I’ll be building a new brewery in the not real far off future. Think I’m going to go electric. How many kw’s would I want too boil seven gallons?
You really don’t need that much in the way of watts. For 7 gal, I’d say that something in the 3,000 watt range will create a good boil. However, I do use 5,500 watts and that brings the wort to boil quicker. I do use a pulse width modulator to cut the power down after reaching a boil though.
This. What he said
I use a 5500kw element from High Gravity Brewing with their Electric Kettle Controller it works great. Quickly get to a boil and controlling the boil intensity with the EKC is easy as turning the knob.
This is the kettle controller that I recently installed in my system. It works very well and is nicer than the pulse-width modulator that I formerly used.
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_30&products_id=444
I think about going electric with an immersed element from from time to time. However, going electric with an immersed element would mean having to give up the false bottom in my brewing kettle. I have brewed with a false bottom and whole hops for so long that switching to another filtering arrangement would take quite a bit of adjustment.
Why would you have to give up the false bottom, if it is in the boil kettle, cold you get away with mounting it above the false bottom? Also, there are a few places that I know will fab a false bottom with a stand high enough and a cut out to work around the element.
I like to have minimal dead space on my false bottom because my preferred chilling method is immersion, and I like to get as much copper as I can in my kettles. I have a pair of nice counterflow chillers that I built, but I never use them because it’s just one more piece of gear that needs to be cleaned thoroughly when I have the least amount of energy to do so.
False bottom setup in one of my kettles
Nice build on those CFCs, Mark. I like my copper IC, too.
Thanks, this build was definitely not my first attempt at building a counterflow chiller. The first one that I built back in 1993 left a lot to be desired in the looks department, but it worked. I learned what not to do with that chiller.
I used EDPM heater hose to build this set of chillers. I had planned to use hot water-rated garden hose. However, Home Depot was blowing this stuff out by the foot, and it’s good to 100C/212F. Finding the garden hose swivel to NPT fittings turned into an adventure unto itself. Finding a non-swivel garden hose to NPT fitting is easy, but then one has to turn the chiller or the hose. The only challenging part of building this set of chillers was drilling out the stops in the 3/8" tube to NPT fittings. Luckily, I have a floor drill press and drill press vise left over from my foray into woodworking (now, that’s an expensive hobby).
Woodworking, as in luthier? Ever build any guitars?
I have made and finished a few electric guitar bodies. However, my luthiery skills are pretty much limited to setups, electronics, fret work, and nut installs on my own guitars.
I do not want to take the thread off on a tangent, but here’s a level, crown, and polish job that I did on one of my electric guitars. It’s a Fugi-Gen manufactured Ibanez S540 that I have owned for well over twenty years. I own more desirable guitars, but this one is like an old friend.
Fretboard cleaned and masked
Frets before leveling, crowning, polishing
In the photo shown above, one can clearly see that the crowns on the frets are completely worn off due to years of use.
Frets after leveling, crowning, polishing
Brass disconnects. Problem solved. Too late, but you’re welcome. 
As in brass quick disconnects?
Yep. Link below. I use them on all of my hose fittings, chiller and general use, along with thread tape. They are great.
Much cheaper at lowes or Home Depot. I think i payed $4.50 a set.
I decided against using quick disconnects because I wanted to keep the build as simple as possible, and I was able to find a swivel female garden hose to NPT fitting.
I don’t see how it complicates the build, in my opinion it makes use a 1000 times easier.
So, what are you using the chillers for if you like the IC?
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Dust collectors
Most of my electronics came from Auber Instruments. PID’s, contactors, and SSR’s (solid state relays) will cost more but save you from headaches in the future. Going to 5500 watts will make your system faster and allow you to upgrade to larger boil volumes later as well.