat distribution.

Shaped for Performance and Convenience
The SlingBlade's unique crescent-shaped design positions all of the heating power on one side of the kettle, sending thermal energy upward to the surface that then cascades downward on the opposite side of the kettle. This movement creates a dynamic turbulence that evenly distributes heat while creating a vigorous, rolling boil. Other heating elements stick right out into the middle of the kettle or use a full circle design that rings the kettle wall. This can cause an obstruction for immersion chillers or make it difficult to stir without banging into the element. The SlingBlade was designed to avoid these issues. By remaining on one side of the kettle, the element will be out of the way of your immersion chiller, and since the element follows the curvature of the kettle wall, it won't interfere with the flow of wort during whirlpool.

Ultra-Low Watt Density
An electric element transfers power to your wort by applying heat, but if this heat is too concentrated you will get local heating that is hotter than 212°F. This catalyzes Maillard Reactions, which can lead to darker beer than intended and produce unwanted caramelization. Think of these reactions like roasting a marshmallow. First it gets a light brown, we call this Maillard reactions, a little hotter and it gets a dark brown, we call this caramelization, then it turns black and we call this pyrolysis (burnt or scorched). While all kettles undergo these reactions, an electric element can concentrate more heat into a small area, which can quickly scorch your wort. Our experience is that at 90-watts per square inch recipes need to be modified to account for the element and light beers never come out quite right. The SlingBlade element was designed at 50-watts per square inch to reduce the chance of scorching while still providing a vigorous boil. For even lower watt density, consider the Boil Vigor Controller.

Tri-Clamp Connection
The SlingBlade installs quickly and easily on any kettle with a T.C. ferrule thanks to the curved, non-circular design. This also makes it a breeze to remove the element for cleaning between uses. The SlingBlade heating elements were designed to fit perfectly with BrewBuilt brewing kettles, but you may find them suitable for other kettles as well. They should be used with T.C. ferrules no longer than 1" in length. For dimensions and recommended minimum kettle diameter, please see the chart below.

Features:

  • Made from Stainless Steel with proprietary coating for long life
  • 1.5" Tri-Clamp connection
  • Unique offset design promotes rolling boil
  • Ultra-Low Watt Density eliminates scorching
  • UL Certified components

Specs:

  • 240 Volt
  • L6-30 plug
  • 20 Amp breaker required for 10 & 15 gal element
  • 30 Amp breaker required for 22 & 31 gal element
    • 50-gallon kettle requires 2 x BE538 and 2 x 30 amp circuits

SKU Kettle Vol. Wattage Length Radius Min. Kettle Ø
BE535 10 gal 3750 13.25" 6.3" 13.75"
BE536 15 gal 4500 16.75" 7.3" 15.75"
BE537 22 gal 5000 17.25" 8.3" 17.75"
BE538 31 gal 5750 19.5" 9.3" 19.75"

Please note: Length is measured from the tip of the heating element to the T.C. connection. Radius is measured from the middle of the T.C. connection to the outermost edge of the element's curve.

***In order to avoid injury or death we strongly recommend using a GFCI in any circuit used near water. You can find one here.***

Lowest Price Guarantee, this item has MAP pricing so you can be confident you won't find it for less.
Community Q&A

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Browse 17 questions Browse 17 questions and 40 answers
Why did you choose this?
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To use my Immersion chiller with my clawhammer system
Marina G on Feb 25, 2023
Upgrade my new Kettle
Sam T on Oct 19, 2022
To use my Immersion chiller with my clawhammer system
Marina G on Feb 25, 2023
Saw it on short circuited brewers you tube channel
Michael Hershberger on Feb 24, 2023
Upgrade my new Kettle
Sam T on Oct 19, 2022
Perfect for my Kettle size
James R on Jul 7, 2022
I picked this to use in a Spike 10g kettle.
James H on Apr 27, 2022
I want it
David R C on Mar 23, 2022
Element for my boil kettle
Scott Taylor on Jan 10, 2022
Great product!
Laura G on Dec 8, 2021
To hopefully fix issue with spike solo system.
Steve A on Nov 30, 2021
liked it better than the blichmann boil coil. Easier to clean and break down between uses and not in the way while brewing.
Mark K on Nov 18, 2021
Replacing ripple element that is failing
Gerald H on Sep 19, 2021
creating my own brew system, and the sling blade provides what I'm looking for
Dean P on Sep 11, 2021
Good reviews online
william von n on Apr 20, 2021
fits my 15 gal. boiler
David C on Mar 10, 2021
Saw it on short circuited brewers you tube channel
Michael Hershberger on Feb 24, 2023
Perfect for my Kettle size
James R on Jul 7, 2022
Will the 22 gal Sling Blade fit in a 20 gallon anvil kettle? The 20 gal anvil is 17.75" diameter. Perfect fit or too tight?
Gregory Zurawicz Jr on Apr 7, 2022
BEST ANSWER: My spike kettle is the same diameter and it fits perfectly. Love the nice boil i get feom it.
Is the 1000 watt difference from a 5500 to the 4500 that big? I’m thinking along the lines of getting the wort to a boil?
adam skjefstad on Jul 27, 2021
BEST ANSWER: Using the electric-heat.xls spreadsheet from JT's beer pages (author wile e coyote), if you use a 240 volt rated element at 220 volts it would take 66 minutes to boil 10 gallons with a 4500 watt rated element. It would take 54 minutes to boil with a 5500 watt rated element. This is under the assumption that the starting temperature of the water is 50 degrees, the actual voltage applied is 220V and you have 95% efficiency. JT is a great guy to share this and lot of people use this spreadsheet.
I just did my first brew with these in my HLT and boil kettle. The boil one is discolored now though in spots. Like a milky white now instead of shiny stainless like the one in the HLT that just has seen clean water. I cleaned it well and used sanitizer on it but still discolored. Is this normal?
ROSS QUENZER on Aug 7, 2023
BEST ANSWER: Yes that is normal. It's some deposits from the wort. I don't worry about it, but if you want to clean it up to shiny stainless, grab a green scotchbrite and barkeepers friend. Depending on how hard you're boiling, you could back down on the power which will help too. I run about 50% to maintain a rolling boil on 6 gallons in a 15 gal kettle BIAB setup. I get very little deposits unless I crank up the power.
What is the best size to go in a keg 15gal sanke?
John H GRIMES on Jul 25, 2021
BEST ANSWER: A beer keg or keggle is about a 16" diameter, which gives it about an 8" radius inside. The 15 gallon SlingBlade has a 7.3" radius and has 4500 watts, the 10 gallon SlingBlade radius is 6.3" and has 3750 watts, but will be hard to center because of its length. You need to pay attention to the length of the TC flange you weld on in order to position the element in the middle of your keggle properly. It will take approximately an hour for you to bring ten gallons of water to a boil with the 4500 watt unit if you start with 50 deg. F. water. The higher wattage SlingBlade units are too big for a keggle.
Any plans to offer these with a 2" Tri-Clamp connection?
Anthony Dockter on Feb 12, 2020
BEST ANSWER: Anthony - Apologies, this is not a plan as of right now.
With this be OK to run on a regular 120 V plug?
Justin moyes on Nov 2, 2021
BEST ANSWER: Yes. The connections will work with a 120 volt circuit. You will see a much lower power output than if you had plugged it into a higher voltage circuit. For 10 gallon kettles 120 volts is passable. For a larger boil you will really want the full wattage offered by 240 volts and 30 amps.
Will this work with the clawhammer controller?
Marina G on Feb 17, 2023
BEST ANSWER: These elements will work with any controller that is 240V. They are basically just a resistor. Make sure the plug from the Clawhammer (assuming it came with one) mates with the Slingblade.
Does this require a L6-30 R or P plug?
Dane Scott on Jan 17, 2023
BEST ANSWER: The element is a P, so the connector connecting directly to the element would have to be R.
Thinking of retrofitting my 22g BrewBuilt kettle with a slingblade. What do you recommend for a TC bulkhead to support this?
Shawn Mcelhinney on Dec 17, 2022
BEST ANSWER: I just bought a standard 1.5” ferrule from Amazon, put the hole in with a carbide tipped hole saw and had someone TIG weld it. I had to do some cleanup with a dremel after but am pleased with the outcome. Would be very careful you know the person can weld.

The other approach I’d consider is to get hold of Bobby at brewhardware dot com as he’s got multiple ways to add ports to stainless kettles. I’ve also silver soldered a .5” NPT port on using his instructions and it went well. He has a TC flange designed for silver solder.
If a 4500W element (15 inch) is used at 100%, is there any scorching of the wort?
Dane Scott on Jan 26, 2023
BEST ANSWER: I have had no problems with scorching, but there must be a sufficient volume to disperse the heat from the element and the element must be fully immersed in liquid when heating. Most brewers find that reducing from 100% power at the point of reaching the boil allows for a gentle, quality boil that avoids heavy carmelization or scorching of the wort on the element.
How do you prevent rust/corrosion on the element?
Robert Knipper on Mar 6, 2021
BEST ANSWER: The best ways we have found to avoid oxidation of heating elements is to clean them thoroughly immediately after use, spray them with a light coat of mild acid sanitizer, then put them away nice and dry.
I want to try this fit with a Brewha system, what is the return policy if never installed and used, but just fitted for sizing?
Brian Cesario on Mar 21, 2023
BEST ANSWER: Hello! The standard return policy applies. You have 60 days to get this returned if it doesn't work out for you. Cheers!
Does this include a controller of any sort? Not sure why the product description seems to glance over this aspect entirely.
Sam Wright on Jun 21, 2022
BEST ANSWER: Thank you for your question. These elements do not ship with a controller. Just a cord with a plug.
Can this element be used in Europe ? 60Hz / 240V or is it 50Hz capable only?
Benjamin Haberkorn on Jan 27, 2022
BEST ANSWER: The element will deliver exactly the same power at 50 or 60 Hz. Changing the frequency has no effect on the power delivered.
Any issue (corrosion, etc.) with using this heating element to hold temperature during a 24hr kettle sour?
Tom on Aug 29, 2021
BEST ANSWER: None at all! I’ve done about 6 kettle sours with no issues. I usually put the element to ~5% total power,
Will the 5750 watt Slingblade fit into a 22gal BrewBuilt kettle?
David Bowes on Apr 3, 2021
BEST ANSWER: No. The 5750 watt element is designed to fit the diameter of the 31 gallon kettle only. For the 22 gallon kettle you will want the 5000 watt BE537 element.
The specs say to use a 20 amp breaker for the 4500w elements. Can I use a 30 amp breaker if I’m also planning on powering two pumps through the same controller?
Bradley Panasiti on Jan 22, 2023
Reviews

5.0 / 5.0
3 Reviews
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Rated 5 out of 5
This is a great product. Fits perfectly in my Keggle and allows my immersion chiller to fit all the way into the wort. Heats 10 gallon batches well.
March 4, 2021
Purchased
over 3 years ago
Rated 5 out of 5
Solid Element
Works as it is supposed to. Nice rolling boil and leaves the center open for trub or other accessories. I have it paired with the Blichmann power controller and I get a solid boil at about 85% with 14 gallons of wort.
May 16, 2020
Purchased
over 3 years ago
Rated 5 out of 5
This thing allowed me to keep my SS Brewtech BME Kettle when I switched to electric brewing.
I was looking around for an element that I could make work with my SS Brewtech BME kettle when I moved to electric brewing. I love that kettle and was looking to keep it, but I was having issues finding an element that would fit it. In order to make this kettle work in an electric brewing setup, I had to put the element above the heat shield (which is at the 4 gallon mark of the kettle)... not fun when you try to boil liquid from over the halfway point of the total volume.

Enter the slingblade. This thing saved my bacon from having to buy a new kettle. With just a tiny bend I was able to get it to fit my BME kettle. It now contours down to the 1-1.5 gallon mark near the bottom, allowing me to retain my kettle yet still get a thorough and homogenized boil. No issues heating up 7.5 to 8 gallons of wort! This may not be the most traditional use of this product, but I'm super glad something like this exists.
April 6, 2020
Purchased
over 4 years ago