Here is the outside of the element with a plastic pipe cap. I cut a few slits in the cap so it would compress down on the element

The terminals of the element

Looking into the hlt. At 9 and 3 o'clock are the heating elements, thermostat at 10, thermometer well at 11 and the drain at 1:30.

I used a copper pipe connector to make a nut. I cut the part that slips on to the pipe off. If I were to do it over, I'd weld stainless coupling into the keg. The nuts are hard to get tight enough so they don't leak.

This is the t-stat connection. I was seeing if a j-box would fit snugly. I'm going to replace that pos with a hand box and cover. If you look closely at the t-stat, you'll see a set screw in between the wires. That's how the temperature is set. I usually don't change the temperature from 167°F so access to it isn't important.

Here you can see the drain, t-stat j-box, thermostat well and an exposed heater element

This is the controller. A switch and a pilot light that comes on when the heat is on. On the sides are where the t-stat and the elements plug into. This mounts to my brew stand just under the hlt.
 

Here's the wiring diagram. Blue is the hot wire and gray is neutral. It's really pretty simple. When the switch is on and the t-stat calls for heat, the pilot light and relay get power. When the relay gets power, the element gets power. The reason for the relay is that t-stat can't handle a lot of amperage.

F1 - 2 amp fuse
F2 - 15 amp fuse
HE - heater element
PLt - pilot light
SSR - solid state relay
Sw - single pole switch
T-stat - thermostat
 

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