I've noticed that one of my elements in my HLT is going rusty. If cleaned off, will this do any harm to the brew?
Picture of it close up?
Sent from my Fukushima Daiichi Geiger counter
Are you sure it isn't just crud?
That's what I was thinking?
Sent from my Fukushima Daiichi Geiger counter
I'll post a photo later. This element is old. Came with the brupaks boiler 5 years ago. I've used all sorts to clean crud off it in the past which has long since removed any chrome that was on it.
Photo attached.
Holy rusted iron Batman. Time for a new element.
Oh Jesus!
Time for a new element!
That could be dangerous
Wort is acidic, you need to scrub elements after use and rinse with water, that looks corroded like it was stored with a squirt of starsan or some other aggressive chemical
Edit
Rossa I wrote time for a new element first ya big copy cat
NO kettle element can rust! They don't use Iron!
Elements are usually either Inconnel (a nickle allow) or some form of tinned bronze.
Just make up a strong solution of citric acid ( say a Tablespoon in 1/2 litre of hot water and steep the element.
This will disolve any oxides of copper and other things like lime scale.
If there is also baked on crud then use W5/VWP/Caustic soda first but finish with the citric acid!
HTH!
I find that the element itself is often relatively rust-resistant. Its the mounting block that will rust easily. One way to reduce the rusting is to coat the exposed surface of the mounting block with silicone seal (RTV). That helps isolate the metal from the wort. It works well since that block is not heated like the element is. I've found that you can use regular silicone seal and there is no need to use high-temperature silicone seal.
This is a HLT element, so has not boiled wort in almost a year, water only. So it's unlikely to be crud or burnt on wort. I'll give it a clean with some Vanish oxi and citric acid and repost a picture.
Please as Will is never wrong:)
Sent from my divining rod v2.0
I defer to the Chemists but..... is your water tank ( in attic) coated in a brown oxidey layer. It could be an accumulation/oxidation of that on your HLT element?
After a ten min soak in a citric acid solution, this is how the element looks now. Good man Will!
Oh wow, Will does it again :) where did you get the CA and how much water did you add?
Did it fizz?
You should be able to get citric acid in a pharmacy
You can get citric acid in Indian shops too, it's great for making fresh paneer.
Sent using a complex system of semaphore and ninjas.
Got some from the brew shop. Use it in my gingerbeer :-\
Quote from: mabrungard on September 19, 2013, 02:54:58 PM
I find that the element itself is often relatively rust-resistant. Its the mounting block that will rust easily. One way to reduce the rusting is to coat the exposed surface of the mounting block with silicone seal (RTV). That helps isolate the metal from the wort. It works well since that block is not heated like the element is. I've found that you can use regular silicone seal and there is no need to use high-temperature silicone seal.
When you say silicone do you mean the sort you would use to deal around the edge of a bath or sink? If so I would not recommend this as it is not food safe.
Shanna
Quote from: Shanna on September 21, 2013, 02:41:46 PM
When you say silicone do you mean the sort you would use to deal around the edge of a bath or sink? If so I would not recommend this as it is not food safe.
Yes, that is the stuff. Its also used on aquariums. I would not worry much about that since the material is inert. But if you are concerned, there are food-safe versions of silicone seal.
Enjoy!
Quote from: Ciderhead on September 20, 2013, 09:03:40 PM
Oh wow, Will does it again :) where did you get the CA and how much water did you add?
Did it fizz?
Approx. 1 tablespoon in a litre of hot water (as per Will's instruction). It fizzed where it was in contact with the element alright.
It did a lovely job, though I still have some very hard carbonised black stuff on the hard to reach areas that I couldn't remove.