Element Lights

monsterelf · Joined: 17 May 2017 Posts: 15 Location: Williamston, MI

Hi all, Putting together the 30A control panel kit and having a bit of an issue with the yellow Element lights. Everything is wired and powered up. When I switch between the two elements, the lights turn on as they should, HOWEVER if I actually plug the elements in, the lights do not turn on like they do if the elements aren't plugged in. The relay still clunks and it sounds like everything engages, but the lights just don't turn on.

I haven't tested to see if the elements themselves are actually working since I haven't finished the kettles yet. The PIDs turn on and everything else seems to be lighting up correctly (with the exception of the volt meter which I'm not overly concerned about).

Full disclosure - I know less about electrical wiring than...anyone in the world so Kal's diagrams have been great. Just can't seem to track down the problem with this one. Do I need to get everything else done (elements attached to kettles and submerged so I can be sure their firing) or is there another way to track this down?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...only a few days out from brewing! (hopefully)

**kal** · Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: Element Lights

Welcome to the forum!

monsterelf · Joined: 17 May 2017 Posts: 15 Location: Williamston, MI

Awesome, I'll check it out when I get home tonight. Thanks for the quick reply Kal!

**kal** · Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:05 pm Post subject:

Good luck! Let us know how it works out / if you have any other questions.

Kal

monsterelf · Joined: 17 May 2017 Posts: 15 Location: Williamston, MI

Thanks for the help Kal,

Got my kettles done last night, connected the elements, Submerged them in some water, set the PIDs and everything was working great. I was working my way up to 150F steadily. Once it got to about 140 though, it tripped the breaker. I unplugged, checked all my wiring, etc and everything looks correct. Fired the control panel back up and everything came on normal. PIDs and timer working, pumps working, etc but if I try to turn either of the elements on, it trips again. Turned it back on, set the PIDs to below the current water temp so they wouldn't fire and it tripped again. Turned it back on, unplugged the elements and fired the elements, got the clunk and the yellow lights lit up and nothing tripped but when the elements are plugged in - no matter what I set the PIDs at, it trips. Everything else is working great. Any ideas?

**kal** · Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 3:36 pm Post subject:

What was the original issue with the lights? Did that get resolved?

The GFI breaker popping may be due to a bad heating element. While we've only seen this happen only once in the past (out of thousands sold) it's something to consider. Are both elements tripping by the same way? If yes, it's likely not the elements as the odds of having two faulty ones is extremely low.

Kal

monsterelf · Joined: 17 May 2017 Posts: 15 Location: Williamston, MI

The issue with the lights was exactly what you thought. They must've been lighting up dimmly with nothing actually firing them. Once I got them into the kettles and set the PIDs to fire them, everything worked fine...until I reached about 140F and then it tripped. I can't remember if I tried both elements or just the same element in different receptacles. I will test tonight. I will also do the resistance test you mention in the HOW TO: Testing post. I'll report back.
Thanks!

**kal** · Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 8:00 pm Post subject:

One step at time! Let us know how the testing goes. Good luck!

Kal

monsterelf · Joined: 17 May 2017 Posts: 15 Location: Williamston, MI

Looks like it's an issue with the heating element. The element running the HLT is working perfectly. PID fires it when it needs to and drawing about 22 amps. Heats up real nicely. The BK element trips as soon as it's selected. To ensure it wasn't an issue with the receptacle, i plugged the HLT element into the BK Element receptacle and everything ran fine. Conversely, I ran the BK element out of the HLT connection and it tripped again. I did measure with a multimeter and got a resistance of 10.7 ohms so that part seems to be fine. Maybe a short in the cord somewhere? Checked all connections on the plugs and everything is good and tight. Any other suggestions for troubleshooting?
Thanks for the help!

**kal** · Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 4:22 am Post subject:

Thanks for checking! We saw one case (out of hundreds if not thousands) where something was shorting out inside the actual heating element as it heated up. Replacing it fixed the problem.

Did you purchase this heating element from us? If yes, please email us at SpikeInnovations@TheElectricBrewery.com and we'll work to get this heating element replaced for you ASAP. Sorry for the issues!

Kal

monsterelf · Joined: 17 May 2017 Posts: 15 Location: Williamston, MI

Thanks Kal! Yep, I purchased from you so I will email.
Thanks for all the help!

**kal** · Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:42 pm Post subject:

Email forwarded! We'll get this fixed up for you. Sorry again for the troubles!

Kal

**kal** · Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 8:17 pm Post subject:

Replacing heating element on its way! Sorry for the troubles!

Kal