Cords melting from boil kettle element

[Brewmegoodbeer]

Hello,

I have now had the female plug of 2 different 240v cords melt, noticing after finishing up the boil in my bk. When looking at the male plug of the 5500 watt 240v element, one of the prongs has rust on it (sign of corrosion). Could slight corrosion on the male portion of the heating element alter the connection and cause cords to melt? I was going to clean the rust and other corrosion material off with some barkeepers friend (hopefully this clears it off). Is it normal practice to use dielectric grease on the heating element connections to help prevent this? I have attached pictures below. Thanks.

 

[doug293cz]

Corrosion on contacts will increase the contact resistance which will cause heating of the connection area. All of your contacts show evidence of corrosion. Interestingly, the worst looking contact is the ground contact, which has zero current flow in normal operation, so a bad ground contact cannot cause heating. A bad ground contact can create a safety hazard however.

You might want to try putting a narrow "O" ring between the receptacle on the cord and the plug on the element to seal the gap against moisture intrusion.

Brew on

 

[burntchef]

Why use plug when you could hard wire? A fused disconnect switch may be the answer.
Eric

 

[doug293cz]

Why use plug when you could hard wire? A fused disconnect switch may be the answer.
Eric

Having a way to disconnect the cord from the kettle is a major convenience when it comes to cleaning or storing the kettle. Hard wiring at the control enclosure end saves some hardware (aka money), and doesn't have the same inconvenience factor as hard wiring at the kettle.

Also, with a 5500W element, you need to have a way to turn the power down when boiling, so you need more than just an on-off switch.

Brew on

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

I filed off the crud and rust on the prongs of the element with a metal file and then hit it with some barkeepers friend. Hoping this will do the trick. Ill have to inspect my element prongs before each brew day.

 

[doug293cz]

I filed off the crud and rust on the prongs of the element with a metal file and then hit it with some barkeepers friend. Hoping this will do the trick. Ill have to inspect my element prongs before each brew day.

I would have recommended steel wool or a wire brush. Less likely to remove good metal under the corrosion.

Brew on

 

[BrunDog]

Having a way to disconnect the cord from the kettle is a major convenience when it comes to cleaning or storing the kettle. Hard wiring at the control enclosure end saves some hardware (aka money), and doesn't have the same inconvenience factor as hard wiring at the kettle.

Also, with a 5500W element, you need to have a way to turn the power down when boiling, so you need more than just an on-off switch.

Brew on

Each disconnect does create a resistance and failure point... this is why the HB community needs to adopt bottom drains and CIP. Moving kettles makes little sense IMO when you can let the cleaning happen for you by the equipment. And when a kettle is fixed in place, hardwiring is indeed a better solution. I know you know this... just saying!