Assembling weldless element housing
To assemble one of our element assembly kits you must plan approximately 24 hours in your build time as the JB Weld will need time to cure. With that lead, the first step is to attach the plate with the 1-1/4 inch hole to the aluminum housing using the provided 4 screws and JB Weld which you will need to source. Since we have done the cutting, you will only need to focus on securing the plate. It's recommended that you sand the face of the housing that the JB weld will attach to. Proceed to mix up your JB Weld epoxy, and apply to the outside, large flat surface of the aluminum enclosure, liberally.
Note that in the picture the screw holes were covered in epoxy as we well as clean lines around the edges inside and outside. While we recommend JB Weld for your own build, we use a gun applied 2 part epoxy, which comes out white; the function is the same just a different color from your own most likely. You can purchase similar epoxies from your hardware store as well.
In addition to the back of the enclosure, we also use the epoxy to secure the enclosure plug on the spare end. Epoxy is lightly applied on the threads going all the way around in an effort to obtain a water tight seal.
Once the epoxy is applied, the next step is to secure the back plate to the enclosure using the supplied screws. Do not over tighten, but make sure they are good and secure. Once this is secure it’s a good idea to go to the inside of the enclosure and apply a bead of epoxy where the plate and enclosure meet. We apply what may resemble caulking the seam as an additional means to secure and seal.
Assembling the cable
To assembly the cable, slide the 1/2 inch braided poly down the the 10/3 cable. This process can be slow, be careful while slipping the braided poly down as the friction can get warm. On each end of the cable you will need to expose the inner wires, on the plug end, strip away approximately 2 inches. Once you have the wires revealed, use your traditional electricians tape to secure the braided poly just at the end. If you keep the tape quantity to 1 to 1-1/2 widths down from the edge of the outer insulation, you will be able to conceal the tape inside the plug. Before assembling the plug, remove the 2 black screws from the cover side and toss out the spacer, as this isn't needed when braided poly is used. Replace the crimp piece and tighten screws to hold in place until the plug is fully assembled, then tighten all the way down.
On the element end, we will again remove the outer insulation, but this time about 6 inches worth. Again, secure the braided poly with a light amount of electrical tape. If you use a light enough amount, the combination of the cord grip and the tape will keep the braided poly secure, and again you won't need the included heat shrink.
The biggest advantage to avoiding the use of the heat shrink will be the flexibility the cable will have. The heat shrink will come across as rather rigid.
Install the plug on the end and once its on, proceed to disassemble the cord grip, or at the very least loosen it up as much as possible without disassembling. The cord grip will slide on to the cable, with the bare threads going the direction of the end of the wire. After you slide the cord grip on, feed the cable through the available hole on the aluminum enclosure and then slide the cord grip down and secure. If you taped the braided poly right you should be able to tighten the cord grip into the enclosure and then secure the poly and cable into grip by tightening the outer ring to its fullest. This will give you a secure, water tight connection.
Inside the housing, strip approx 1/4 inch off the end of each of the 3 wires and then crimp the yellow spades to the end of each. The green wire is then secured to one of the 2 grounding screws inside the housing. One the grounding wire is secure, its easy to slip the element in, and either temporarily secure it or attach it to your kettle.
Revision October 1, 2017
