Any harm in pulling the thermo disc thingy on the argos kettle elements ? i just got 45 litres of tap water to an almost boil and the damn things tripped out on me. :'(
Got the boiler conversion up and running tonight finally with 45 litres of tap water, was heating away like a divil then all of a sudden both elements cut out, no LCB's tripped so i am assuming its the thermo disc in the elements themselves? 15mins later and they still will not switch back on :-[
No harm. Snip them and they stop working. Or bend them back till the little grey pin falls out.
Quote from: ColMack on October 04, 2013, 10:34:39 PM
No harm. Snip them and they stop working. Or bend them back till the little grey pin falls out.
I pulled one but before i pulled the second i checked the plugs and it was the plug fuses that blew ::)
How long do ye reckon it should take for 45 litres of tap water @ 19 celsius to reach boiling using two simultaneous 2.2kw argos kettle elements ?
Depends, but get some insulation on your boiler and it was reduce the time drastically
I've never timed mine but it takes a good while to bring 20 odd litres to the boil. I'm insulating my boiler today.
Quote from: ColMack on October 05, 2013, 08:57:30 AM
I've never timed mine but it takes a good while to bring 20 odd litres to the boil. I'm insulating my boiler today.
Last night the 45 litres took 90 mins to reach a boil with both elements. This morning i have 30 litres tap water in there @ 18c to check.
The 30 litres took 70 minutes to reach a 95c boil with both elements. The one element does not hold the boil well enough atm,defo a two element job. Possibly may need to install a third element for practicality purposes.
Insulation and a lid. 2 elements should be fine. Easier to insulate than fit another element also. :)
Quote from: imark on October 05, 2013, 11:56:35 AM
Insulation and a lid. 2 elements should be fine. Easier to insulate than fit another element also. :)
Yes must dig out some silver radiator insulation or that silver backed bubble wrap stuff used in attics.
If it's being used as a boil kettle, wouldn't insulating it affect the the rate of cooling with an immersion chiller?
Quote from: Beer Baron on October 05, 2013, 01:48:57 PM
If it's being used as a boil kettle, wouldn't insulating it affect the the rate of cooling with an immersion chiller?
Sure would Baron m8 but have decided to use the keg as my HLT nowand will be converting my stock pot soon to use as my wort boiler ;D
Quote from: Beer Baron on October 05, 2013, 01:48:57 PM
If it's being used as a boil kettle, wouldn't insulating it affect the the rate of cooling with an immersion chiller?
It shouldn't make much of a difference because the immersion chiller will be doing all the hard work.
Quote from: LordEoin on October 05, 2013, 02:11:36 PM
Quote from: Beer Baron on October 05, 2013, 01:48:57 PM
If it's being used as a boil kettle, wouldn't insulating it affect the the rate of cooling with an immersion chiller?
It shouldn't make much of a difference because the immersion chiller will be doing all the hard work.
Beg to differ, I had a couple of layers of thermowrap/ silver bubble wrap around my rew keggle, nicely taped up.
Worked great for keeping mash temp (BIAB) and getting to & keeping boil.
First time I used it wort chiller took forever to cool though, until I worked out why it was still so hot, Thermowrap was working perfectly, against me.
(http://Insulation Mk I.JPG)
Now use the Thermowrap (& a foam sleeping bag mat, for extra heat retention) like a lagging jacket (taped around all edges, split down, to allow wrap around kettle), held on with 2 straps for mash & boil, removed when chilling - works a dream.
(http://Insulation Mk II.JPG)