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Vibrating element

 
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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 664
Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

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PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 12:30 am    Post subject: Vibrating element Reply with quote


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Anyone ever had an element vibrate? Today my BK element vibrated so hard it made the coil in the HLT shake. It felt like a compressor running. Once the boil started the vibrations stopped.
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kal
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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: Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Never experienced it myself. Can you tell us about your setup? Maybe post some pictures?

Kal

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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 664
Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

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PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kal wrote:
Never experienced it myself. Can you tell us about your setup? Maybe post some pictures?

Kal

Having trouble uploading from my iPhone. I'll add them tomorrow.

I have a clone of your system. Not exactly the same. I had to save money where I could. For example I only used the auber pid for the boil kettle. The other two are the T4's
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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Location: Ottawa, Canada

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


PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The more information you can provide the better.

Kal

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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 664
Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

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PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kal wrote:
The more information you can provide the better.

Kal


My BK has the non-stainless element you recommended before you started recommending the SS one.

I've brewed on this system about a dozen times and never had the vibrating issue. Only thing that changed was I used to have some rubber under the BK that I removed and placed some thin cloth like material under the kettle. The kettle is old and abused. So it doesn't sit flat. Once I figured out where the vibration was coming from I grabbed some shims and wedged them under the kettle. Not sure if it helped or not but seemed to reduce the vibrations a bit. Then the wort started to boil and it stopped.



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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While I've never seen or heard of it, it could be a defective element (?).

While probably not related, your boil element needs a good cleaning. It shouldn't have that white crusty stuff on it. If left on, over time it could char/burn ruining a batch. I wipe it off after brewing with a sponge before it dries. (Very easy to do).

Kal

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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
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Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

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PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kal wrote:
While I've never seen or heard of it, it could be a defective element (?).

While probably not related, your boil element needs a good cleaning. It shouldn't have that white crusty stuff on it. If left on, over time it could char/burn ruining a batch. I wipe it off after brewing with a sponge before it dries. (Very easy to do).

Kal


Kal,
Thanks for the heads up! Didn't know that.
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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
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Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

Working on: Nothing


PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How do you recommend I clean this one at this point? Just boil some water and than wipe down? Or could I use a vinegar cleaner?
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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Location: Ottawa, Canada

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


PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd throw a scoop of this in with enough water to cover the element and set the temp to around 170F for an hour:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/OxiClean-Baby-or-Free-oxygen-based-cleaner

Should just wipe off then if not already completely clean.

Kal

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Ozarks Mountain Brew




Joined: 22 May 2013
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Location: The Ozark Mountains of Missouri


PostLink    Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

if you've been extremely lazy "guilty" Ive found it very hard to clean off the baked on sugar so Im resorting to good old oven cleaner and man it worked

Ive had a pot vibrate and shake but it was boiling rapidly and had an uneven bottom on the kettle


Last edited by Ozarks Mountain Brew on Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:32 am; edited 1 time in total
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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
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Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

Working on: Nothing


PostLink    Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OxyClean Free did the trick!
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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Location: Ottawa, Canada

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


PostLink    Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent!

I don't use it myself after every brew - I find that just wiping quickly (30 seconds) with a sponge is fine. About once a year I'll do the one hour at 170F with some oxy just to get everything super-clean again.

Kal

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mikehoover




Joined: 14 Feb 2015
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PostLink    Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:26 pm    Post subject: Vibration Reply with quote

Ever find an answer to the original poster's question? My kettle vibrates while heating up. When the boil begins, the vibration stops. I call it the China Syndrome. I can feel the deck vibrating when this happens. My system is a 240V, 5500W SS element powered by a 30A box. Most of my brews start with almost 8 gallons in the kettle and the vibration is subdued. Lately I have had cause to start with 5.5 or 6.5 gallons in the kettle and the vibration is more pronounced, I might assumed, due to less damping with less wort. All else seems to be working just fine.
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kal
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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: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:47 pm    Post subject: Re: Vibration Reply with quote

mikehoover wrote:
Ever find an answer to the original poster's question? My kettle vibrates while heating up. When the boil begins, the vibration stops. I call it the China Syndrome. I can feel the deck vibrating when this happens. My system is a 240V, 5500W SS element powered by a 30A box. Most of my brews start with almost 8 gallons in the kettle and the vibration is subdued. Lately I have had cause to start with 5.5 or 6.5 gallons in the kettle and the vibration is more pronounced, I might assumed, due to less damping with less wort. All else seems to be working just fine.

The original post above is still the first I've ever heard of a vibrating element. What element are you using? Could you post a few pictures? How many elements are you using and where? Does it happen with all elements? The more information, the better.

I would imagine that if an element is vibrating so much that you feel the floor (deck) vibrating that the element may be defective.

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 664
Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

Working on: Nothing


PostLink    Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Vibration Reply with quote

mikehoover wrote:
Ever find an answer to the original poster's question? My kettle vibrates while heating up. When the boil begins, the vibration stops. I call it the China Syndrome. I can feel the deck vibrating when this happens. My system is a 240V, 5500W SS element powered by a 30A box. Most of my brews start with almost 8 gallons in the kettle and the vibration is subdued. Lately I have had cause to start with 5.5 or 6.5 gallons in the kettle and the vibration is more pronounced, I might assumed, due to less damping with less wort. All else seems to be working just fine.


Not 100% sure but I think it was vibrating because of how dirty my element was. After I gave it a good cleaning the vibrations never came back. I've since sold those keggles and now have a different setup.

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