nebben
Well-Known Member
I went home sick yesterday, and decided after a few hours that brewing might make me feel better.
I had done a first run test of the HLT the night before, and got 9 gallons up to 175F. I left the unit as-is overnight, and turned it back on yesterday afternoon to warm it back up for mashing. It had been on 2-3 hours first, then maybe an hour and a half yesterday during the brew session. After I pulled the lid off to inspect the guts of the HLT, I saw the new look of the stirrer and heatstick.
My best guess is that there was some sort of chemical reaction that occurred when the element was on. My turkey fryer, which is also aluminum, has none of this discoloration. The water used was just from the tap.
The grounding wire is permanently fastened to the nut that holds the element in place. Before use, I verified that the entire metallic pipe of the heatstick was all grounded. Now, I see what looks like light colored corrosion on the two sealing nuts on the heatstick.
The aluminum stirring paddle is connected to the 12v windshield wiper motor via power+ground, and the computer power supply that is connected to it is also grounded.
Are there any changes I should make to this setup as to avoid unhealthy results in my resulting brew, or is this just cosmetic?
Before:
After:
I had done a first run test of the HLT the night before, and got 9 gallons up to 175F. I left the unit as-is overnight, and turned it back on yesterday afternoon to warm it back up for mashing. It had been on 2-3 hours first, then maybe an hour and a half yesterday during the brew session. After I pulled the lid off to inspect the guts of the HLT, I saw the new look of the stirrer and heatstick.
My best guess is that there was some sort of chemical reaction that occurred when the element was on. My turkey fryer, which is also aluminum, has none of this discoloration. The water used was just from the tap.
The grounding wire is permanently fastened to the nut that holds the element in place. Before use, I verified that the entire metallic pipe of the heatstick was all grounded. Now, I see what looks like light colored corrosion on the two sealing nuts on the heatstick.
The aluminum stirring paddle is connected to the 12v windshield wiper motor via power+ground, and the computer power supply that is connected to it is also grounded.
Are there any changes I should make to this setup as to avoid unhealthy results in my resulting brew, or is this just cosmetic?
Before:
After:
