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Not getting 240 Volts to my elements

 
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Doubleplugga




Joined: 31 Aug 2012
Posts: 42
Location: Perth, Australia

Drinking: Store bought craft beer

Working on: Ruthless Rye clone!


PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2016 12:42 am    Post subject: Not getting 240 Volts to my elements Reply with quote


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Hi guys. Well after using my brewery for 2 years with no problems I decided to check out why my HLT and Boil kettle don't seem to get up to temp as quick as everyone says.
I got out my multi meter and did some checks. So I have 240 volts going into my panel as I checked the input socket, but when I switch on either my HLT element or boil element there is only 220-223 volts being fed to them. Is it common to lose 10 or so volts through the wiring in the panel or is this just he way it is? Doesn't seem right to me.

I can't figure it out!

Cheers guys.

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hbohnet




Joined: 22 Sep 2013
Posts: 33
Location: Canmore, AB


PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2016 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am no electronic guru but believe measuring the output voltage of SSR's with a multimeter does not give accurate results. The waveform is chopped up and not a smooth sine wave like the input. A "true RMS" multimeter might give better results but that I am not sure of. I think monitoring the current is the best way to tell your elements are performing normally. Hope this helps.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:23 pm    Post subject: Re: Not getting 240 Volts to my elements Reply with quote

Doubleplugga wrote:
So I have 240 volts going into my panel as I checked the input socket

Is that under load (ie: an element running, lots of current flowing) or just idle? What does the amp meter read?

Quote:
but when I switch on either my HLT element or boil element there is only 220-223 volts being fed to them.

Where are you measuring this exactly? Same spot as above? And when you say "when I switch on my HLT element" you mean the element is firing and drawing lots of current? What does the amp meter read?

What does the volt meter on the panel read in both situations?

Quote:
Is it common to lose 10 or so volts through the wiring in the panel or is this just he way it is? Doesn't seem right to me.

You shouldn't lose anything in the (relatively speaking) short distances used in the panel. If you measure the voltage going into the panel and compare to that going out to the heating elements it should measure the same.

Assuming you have a standard panel as described in our build instructions here, it's normal however for the voltage displayed on the volt meter to sag (lower) a bit under load vs no load, depending on the quality of your electrical service. It may not be all that uncommon in some cases to see 240V on the volt meter when you first turn it on and no element are running (only 0.1A or so shown on the amp meter) and then have that 240V drop to 230V whenever an element fires (23A or so shown on the amp meter). This voltage would measure the same anywhere in the panel (input side vs at the heating elements).

Kal

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