Due to the purchase of a new glass top stove that is too wimpy for a rolling boil on 4gal of wort, I was forced to use propane outdoors. This has probably been good for my beer, however during poor weather it is inconvenient. I recently saw a 2200W/115V electric heating element online, then ran across the thing in The Homebrew Shop in St Charles IL (shout out to Ed and his crew). According to the kid working at the shop, he's getting a rolling boil on 5gal batches in 45min, good enough for my purposes. The thing has temp control and can be dropped in a plastic MLT for mash temp regulation as well. I'm already envisioning a no-sparge step mash.
In any case, its now part of my brewing paraphernalia. I haven't tried it yet, might throw it in a pot of water tonight just to see how quickly it works. This will keep me from having to open the garage door to brew in winter. The garage sits under two bedrooms in the house (including mine) and its hard to recover proper temperature when you let the heat out.