by Dominator » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:16 am
Good discussion blokes, great to see it hasn't gone south yet. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
For me, going electric was a no brainer. Having an electrical trade background meant I could do the work myself. I think a large part of the appeal of gas is the cost, or lack of, and the simplicity. No drilling holes or welding kegs, no need for upgraded wiring or power controllers and to some people electricity can be a bit of dangerous dark magic. Where as gas is as simple as a bottle, hose, burner, light it and you have heat. You can see/hear/feel it. Yes if you have a leak/puke there is a very real risk of fire but with the right precautions this risk can be controlled.
In regards to electric I will offer some warnings. Do not think because you have an RCD that you are safe. Relying on an RCD is like not wearing a seat belt because your car has airbags. RCD are fallable and can fail. They are designed to trip at 30mA, however 25mA still hurts and in the right conditions could kill you. Just like gas users check bottles, regs and hoses before every run, so should electric users check plugs, leads and connections. And don't think because you don't have a naked flame that there is not an ignition source. Every time you switch a power point on/off there is an arc/spark. If you have a fridge in your shed/brew area, every time the compressor turns on there is a spark.
I guess there will always be risks no matter what you use. Taking the right precautions to mitigate those risks is where the differences lay. You wouldn't use your electric element if the cord was damaged same as your not going to use a gas hose that is leaking. If you bust a cooling hose and water is spraying everywhere your gonna shut the power off, if your still has a leak your going to shut the gas off as fast as you can. For me, the day my bubbler flooded and puked high proof alcohol all over the place I was thanking my lucky stars that I was not running on gas.