Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

If it plugs in, post it here.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

Hi guys,

I've got a problem. I have burnt two heating elements in a row now. They get conductive thru a layer that builds up on the heating element, and thus the circuit breaker switches the circuit off.

I have only changed two things since this problem arose.

1. I am using oyster grit as a PH buffer.
2. I am using Fermoplus Integrateur instead of Fermaid K. The difference between these is the Integrateur has ~7% filtering media which is Perlite. It is not noticeable in the look or feel, but you do notice it if you put some on the tongue.

The build up on the heating element easily falls off and look and feels very much alike oyster grit, but more tender and easily broken up.

I cant see anyting suspended in the wash, it looks like it always has. The PH is where it should be, around 4.5.

I am fortunate that i am using cheap watercooker heating elements so it is only ~10$ per lost element, but im not able to run until i figure this out. And i also have around 100L wash made up exactly like this problem wash. It is also quite some work changing the elements.

Anybody out there ever had any similiar problem?
My money lies on that the grit is the culprit.. But I need input from others on this.

Please post if you know anything about this!

Best regards
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

This is the wash recipe, done in 8-9L batches as i am experimenting with fermentation time and nutrient amount.

Yeast is Lalvin Ec-1118
Sugar is white beet sugar, 4-6kg per 25L/6 gallon

Yeast nutrient Fermoplus Integrateur ~ 1g/L or 1tsp/gallon
Extra DAP at ~ 0,5g/L or 1/2 tsp/gallon
Epsom salt 0,1g/L
1pcs B vitamin complex per 8-9L

2-3 tbs "seashell crush", IE crushed seashells, not only oyster shell, there are pieces of both blue mussels and other shells in there. This grit is thoroughly washed before use to remove all dust and debris. As far as I know all seashells are made up of the same Calcium Carbonate. That is also whats specified on the bag, Calcium Carbonate.

The chrushed shells is dumped in the fermenter, and the wash racked off to another bucket and cold cleared before use and i cant see anything floating in the wash or any shells coming over from one bucket to another.

The bottom of the boiler is also free of any debris when the element failed. It is only first when i start fiddling with the element debris collects on the bottom.
I cant see any debris on the bottom of the bucket the wash is in now and as it still is hot i cant check if i feel anything on the bottom, yet. Will do as soon as it is cooler.

WHAT HAPPENED:

I did a Rum wash using Muscovado and golden cane sugar that was the first time i used this seashell grit, together with Fermoplus. The run did go without problems but I let the backset stand in the boiler for several days and when i dumped it i noticed a build up on the heating element. I thought this might be from debris in the muscovado sugar so i pealed of what i could and put a sugar wash in the boiler and started heating it up. When the wash came up to about 50c temp the circuit breaker went off. Happened again after i switched the breaker off.
So i emptied the boiler and found this build up on the heater element again, didnt think it was the reason as i could not see how build up on the outside of the heating element could make the wire inside the element conduct to the water, so my thought was that i had a water leak in to the heating element behind the seal. Tore it apart and found nothing, no leak.

Changed the element to a new element and charged the boiler with the same wash. Same thing happened, build up on the element and the element is unusable even if the build up is peeled of carefully. Under the build up the metal looks fine, a bit burnt but the metal is not corroded or anything like that.

So, does anybody have any insight on this and maybe have had the same happen? I couldn't find anything when searching and I have read almost every single thread on here about oyster grit. Never seen anything about not using it with a electric heating element or anything alike.

As I am using a new nutrient that does contain 7% perlite that is a possible culprit, but at the amount of nutrients i am using there is something like 0,65g perlite in this 8-9L wash, and the build up on the element is a lot more than that from guessing. I really dont think it is the reason, but it could be.

I hope i have provided all the necessary information for a analysis of this issue.

A follow up question arises, what to use as a PH buffer instead of oyster grit? It works like a charm.. Would really like to continue use it but with this issue it most probably isnt possible.
User avatar
Ben
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1292
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:13 am
Location: Colorado

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Ben »

Do you have any information on the chemistry of your water? Its possible something is causing mineral to precipitate when heated, either you already have very hard water and don't need the shells or something else is going on. You may be able to use an anode to solve this, might be something as simple as a magnesium rod dropped in the pot.
:)
User avatar
bunny
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 398
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 8:28 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by bunny »

Rumhead wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 3:21 am Hi guys,

I've got a problem. I have burnt two heating elements in a row now. They get conductive thru a layer that builds up on the heating element, and thus the circuit breaker switches the circuit off.

I have only changed two things since this problem arose.

1. I am using oyster grit as a PH buffer.
2. I am using Fermoplus Integrateur instead of Fermaid K. The difference between these is the Integrateur has ~7% filtering media which is Perlite. It is not noticeable in the look or feel, but you do notice it if you put some on the tongue.

The build up on the heating element easily falls off and look and feels very much alike oyster grit, but more tender and easily broken up.

I cant see anyting suspended in the wash, it looks like it always has. The PH is where it should be, around 4.5.

I am fortunate that i am using cheap watercooker heating elements so it is only ~10$ per lost element, but im not able to run until i figure this out. And i also have around 100L wash made up exactly like this problem wash. It is also quite some work changing the elements.

Anybody out there ever had any similiar problem?
My money lies on that the grit is the culprit.. But I need input from others on this.

Please post if you know anything about this!

Best regards

A typical water heater element run in hard water will accumulate a white buildup.
Until via a crack in the buildup water gets behind it, boils and thus knocks it off the element, usually with a slight pop or bang.
This is why there is a clean-out on your water heater.
Your element is working according to design.

I'm suggesting your problem is not with the element but with your electrical system.
Your breaker is heating up and tripping.
Figure out why.
Could be a number of things including just an un-tight wire that's heating up the breaker.
Good Luck :)
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

Okay thanks!

I live in Sweden where we have some of the best unadulterated water in the world. It is not the water. I checked it before starting to distill and we dont even have any chlore in it, or chloramine. It comes from a lake just 500m from my house which is renowned for its superb fishing. PH is around 8,4. Water is checked daily and uploaded on the web from the water plant.

These elements come from water cookers i have used for some time in my home and they stay as clean as new even after long use. This is also something new, i have done plenty of runs before without this issue, on this water. Only changes made are the ones mentioned above. I check te boiler/element between runs, didnt do it between the Rum run and the first problem run, but did check it before the Rum run and there were no build up.

I got the build up removed. I put the elements in a very strong citric acid solution and they came out looking like new. So im going to put them together and see if they work. Hopefully they will.

If so, then the only problem is finding why this happened. My money is on the oyster grit.

As mentioned i have tore the heater element apart and already replaced one, the problem is this build up, not something else. Worked fine 20min before in pure water, as soon as i put the wash in, build up occured.


I just dump it in the fermentor. Might try to use a bag of some sorts to hold it, see if that helps. I guess it wont, as i cant find anything floating or on the bottom of the fermenter/boiler. I guess the grit reacts with something in the wash when heated, that causes this build up.

I'm making a new mash today without the grit to try that out. Most probably will have some PH issues, and don't have anything else than grit and sodium bicarbonate to solve it.

If you were doing washes and couldn't use oyster grit, how would you manage PH? Raise it when you see an issue, with what substance? Buffer it with something else from start? Does these PH 5.2 buffers for brewing work? I think i've read somewhere on here that they don't work very well..

I get PH problems almost always when doing sugar washes.. i guess partly because we dont have anything in the water to act as a buffer. It is enough to just look at it with citric acid in your hand and the PH goes way way down.

Best regards, Rumhead
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by NZChris »

When I do need to use Calcium Carbonate as a buffer, I use large whole shells as they behave more like a buffer than if they have been smashed or ground.

Slaked lime is better than CC if you need to adjust pH.

What use would perlite be in a sugar wash? You weren't having element problems before you swapped nutrients.
User avatar
Ben
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1292
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:13 am
Location: Colorado

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Ben »

Rumhead wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 12:19 am Okay thanks!

PH is around 8,4.

Does these PH 5.2 buffers for brewing work?
With a starting pH of 8.4 you already have plenty of minerality in the water. It's very likely you don't need the shells at all. Try without.

That buffering solution does work, if you add a crazy amount. Not useful for what brewing/stilling requires. If you want to go down the pH rabit hole you need water chemistry analysis and to add the correct salts, you really can't short cut it. Read here for more info: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=86799
:)
Metalking00
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu May 13, 2021 12:22 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Metalking00 »

You have 2 variables. Make samples with one variable each and one with neither and see what ya come up with.
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

So, i changed the heating element and dumped all mash with grit in them and so now there hasn't been any problems for two runs. In these two, i think, IE don't really remember but now of them should have been sone with the Fermoplus Integratuer which contains perlite as a filtering media.

The Fermoplus is really geared for wine fermentations, i guess thats why they use perlite. But for me here in Scandinavia, 500g/ 1+ lbs of Fermaid K costs 30$ where as one kilo, twice as much of the Fermoplus only costs 15$..

Thats a really simple choice for me, Fermoplus is what i will use as long as it isnt the reason for my problems which i don't think it is.

A kilo of pure DAP costs 25$ so it is even cheaper than DAP.

Anyway, i am at the moment doin fermentations with ordinary baking yeast as i was quite impressed of the test run i did.

I am going to buy slaked lime for pH adjustment. These bakers yeast sugar washes had a pH drop down to about 3,2 so i adjusted them up to 4,2-4,5 with sodium bicarbonate.

I wonder, where is the line for too low pH, at what value should I adjust?
The fermentation where doing just fine at around 3,2-3,4.
This one is important for me to get an answer to.

I have also bought several fruit/vegetables net bags that have quite tight polyester net, i think they are for boiling things without getting the water full of whats in the bag. When i have done a few more successful fermentations without a burnt out element im going to try shell grit again, as damn, it worked soo fine for me..

I have the water reports for my water, it is quite soft. Not hard at all just a high pH. Residual alkalinity 52 mg/l, Ca 33, Mg 1,5, Na 6,8, Cl 36, So 7,7 and 4,9° dH

So it is quite soft ordinary Scandinavian tap water.
User avatar
Salt Must Flow
Distiller
Posts: 1920
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2022 2:06 pm
Location: Wuhan China (Novel Coronavirus Laboratory)

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Salt Must Flow »

Rumhead wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 12:30 am I am going to buy slaked lime for pH adjustment. These bakers yeast sugar washes had a pH drop down to about 3,2 so i adjusted them up to 4,2-4,5 with sodium bicarbonate.
You really shouldn't be using baking soda/sodium bicarbonate in a fermentation. Use Citric Acid for ph down and Calcium Hydroxide/pickling lime/slake lime for ph up. Ideally, you want to adjust your wash's ph using Citric Acid to pH of 5.2 - 5.6 then suspend a hefty amount of crushed oyster shell in a mesh bag to buffer the wash. Oyster shell will maintain the wash's ph at approx 4 until it is done fermenting.

You should be using a ULWD (ultra low watt density) rippled, foldback heating element like this one for instance.
User avatar
Demy
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3084
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:45 pm

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Demy »

My English is bad, but from what I understand I doubt that the problems are the shells ... I think it is the heating element that has a defect, in fact by changing it you solved the problem ... to be sure (experimentally) You could re-introde the shells but I don't think you will do it ... for the pH, as recommended by others to carry it in the range of around 5, the shells (or other material with the same function) will take care to keep things stable ... I recommend keeping the whole pieces but not reducing to dust. As a anecdote, I can say that I had some washing of sugar that towards the end of the fermentation has lowered the pH blocked the yeast in the last phases of fermentation, raising the pH the yeast has started again.
User avatar
Ben
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1292
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:13 am
Location: Colorado

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Ben »

Salt Must Flow wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:32 am

You really shouldn't be using baking soda/sodium bicarbonate in a fermentation.
Why?
:)
NormandieStill
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1737
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:17 pm
Location: Northwest France

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by NormandieStill »

Ben wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:33 am
Salt Must Flow wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:32 am

You really shouldn't be using baking soda/sodium bicarbonate in a fermentation.
Why?
I think the issue is that yeast don't like too much sodium in their swimming pool. The exact value of too much? No idea, but given the quantities required to adjust the pH back up to Happy Yeast Zone (tm) there's a risk. They seem less bothered by calcium so calcium carbonate seems a better choice.
"I have a potstill that smears like a fresh plowed coon on the highway" - Jimbo

A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

It is the shells. It burnt out two of my elements so it IS them. But, I am going toå do try using them in a bag someday soon. I bought calcium hydroxide yesterday so no more sodium in my washes. I do not like to put unhealthy substances in ny work so it was just a quick way of raising the pH until i got pickling lime.


Sodium isnt any good for the yeast. Or for that matter many living things. Ever tried salt as a means of keeping your stonepaved walk on your yard weed free with salt?

Ill report back when i try to use them in a bag, will be a couple of weeks away.

Well yeah, when i build a new boiler ill go with elements that are meant to work in harder environments.. These are cheap 10$ for a water cooker and some work only.

Thanks for all advice
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by NZChris »

You've blown more elements this year than I've blown in thirty, and I use whole shells, (when and if I need to), to buffer my washes. I don't rack and/or clear my washes, there is never a build up on my elements and I never clean them, so I very much doubt that the problem is caused by shells.

Could it be that your elements underrated for what you are asking them to do?
User avatar
shadylane
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10363
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:54 pm
Location: Hiding In the Boiler room of the Insane asylum

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by shadylane »

Rumhead wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 3:21 am
I've got a problem. I have burnt two heating elements in a row now. They get conductive thru a layer that builds up on the heating element, and thus the circuit breaker switches the circuit off....

....The build up on the heating element easily falls off and look and feels very much alike oyster grit, but more tender and easily broken up.....

....I am fortunate that i am using cheap watercooker heating elements so it is only ~10$ per lost element

Cheap elements don't last long.
They have a zinc alloy coating that the wash dissolves.
I'd recommend a heater made of stainless steel or Inconel.
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Maybe you can answer one question for me .......why is it that everyone else here who use shells to adjust PH doesn't blow elements one after the other like you do?
Id be looking at something else as being the problem.
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by NZChris »

If you install a second element, (as I did), you can cut the Watts to each element by half, extending their life expectancy exponentially.

Also, if you do blow one of them, you have a good chance of finishing the run with the remaining element and without the hassle of emptying the boiler.
User avatar
Ben
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1292
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:13 am
Location: Colorado

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Ben »

NormandieStill wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:29 pm
Ben wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:33 am
Salt Must Flow wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:32 am

You really shouldn't be using baking soda/sodium bicarbonate in a fermentation.
Why?
I think the issue is that yeast don't like too much sodium in their swimming pool. The exact value of too much? No idea, but given the quantities required to adjust the pH back up to Happy Yeast Zone (tm) there's a risk. They seem less bothered by calcium so calcium carbonate seems a better choice.
Yeast don't do well with sodium chloride (table salt), but you would have to have some source of chlorine (HCl for instance) for that to be created. yeasts can excrete phosphoric, lactic, and carbonic acid and these are what lower the pH during ferment. None of those combine with Bicarb to create sodium chloride.

Sodium bicarbonate is naturally occurring in a lot of water sources, historically speaking bicarbonate high water sources make excellent dark beers (for drinking or distilling) If it is a problem I would really like to know, and understand it. Sodium bicarb is a common tool in the water adjustment toolbox.
:)
GrumbleStill
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 169
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:11 am
Location: On the limit of an endless ocean.

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by GrumbleStill »

Hi Rumhead,

Firstly in response to your initial question, I think it should be pretty clear from all the responses that the answer is a simple No, people don’t have trouble with oyster grit and elements.

Build up of calcium deposits on a heating element in hard water (called scaling) is completely normal. By adding oyster grit to your ferment, all you have done is add calcium carbonate to your otherwise soft water to make it hard, and buffer the pH of the solution. So naturally you are going to get normal build up of calcium on your element. The only abnormal thing in the equation is that your boiler trips as a result.

Whilst you’ve provided a lot of info in the post, there’s some other key bits that might help a diagnosis.

I’m not sure about Scandinavia, but where I’m from the switchboard has two types of breaker. The first is a thermal overload that trips if you pull too much current for too long. The second is often called a safety switch, and it detects a leakage from the active phases to earth. Can you confirm which breaker it was?

If it was the safety switch that went, then your element’s integrity has been compromised. It’s highly unlikely that was caused by a bit of scale. On the other hand, you mentioned that the first time the problem occurred was when backset was left in the boiler for a few days. Backset can be pretty corrosive, so that could be the source of the problem there, except that it doesn’t explain the second element.

Another thing that you mentioned was that both of the cooked elements came up looking good after a citric acid bath. Have you tested them since? Did they work? If so, then their integrity wasn’t compromised and the problem is elsewhere.

If the breaker that went was the overload, then that can be more easily explained by scale, which can create an insulating layer on the element and cause it to overheat. To get a handle on that, we would need to know the rating of the element, and the rating of the breaker?

Hope that gives you a starting point.

In summary, whatever the root cause is, and the good people here have provided heaps of hints…it’s not Oyster Grit. It’s a case of an incompatibility between the technique and hardware you’re using.
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

Just to end an open thread, i never got the elements to work again evenif acid bath did them like new.

Ia have since gone over to using calcium hydroxide as pH adjuster, more work and hassle for shure. Not fool proof. Need to be monitored.

I dumped the grit right in the fermenter but has since brought fruit/veggie cooking net bags so when I'm free from hospital i am going to try again using the nets as a grit holder.

Will be soo much easier if that works, mash in and forget for a few days.

I think that is whats the problem, cheap element pounded by grit that softens and then overheat it or make it conducting. They break completely anyway.

So, this thread ended. Hopefully someone learn something from it.

Peace out from my hospital!

:)
kimbodious
Distiller
Posts: 1198
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:57 pm
Location: Far northern tropics of Australia.

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by kimbodious »

Sounds to me that cheap ass electric elements are your issue that and the chemistry experiments you are running. I’ve been using crushed shell grit for years and never had an issue with my heating elements.

Whoa so many additives! Making neutral right? Check out recipes like Googe’s Goo Kale Wash for wash that uses a small amount (80 grams) of kale as an organic source of nutrients for the yeast. For neutral the ingredients are 1/3rd cup bakers yeast, 1/4 cup crushed shell grit, 5 kilograms sugar and 80 grams of kale puréed in about 1.5 litres of water and no synthetic man-made chemicals!
--
50L Beer keg boiler, 2200W element
Modular 2" Pot Still
opinions are free and everybody has them, experience costs you time
User avatar
still_stirrin
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10337
Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:01 am
Location: where the buffalo roam, and the deer & antelope play

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by still_stirrin »

Rumhead wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 4:16 amWHAT HAPPENED:
… started heating it up. When the wash came up to about 50c temp the circuit breaker went off.
Happened again after i switched the breaker off.

… i could not see how build up on the outside of the heating element could make the wire inside the element conduct to the water, so my thought was that i had a water leak in to the heating element behind the seal. Tore it apart and found nothing, no leak.

… Changed the element to a new element and charged the boiler with the same wash. Same thing happened, build up on the element and the element is unusable even if the build up is peeled of carefully. Under the build up the metal looks fine, a bit burnt but the metal is not corroded or anything like that.

... Would really like to continue use it but with this issue it most probably isnt possible.
Measure the resistance of the element. Use a digital meter to get an accurate reading.
Next, measure if there is conduction between the element contacts and the jacket material (there should be no conduction or infinite resistance).
Use the DVM to measure the line voltage.
Calculate the conducting current: I = V/R. If it’s equal to, or greater than the breaker’s trip value, you’ve got a problem. And it is NOT the fault of chicken grit. A breaker is there to protect you and your household from a short circuit. You may have too high of wattage element (with too low of resistance drawing too much current) and that’s what’s causing the breaker to snap.

Double check everything.
ss
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
My stock pot gin still: stock pot potstill
My 5-grain Bourbon recipe: Special K
Rumhead
Novice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:24 am

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Rumhead »

I'm quite sure on how electricity works and although I'm no electrician i do fully understand how the heater works.

I am a very experienced mechanic for both cars and bikes so electricity is nothing magic for me. I come from a long line of bikers, my whole extended family actually. Likewise when it comes to t his hobby, third certain generations so 120+:years in the famiky but theres talk about that it might be double that.

So i am maybe not an experienced member but my heritage and dedication is hard beaten.

I am in this for life. This IS going to be my job somewhere along the way when I can start my own distillery.

The ellement was a ordinary water heater one at 1200w in 10A 240V breaker.

Still use exakt same but new and no problems for many runs.

THAT'S why i started the thread, only difference where the grit.. and twice did it happen..

So, i just wanted to know if anyone else has been having such problems..

Thats it :)

Best wishes RH
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by NZChris »

Rumhead wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 1:03 pmI think that is whats the problem, cheap element pounded by grit that softens and then overheat it or make it conducting. They break completely anyway.
Are you putting the grit in the boiler?

It sounds like you're the only one having the problem. Unless it was caused by doing something that you haven't thought was important enough to tell us, it might have just been bad luck with those elements.
User avatar
Stonecutter
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1911
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2021 2:40 pm
Location: Somewhere within the Milkyway

Re: Anybody ever got problems with the heating element when using oyster grit in the wash?

Post by Stonecutter »

Rumhead, I hope the hospital stay was short and beneficial.
As NZChris pointed out. The Perlite is definitely a suspect. Silicon Dioxide may very well have some benefit in wine or beer but it’s effect on a still was probably not researched or considered by the “AEB Group”.
It is supposedly inert but maybe The Perlite Institute can be reached.

If you happen to switch yeast nutrient and things change I’d definitely be interested.
Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
-Thomas Paine
Post Reply