Rusty element?

[St. Fursey]

You should be able to get citric acid in a pharmacy

[Eoin]

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.

[Rats]

Got some from the brew shop. Use it in my gingerbeer 

[Shanna]

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

[mabrungard]

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!

[ColMack]

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.