4500W Heat stick burning wort

Anyone having trouble with heat stick burning wort? My 1st run at it (2 batches, 2 boils at same time ) resulted in one being burned. I replaced both elements and made a few other adjustments. Then today one of the two smelled like it was burning so I switched to gas. Any help?

Thanks.

Like caramelized or like an ash tray?

I haven't had a problem with either but just curious.

Which model element?

The element is a Camco 4500w, ultra low density from Home Depot. Burned flavor is like smoke, very bad, not caramel. Had to dump the IPA .

Just to be sure, it's this one:


and not this one:


Right? If true, I have no idea.

Are you talking about the boil kettle here, or something else? I will assume the BK.

Are you recirculating or stirring before you reach a vigorous boil? If not, and particulates settle on the element while it's firing at 100% to reach boil temp, that could be your problem.

Yes, I have the ULWD element, which I believe Camco calls "premium" and is rated at 50w/in^2. This is the boil kettle application, bringing 160 or so degree wort after sparging to boil.

I don't think this is a result of sediment settling on element before boil turbulence would prevent that - the burning smell started later in the boil.

I take it from the responses thus far that this is a fairly unique situation - I wonder why?

Thanks.

Did you have wheat or something "non-standard" in the recipe?

Nope - standard ingredients. I also vorloff or whatever it's called to keep sediment out of boil kettle. Pretty clean wort boiling. Note, only 1 of 2 batches burned each time. Maybe I should take a voltage reading to see if one might be getting more voltage.

What are you using as a controller? Give us a better idea of your overall brewing system, batch size, 240v or 120v, etc. Do you stir the kettle while heating to a boil?

I have a 240v feed to a receptacle, cord to a heat stick with the element at the end. Turn on the breaker with the stick in the wort and there you have it. Pre boil vol is 7-8 gallons for 6 gallon batch size. Boil kettle is an old sanke. The keg sits on the concrete floor and the boil is very vigorous, takes maybe 10 minutes to get there from sparge.

I do not stir when it is heating to boil, but I'd be shocked if this was the answer - is this SOP for electric breweries?

I have been thinking I'll just go to a 3,500w element, but I wonder if that would matter since it would be the same watt density.

Comments?

Another idea I have is to run a 5500w element and switch it to 120v once I get a boil going. I tried this with the 4500w element and couldn't get the boil back. Changing from 240 to 120 is reducing the wattage to 25%, so 1,125w did not do it with 7.5 gal wort and a bit of insulation around the keg. I wonder if 1,325 would have enough power? Any ideas?

Can you bend those elements without damaging them?

SOP for electric breweries is to have some type of controller (like a PID or PWM) to effectively throttle down the heat produced by the element to maintain a steady boil. I suspect your problem is that you are running 5500w at 100% throughout the boil, which is much more than needed to maintain the boil, and enough to scorch over the duration of the boil.

Some people have been able to size their elements "just right" without a controller (wilserbrewer comes to mind), but that is a tricky business.