I fired my elements dry, now what?

[bemerritt]

Last night I was using my two 1500 watt elements to heat up some water for cleaning. I ended up draining the pot before turning them off.

Approx 3 mins later I smell something burning. I look in the pot and they are bright red. I immediately turn them off.

I hope they are fine, as soon as I get back home from vegas this weekend, I plan on putting some water in the pot and seeing If I can get teh water up to a boil. If I can, Ill toss in some oxi free to rid the elements of any scorching tasted and proceed as if nothing happened.

If they dont reach my usual boil, I guess I'm ordering two new ones.

They are of the ultra low density, so I have some hope in my mind. Any thoughts or suggestions to help me ease the pain of waiting to find out until sunday?

 

[LandoLincoln]

The fact that they were still operating when you turned them off is a hopeful sign.

 

[AnOldUR]

Ohm meter. If resistance is still in the right range you're probably alright.

ohms = (volts)^2 / watts

 

[LandoLincoln]

Ohm meter. If resistance is still in the right range you're probably alright.

ohms = (volts)^2 / watts

What "range" is that? I'm curious.

Let's say that they're 120v, 1500w elements. So that's 9.6 ohms, right? What would the acceptable range be?

 

[kal]

Correct. About 10 ohms is average.

I would second the opinion that if they were still working when you turned them off, they're likely fine.

A boil in oxiclean as you suggest is not a bad idea. Give them a good rinse after.

Kal

 

[bemerritt]

Yeah, they were definitely working when I shut them off. Is it possible to ruin them to where they are now only at 90% capacity? Or is it more of an all or nothing sort of deal?

 

[kal]

It's more of an all or nothing sort of deal. I think you'll be fine. It's one of the advantages of ULWD elements. While you can't run them for hours out of water, they won't pop right away when power is applied.

Kal

 

[stevehaun]

I have dry fired and ruined several ULWD elements. While they may be "resistant" to dry firing they will not tolerate it for very long. Good luck.