# Scorched 15a plug



## Mr. No-Tip (10/1/15)

I suppose if better replace this frowny fella. Any idea what I might have done to get this black eye?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (10/1/15)

dirty contact....to much current....shit plug....but at some stage it has gotten hot

By the way..what is the socket off...its not a standard australian style plug


----------



## Mr. No-Tip (10/1/15)

It's a 240v 15a plug. I thought it was the standard equivalent of a kettle cord - it's not?

Purchased by a craftbrewer employee, I imagine from jay car, when speidel forgot to send an aussie plug.

It certainly gets fair warm during use. I posted about this in the Braumeister thread to see if most people's controllers/heat sinks/plugs got mad hot during use but no one replied.


----------



## superstock (10/1/15)

Not current rated? Plug disconected while live? Plug and socket pins not making contact causing arcing?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (10/1/15)

arcing would be my first guess...getting warm is not a good sign


----------



## Mr. No-Tip (10/1/15)

superstock said:


> Plug disconected while live?


It's been kicked out by accident at least once.

Jeez, electricity is hard.


----------



## TheWiggman (10/1/15)

Looks like a C19/20 plug, rated for 16A and common in server rooms. As Stu said, poor contact on that pin. Don't try and think too hard about it, electricity is a funny thing.
There's a chance the issue might be on the socket too, if you can it wouldn't hurt to replace the pair.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip (10/1/15)

TheWiggman said:


> If you can it wouldn't hurt to replace the pair.


It's a brave man that opens op a german engineered PID. I am not he.

Probably going to upgrade to the new BM controllers if they aren't ridic expensive though, so that will replace the socket.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (10/1/15)

if the plug is inbuilt and part of the assembly...then good luck


----------



## spog (10/1/15)

NAEA = not an electricians arsehole,that's me,if the plug/connection/ lead / PowerPoint is getting hot during use get it checked. FFS get it checked
If any plug shows signs of scorching or heat distortion bin it,same goes for any power lead that starts to become difficult to roll up or developes lumps,or starts to coil like a pigs tail. Bin it
Too much is being drawn through the leads or connections in such cases.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (10/1/15)

spog said:


> If any plug shows signs of scorching or heat distortion bin it,same goes for any power lead that starts to become difficult to roll up or developes lumps,or starts to coil like a pigs tail. Bin it
> Too much is being drawn through the leads or connections in such cases.


Bang on brother....

My views have been made well clear on here regarding electricity. Dont **** with it. It CAN KILL YOU. I make no apologies. Period


----------



## wynnum1 (11/1/15)

If running electric element could the element be faulty and using higher amps then rated.


----------



## zwitter (14/1/15)

It is the correct plug and "should" handle 16 amps. Could be poor quality, not fully inserted, poor internal contact with lead, under sized cable in the lead, dirty contact in plug or socket.
When they get hot it gets worse.
Chuck it and get a new one preferably a good brand. Inspect and clean the socket.

Regular job where I work.
James


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


----------



## elcarter (14/1/15)

Check the pins on the the other side. I bet they need a clean.

Electrical contact cleaner, scotch bright " green" and tooth brush. Get it nice and bright. Wait for the contact cleaner to evaporate before plugging back in.

Replace cord and test. Switch off and feel for any heat in small intervals. If it gets hot again cease and go see a sparky.

Have has this issue with 30+ and 50+ amp Anderson plugs when the contact surface is too small for the amperage. Arcs, gets less contact surface and continues to get worse until total failure or fire.


----------



## Mr. No-Tip (8/2/15)

So I've replaced the cable as per advice. Also cleaned the terminals.

After a couple brews I've found time to paid a bit more attention to where the heat is sitting. It's still decently warm at the Braumeister connection - I'd love if a BM user could let me know if this is normal. I've also paid attention to the source powerpoint for once. It's noticably warm at that point too. The plug is warm, and the outlet is 'not room temp' if that makes sense.

Does this point to a more fundamental issue from the outlet?


----------



## elcarter (8/2/15)

Stupid question but you replaced the plug but is the cord 15amp? Also your plugging it into a rated 15amp outlet?

Your looking at a minimum 2.5mm strands of copper wire for 15 amp.

Edit;

BM 50 specific details;

› Heating coil: 3,200W output › Pump: 2x9W › Power supply connection: 230V (fuse protection min. 16A) › Control system: fully automatic brewing control (temperature, time, pump) › Max. malt quantity: 13kg


Your just over 14 amps with just the element and pumps. (calc at 230V as most mains is below 240V solar ect)

Units protection is designed for 16amps - fuse.

I'm assuming the controller pulls bugger all.

Running this on a 15 amp circuit should be fine as your still under "mathematicaly" what it should be pulling.

If you house power is well below 230 then the amps begin to rise some more.


----------



## MitchD (8/2/15)

I wouldn't be worried about it if its not scorching the plug every brew. Heat is a by product of current flow. Scorching isn't caused by a little heat but a very loose connection. Rest assured if you have switchboard with circuit breakers you will be fine. But for peace of mind yua are doing the right thing by checking every time.


----------



## DU99 (8/2/15)

we tend to forget about in rush current..when things start up...might be cool saying whole load is so many amp's...


----------



## bigmacthepunker (8/2/15)

ll


----------



## elcarter (8/2/15)

Would rush in current be something to worry about with these components? How long does an amp surge on a 3200w element last for and is that long enough to generate enough heat to be what's occuring?

I'm no licensed electrician but I've just got B type circuit breakers on a 16 amp circuit with a 3800W element. Breaker hasn't tripped yet. My 15 amp cord gets a little warm but I expect that's due to the 25M length of the 15 amp cord pulling up to 16 amps. 

This situation I "estimate" is a short cord with at least 1 amp spare.

Large ac industrialised motors for sure but I'm sure he's not running D type circuit breakers at home.... Or is he <_< ?

edit; who the hell wrote that unreadable, grammatical pile of...



> *Type B *– for domestic/commercial installations without power surges e.g. filament lamps and wall sockets
> *Type C* – for commercial/light industrial installations with switching surges such as fluorescent lighting or small motors
> *Type D* – for abnormally high inrush currents e.g. motors with heavy starting duty


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (8/2/15)

In rush current should not be a problem. It would generally only last a very short time and would not be that great compared to say a large industrail setup that have huge inrush currents that can last a few seconds


----------



## DU99 (8/2/15)

Elcarter..length could be a issue..


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (8/2/15)

DU99 said:


> Elcarter..length could be a issue..


Length is always an issue


----------



## Pokey (8/2/15)

elcarter said:


> Stupid question but you replaced the plug but is the cord 15amp? Also your plugging it into a rated 15amp outlet?
> 
> Your looking at a minimum 2.5mm strands of copper wire for 15 amp.
> 
> ...


Reducing the voltage means you need a larger current to achieve the same power. Reducing voltage and changing nothing else in a resistive circuit (I.e heater element) will reduce the current and the power, not increase current.


----------



## elcarter (8/2/15)

Dammit, wrong way round. Lucky I'm not an electrician.

My length is also just right. Just reaches the brew setup from the shed B)


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (8/2/15)

Pokey said:


> Reducing the voltage means you need a larger current to achieve the same power. Reducing voltage and changing nothing else in a resistive circuit (I.e heater element) will reduce the current and the power, not increase current.


P=V x I

Reduce the the V then you reduce the P.

If you Increase the R then you will decrease the I and P

I is totally dependant on V & R

Plugs are generally rated for current. When it comes to current, the bigger the current, the bigger connector you will need

Note..Things get a bit weird when the I & V are out of phase


----------

