element only boiling on one side?

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ekjohns

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I made a stove assisted eKettle with a 120V HWD element. It does a great job getting a rolling boil but the boil is only on one side of the pot. This is due to its small size. Is this fine? The side that is opposite the element only gets to ~200F but I am boiling off 1 gallon/hr.
 
Ive test my thermometer and its accurate. It seems like the liquid boils then rises to the surface then gets pushed over as more boiling water is pushed up. As it gets pushed over from the main heat source it cools until it cycles back to the element.
 
Ive test my thermometer and its accurate. It seems like the liquid boils then rises to the surface then gets pushed over as more boiling water is pushed up. As it gets pushed over from the main heat source it cools until it cycles back to the element.
That's exactly what's happening. Vessels will have a flow caused by the rising/falling of heating/cooling liquids. Hot and cool spots are typical, unless you re-circulate.
 
Some designs of commercial brewing kettles actually only heat in a localized spot to promote more mixing of the wort.
 
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