KegKing Heating element shorting out...

[_Mick_]

Morning all,
Had a shocker of a brew day/arv/night yesterday all because my new heating element shorted out my house whenever i tried to turn it on.
This was going to be the first brew moving from gas HLT to electric...
The element worked fine when i bought it (did a test run with a full HLT) but as soon as brew day comes along it didnt want to play the game...
Im not very electic savy so if anyone has some ideas it would be greatly appriciated, Id prefer not to have to replace it but if its stuffed I guess I have no choice.

(its the 2200W stainless one if that helps)

Cheers
Mick

 

[fraser_john]

There is a thread regarding these very elements, everyone has had lots of trouble. I have one and suspect it is getting close to failing, the cord has worked its way out of the plastic bung and gets very soft every time I use it. Poor quality control by the manufacturer and Keg King should be looking closely at who supplies them. I am buying a new one from 5 Star distilling, comes with housing, plug and everything for just $100. Far better.

This one http://www.5stardistilling.net/element-guard-2400w/

 

[mombius hibachi]

If it goes boom every time you turn it on its stuffed...
If your rcd trips, then its likely there is a tiny amount of moisture in the element which is tripping the rcd. Element is fine, but you need to get rid of the moisture.
You can do this by plugging it in to a non-rcd protected outlet, with the element immersed in water, carefully!
Or maybe a gentle blow torch from the tip to the base might work?
Its surprising that you've already run the element and there's still moisture....
I have four of these elements in my brewery, as long as there isn't too much weight hanging on the power lead, they seem to go ok (going on 2 years)...
Good luck!

 

[jonnir]

Those 5star units don't come with the plug and cable and you've gotta get an electrician to wire it

 

[TheWiggman]

Welcome to the club. It is stuffed. Don't buy another one the same.

 

[_Mick_]

If it goes boom every time you turn it on its stuffed...
If your rcd trips, then its likely there is a tiny amount of moisture in the element which is tripping the rcd. Element is fine, but you need to get rid of the moisture.
You can do this by plugging it in to a non-rcd protected outlet, with the element immersed in water, carefully!
Or maybe a gentle blow torch from the tip to the base might work?
Its surprising that you've already run the element and there's still moisture....
I have four of these elements in my brewery, as long as there isn't too much weight hanging on the power lead, they seem to go ok (going on 2 years)...
Good luck!

There is not "boom" or noise as such, it just trips the circuit breker on the houses swich board corresponding to the powerpoint its attached to.
I hope your right about it just being a little moisture in it, ill take it out this arv and try to dry it out.

Thanks,
Mick

 

[_Mick_]

Welcome to the club. It is stuffed. Don't buy another one the same.

I see...
Well I'll try to dry out any moisture and see if that helps but if not I guess I wont be suprissed if it is stuffed.
As the saying goes "you get what you pay for"
wont be a tight arse next time...

 

[sp0rk]

Have you got the old one with the screw on black nylon tube, or the newer one with the molded rubber fitting?
If it's the latter, I don't think you'll be able to get it dried out as it's sealed
Where did you buy it from?

 

[mofox1]

Damn - what a bummer intro to electric.

Most likely you'll need to replace the element (not unheard of for the keg king ones)... although make sure you're using it on a dedicated circuit (or everything else is turned off) just in case the beer fridge was helping with the overload.

If it's an RCD breaker that's tripping it could be an earth leakage. Multimeter tests between the neutral/earth and active/earth pins on the element plug may identify this... also test with the pot wall instead of the earth pin.

If it's an earth leakage, or you're sure it's shorting out, then get onto keg king... they know the drill. Or, order a Camco one from Amazon (from about $25 delivered), and get a sparky to wire up a suitable extension lead for it.

Other more expensive (probably more reliable too) options out there, can't vouch for any but I've heard names like 5 Star and an AHB'er going by Punkel(?) that do nice SS elements... OBS has got some elements as well, plenty of choice out there.

Good luck...

 

[chrisluki]

Hey guys

I had the same thing happen last week with mine.

Got hold of Kee from KK and he had no dramas with sending me a replacement under warranty.

Not sure why, but he asked me to take a grinder to the element and shoot him a photo of it chopped in half?

2 days later a brand spanking new one arrived in the mail...think it might be a new version that wont have the same issues?

Cheers

Chris

 

[_Mick_]

Have you got the old one with the screw on black nylon tube, or the newer one with the molded rubber fitting?
If it's the latter, I don't think you'll be able to get it dried out as it's sealed
Where did you buy it from?

Looks like the old one mate, has the screw on black tube.
bought it here in coffs from Country brewer.

 

[jc64]

Oh yeah!! More Keg King element nightmare stories. Search for that thread I think QldKev started, it's a ripper. :blink:

 

[sp0rk]

Looks like the old one mate, has the screw on black tube.
bought it here in coffs from Country brewer.

Take it back and get Matt to return it, I've already told him about the issues
Matt's got one of the new ones with a fully sealed end, hopefully that SHOULD put an end to this business with these elements blowing

 

[TheWiggman]

2 days later a brand spanking new one arrived in the mail...think it might be a new version that wont have the same issues?

All versions of this element I believe are the new version with no issues. There are two versions I know of, the latter being the updated version without the same issues as the last.
The one that throws blue sparks and occasionally earths out like mine (and many others') did.

I'm personally very wary of these elements based on reports from many on this site. Even if there was a newer version, there are proven alternatives out there.
I'm keen to hear the difference with this new one you got Chris. If you get 5 brews out of it, please report back.

 

[chrisluki]

All versions of this element I believe are the new version with no issues. There are two versions I know of, the latter being the updated version without the same issues as the last.
The one that throws blue sparks and occasionally earths out like mine (and many others') did.

I'm personally very wary of these elements based on reports from many on this site. Even if there was a newer version, there are proven alternatives out there.
I'm keen to hear the difference with this new one you got Chris. If you get 5 brews out of it, please report back.

Yeah i only got 3 brews out of the original one, hope for better on this one...yet to fire it up. Looks exactly that same as my old one.

If i don't use this one, i have a nice 22mm hole in my keg i need to patch!!

 

[sp0rk]

Yeah i only got 3 brews out of the original one, hope for better on this one...yet to fire it up. Looks exactly that same as my old one.

If i don't use this one, i have a nice 22mm hole in my keg i need to patch!!

The 5 Star weldless element will fit in the same hole

 

[2much2spend]

Had the same thing Happened to me in Monday, kept tripping the RCD.
I'm now looking for a good one from a distillers shop but getting confused about the ultra low and the super low density elements.

Mine was about 3 yrs old too

 

[_Mick_]

Take it back and get Matt to return it, I've already told him about the issues
Matt's got one of the new ones with a fully sealed end, hopefully that SHOULD put an end to this business with these elements blowing

Yeah, I'll get over there and see him this week.

 

[AntonW]

I've had no trouble with the new moulded ones. They're good and cheap. I'd still prefer a nice stainless housing, but the moulding is a fair compromise for the price.

Good luck with it.

 

[mofox1]

Had the same thing Happened to me in Monday, kept tripping the RCD.
I'm now looking for a good one from a distillers shop but getting confused about the ultra low and the super low density elements.

Mine was about 3 yrs old too

Ultra low / super low (watt density) just refers to the amount of heat per unit of element surface area.

If it's for a HLT it shouldn't matter what the energy density is***. If it's for a kettle/rims element then it still probably doesn't matter too much... basically a "high" watt density element is more likely to scorch the wort than a "low" watt density element, and super low and ultra low both sound pretty low. If there's not much price difference (and they both put out the same overall watts), then go whichever one is the lowest (super? ultra? eh - now I know why you're confused... I reckon ultra sounds cooler than super).

FWIW... My kettle uses a 3500W "ultra low" w/d element, my HLT uses a "high" w/d element.

***An ultra/super low w/d element is more likely to survive an accidental "dry firing", than a high w/d element.