How to use the Tesco Value kettle heating element

[BrotherMalice]

That would be great if you dont mind mate? - how much do you think 2nd class would be?

 

[tazuk]

can not see it costing a lot not got one to put on scales its up to you m8 pm me ill get how many you want :thumb:

That would be great if you dont mind mate? - how much do you think 2nd class would be?

 

[burt]

Ref Big yin date of post sept 01/2010 pic 12 the small disc with white paste is a over heat trip the past is heat conductive ,this is not an earth .not being picky in fact the post helped me mend my kettle so many thanks for it .but as a safety thing i just thought i should point it out

from burt

 

[BigYin]

Cheers burt - I've updated the post :thumb:

 

[lynchy]

Hi there i am looking to build on of these boilers but was wondering if you could get away with one elemen instead of 2? Has anyone done this or at least tried to boil the water with just one of the elements on?

 

[Dieseljockey]

Hi there i am looking to build on of these boilers but was wondering if you could get away with one elemen instead of 2? Has anyone done this or at least tried to boil the water with just one of the elements on?

In general you fit two...one element would take a hell of a time to get to a rolling boil. Then when you hit a rolling boil you can switch one off, then one should hold a nice boil for the time that you want for your brew.

 

[BigYin]

You certainly can build it with one element, but it will take a lot longer to reach the boil, and if the element fails you have no backup..

 

[BrotherMalice]

I only use mine with 1 to be honest, takes about an hour to get up to boiling, a little longer to get to a good rolling boil

 

[lynchy]

1 hour isnt that bad if you are only using one. I am only going to be doing extract brewing so since brewdays dont take as along as AG brewdays it wouldnt bother me waiting that bit longer to get the boil going.

 

[Asalpaws]

Can some one tell me which bit I should remove so the heat trip doesn't go off? Also with the new Tesco value kettles, have people removed the switch bit? Many thanks Tom

 

[TRXnMe]

I can get a rolling boil with mine and haven't removed either of them...

Like you I didn't know so left them to see what would happen, after all I reasoned it's easy to remove the elements if necessary :)

I have also left the switch for now, it will probably have to come off before long so I can put some sort of cover over the connections, but for now there are no exposed conductors so I'm reasonably happy while it's only me using the thing and it's on a good solid base :)

 

[Asalpaws]

One of the main reasons for building my own boiler is that the Brewpacks boiler I've been using, constantly trips. So if possible I would like to remove the heat trip. I was going to use an old chutney barrel. Thanks, think I will leave the switch in situ. T

 

[BigYin]

Can some one tell me which bit I should remove so the heat trip doesn't go off? Also with the new Tesco value kettles, have people removed the switch bit? Many thanks Tom

That metal disc in between your thumb and finger in the pic - I bent it up (outwards), and when one element started cutting out, I bent it up even more, and it's been working fine ever since.

 

[Asalpaws]

Cool, thanks BY, I'm currently faffing with connecting up the flex, found some crimps that fit to the plug nice and tight. Just need to insulate them, could easily imagine an arc happening!

I noticed that behind the copper disk is a tiny grey rod. I presume that this gets pushed in and causes a trip when the copper plate gets hot. Thus I removed the little spoil sport.

 

[TRXnMe]

You either need some heat shrink, or a kettle connector from Maplin :)

I used some 30 amp connectors on mine, lightly shaved so they'd fit, but the reaction from the other forum bods who have done this wasn't good, so I'd not suggest that.

 

[Asalpaws]

TBH I would prefer a kettle flex, however the maplin ones seem to be rated only too 10 watt ?

http://http://mobile.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=42706

 

[Mr BR]

yeah 10watts is more than enough if you work it out,cant remember the exact formula but when i was doing my keggle i worked it all out and the 10w one was ok,if it aint ok then a guess somebody will be along to tell me different

 

[TRXnMe]

Do you mean 10 Amps?

10 Amps multiplied by 240 Volts give 2,400 Watts, about your average kettle element

I also think there is some EU legislation preventing the kettle element from exceeding 10 Amps, not sure, and can't find the UK regs, but I read it on a forum somewhere*.....


*it's on the internet, it must be true

 

[Asalpaws]

Sounds good the element I have is 2200 volts, Somthing like power (watts) = current (amps) x volts, one of the many things that's faded away since leaving school!

 

[Mr BR]

yeah amps not watts is what i ment