Heating elements on the blink

[clyne]

Had a brew day last Saturday using my 60L kettle. All was going okay - mashed in left for an hour, sparged, transferred to kettle and turned my two heating elements on. Then came lots of waiting!

The elements kept “clicking” off and on so after about an hour and a half I was only at 94C and not moving anywhere fast.

Decided to move to two separate boilers (my 30L HLT and my robobrew) so finished up (with issues too as forgot to hop so had to boil for another 30 mins!) and cooled then pitched.

Anyway - why are the heating elements cutting in and out? Presumably some sort of stat/cutout in the relay. Is it just dirty? Gave them both a good clean/scrub afterwards but haven’t had a chance to try them again since.

Thoughts???

 

[jof]

I'm not an expert, but if they were clicking off & on, I would start tooling at thermostat/temperature controller.

If it was the element that had gone I would expect the controller to click for on & stay on forever as it would never get up to temp.

Other thing you could check is the power draw (if you have a smart meter thingy). Was it pulling the expected 3kw or whatever your boiler is rated at.

 

[clyne]

There is no thermostat though (unless there is one built into the element?) - it’s just a straight power cord to the each element.

Yep - power draw drops when they click out

 

[JockyBrewer]

What elements are they?

Some ready made boilers have thermal cutouts built in. Or it could just be a dodgy connection somewhere that is getting warm and losing connection.

 

[MashBag]

'm not an expert, but if they were clicking off & on, I would start tooling at thermostat/temperature controller.

Elements normally just get hot or not. Everything else is the controller components.

Is there really is nothing else in the circuit, they will most likely need replacing.

Can you do a couple of pics?

 

[MashBag]

Was it clicking regular like a heart beat or random?
One element or both?
Are both wired together?
Have you tried it in a different socket?

 

[clyne]

Here’s a few pics of the elements. They would click in (and turn on) for a short period, maybe a minute or so and then click off. Like some sort of relay?

These are pics AFTER cleaning. Should gave taken before pics, but they weren’t overly baked.

 

[Donegal john]

The elements have to be controlled by a stat somewhere or else they would turn on and never turn off , it sounds like this control stat is faulty and causing the elements to click on to heat then click off as if they have reached temp then repeat. The stat is connected to a relay. The stat will have a sensor somewhere around the elements and these can go faulty.

 

[MashBag]

The elements have to be controlled by a stat somewhere or else they would turn on and never turn off , it sounds like this control stat is faulty and causing the elements to click on to heat then click off as if they have reached temp then repeat. The stat is connected to a relay. The stat will have a sensor somewhere around the elements and these can go faulty.

They don't "have" to be used with a controller. I built a similar boiler to this many years ago. At the time they were very popular. They are two kettle elements and 2 leads.
Edit: Brew brothers sell a complete unit like this.

Some elements (of this type) do have a cutout thingy in middle - prolly under the red plastic, between the two lives. Or even a pokey hole reset jobby.

It is very odd if they both did it at the same time.

Are you sure it's not damp, dirt or dodgy leccy.....
Or anything rise beginning with D

 

[MashBag]

I do think a test and a deep clean might fix these, but without trying to hard these are still available.

2.4KW Kettle Element Kit

 

[lancon]

Backers kettle elements have a cutout at 100c built in. I discovered and bought brewbuilders 3kw as replacement

 

[MashBag]

Yeah. I found some do, some don't. And you can't ask before purchasing, 'cos most people don't know what you are talking about.

 

[MashBag]

Backers kettle elements have a cutout at 100c built in. I discovered and bought brewbuilders 3kw as replacement

Good shout.
Looking at a few pics on Google, you might have nailed it. @clyne 's element does look like a Backer (with a stainless collar)


https://www.backerelectric.com/shop/kettle-type/

 

[lancon]

Backers element has a round middle pin (iirc), needed specific lead. CEF were suppliers. I just mentioned Backers as other elements probably/possibly the same.

 

[clyne]

Thanks guys, good info here, much appreciated! I’m going to give it another go with water now that I’ve cleaned them up and see how it goes. I’ll keep you up to date

 

[Donegal john]

They don't "have" to be used with a controller. I built a similar boiler to this many years ago. At the time they were very popular. They are two kettle elements and 2 leads.
Edit: Brew brothers sell a complete unit like this.

Some elements (of this type) do have a cutout thingy in middle - prolly under the red plastic, between the two lives. Or even a pokey hole reset jobby.

It is very odd if they both did it at the same time.

Are you sure it's not damp, dirt or dodgy leccy.....
Or anything rise beginning with D

Ok they don’t “have” to have a stat of some sort on them but the fact they both cut out at the same time and they both start up again at the same time and keep repeating this process would lead to a dodgy control stat of some sort.

 

[peterpiper]

If there's two elements, it might be that just one is clicking on-off. And just one on continuously isn't enough for boil.

If there's separate mains leads to each one, try doing a reduced volume water boil test, with just one element connected at a time.

 

[clyne]

Have this a blast today with just a small amount of water but up to boiling temp and happy to report that both elements seem to be working perfect! Looks like they just needed a good scrub and polish

 

[MashBag]

Polish? Inside or out?

 

[clyne]

Not quite a polish Just a good scrub and clean on the outside. I wondered if they were so dirty that it was throwing them off so they thought they were hotter than the actual surrounding water temp? Either way - they seem to be working fine now….probably until the next brew day!