Elements in boiler stuggling late on in boil

[barkar]

Hi i have 2 tesco elements in the boiler ,I was boiling 50 litres or so last weekend, I put an stc thermometer probe in the boiler , at the start of boil it got up to 100 ( alarm goes off on STC), later in the boil it beccame less vigourous, i was looking at between 97 - 98 c , is this due to the elements having to work harder due to getting coated with material ie hops or sugars ? or maybe the water is hard in our area ( i treat my mash with ph 5.2 stabiliser so this should be sufficient) I might consider getting  stainless mesh of #80 or something to make a housing to prevent them getting less coated . Any electric brewers have experience of this ? I brew in a shed but it wasnt that cold the weekend to warrant the boiler to struggle , when i was cleaning i noticed the elements where well coated ( i scrub them clean after every brew so these were shiny beforehand)

[johnrm]

Do you hear a click from your boiler?
This might be the dry-boil/safety in the element kicking in.
Remember, these elements were designed to hit 100 and then shut out.
Discussed here...
http://nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,178.0.html

[Will_D]

My 1060 or 70 wort boils at about 102C.

Kettle elements have a boil dry safety cut out that is set to some statiscal arbitrary value ( due to manufacturing tolerance).

So if your safety cuts out at 104c then happy days! If it cuts out at 101.5C then there is a problem.

The above applies to CLEAN elements! Any crud will cause the element to locally heat up and then naturally the safety switch will cut you off!

The only way to be certain is to bypass the boil dry switch and connect directly to the elements.

If you are NOT SURE WHAT YOU ARE DOING DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

Get an experienced hacker to help you!

[barkar]

Hi don't think that's it removed the little disk and the pin dropped out, in the element.I left the lights on the elements, they were lit for duration of boil

[johnrm]

Clean your elements.
Put enough plain water in to cover them.
Switch it on and see can you get your water to a rolling boil.
If it does then its more than likely the crud on the elements.

Is one element not rolling or both?

[barkar]

No both were rolling but were struggling to maintain the temp , I think the crud plays a part in it I might cover them

[biertourist]

Bypass the dry-boil safety and thermal switch for sure.

I took it to a local computer shop in Dun Laoghaire and they soldered mine for free; worked like a dream after that.


Adam

[johnrm]

Can  you post pics?
clean and dirty element, front and back of the electrics?

[Ciderhead]

I'd leave on your dry boil (elf and safety and all that) and get an old toothbrush and start scrubbing, with a cleaner if it helps.
I never had one cut out, 15 argos (some 90Min) boils and no probs.
Really important to do this at the end of every boil, I know its a pain but like your teeth will last a lifetime

[barkar]

Hi will post a pic of a spare element i have they have similar inards to what i am using, i siliconed my elements to the pot as i noted a slight seep when doing water test with just silicone baking rings (had been using them for years before one cut out a couple of weeks, toook apart cleaned and sealed) . Might need to just insulate the hell out of the pot (100l- its abig pot !) or cover part of the top when boiling , i know there can be an issue re dms  if completely coverred

[johnrm]

Not the answer you want, but if you've got a few years out of the elements it might be time to invest...