Kettle heating element wire burnt out - is my element cactus?

[mr_wibble]

G'day,

My kettle failed to heat water past 35C when I turned it on yesterday.
It worked fine 2 weeks ago (last time I turned it on).

So I open up the connector box to find one of the wires has burned out:


The wire is 4mm conductor rated to 20A, 4500w element at 240V ≈ 19A.
It is within specifications in terms of load.

Is this sort of failure caused by the element, wiring, or something else?
Perhaps it was not getting a good connection to the terminal.

Is the element probably going to be cactus?

I guess I can re-wire it this afternoon, but would like to order a new element ASAP it it's going to be stuffed.

thanks,
-kt

 

[MHB]

Mostly its caused by a bac connection between the wire and the element, a drop of water/wort/condensation can lead to a bit of corrosion which causes increased resistance and creates a hot spot.
I like to crimp the wire into an appropriate copper or brass connector, clean the contact point on the element and tighten it up. You can get a paint/paste type stuff that will keep water out of the joint, might be worth asking an electrical supplier what they have available, I know its often used in control boxes and on electrical contacts around swimming pools.
Odds on the element is fine.
Mark

 

[mr_wibble]

Cool, thanks for that.

It's going to be a PITA to disassemble it and repair.
Guess I wasn't planning to brew this weekend anyway.