Briko Urn Thermostat Cutting Out On Boil

[Phoney]

Yesterday I did a 2.5 hour boil with a high gravity wort (1.080 OG), and for the last hour of the boil the thermostat kept cutting in and out. That was with the temperature dial set to 110C. It would be on for about 20 seconds, then would turn off for about 10 - 15 seconds. The boil was more of a simmer than the usual vigorous rolling boil that I'm used to.

The urn is around 3 years old and has been going strong for 100+ brews beforehand, though I dont usually boil for this long nor make beers this big.

Im going to soak & scrub the element with PBW in case it's covered in crud that is letting it get too hot, but I am wondering if anyone else had this issue?

Cheers

 

[Truman42]

Yes I have, its the overload/ overheat protection cutting the element and stopping it burning out.

You can either remove this safey feature but Ive read on here that many that have done this ended up with burnt out elements. YMMV

Or you can scrape the element plate with a long handled flat mash paddle or scrubbing brush which Ive done when I had a similar issue trying to reach boil.

I assume its a concealed element??

 

[Phoney]

It's a Birko, they dont come with concealed elements. And the safety feature that folks on here bypass is for Crown urns.