Setback Stories

[ZmannR2]

When I entered the electrical world of brewing, I knew one day I'd experience some technical issues that would bite me in the a$$.......

Well, after I have now had 2 straight brewing weekends cancelled due to electrical issues I figure we could share our setback stories. I'm sure some of you have stories of malfunctions DURING the brew day.....luckily mine was found before I even started.

My issue was my EZBoil PID not communicating with the temp probe. What was frustrating to the max was that I had sold a guitar to buy a CF-10 Spike conical and tons of accessories and I was super excited to finally try this thing out.

So I luckily had another probe and even another RTD cable in my supplies drawer. Replacing both did NOTHING. Ugh, brew day cancelled. So eliminating those two items I went ahead and bought a new EZBoil PID.....comes in 4 days later and STILL NOTHING!! The infamous "orAL 932" error was still flashing. That weekend's brew day is now also cancelled! So I get real frustrated and bust out my Fluke meter and start checking continuity on the cable.....and wouldn't you know, both my original and replacement cables were bad. What are the odds??

My new cable came in yesterday and all is FINALLY well......ready to brew!! Only problem is.......I'm outta town this weekend

Anyone got anything to share?

 

[mongoose33]

Every time I make a mistake I get smarter. I figure by now, I'm a genius.

Among the missteps as I've converted to electric brewing over the last 12 months:

1. The thrust washer, which is sacrificial, on my Blichmann riptide finally was sacrificed. That stopped the pump from working which, given that it was right after adding hops at FO, meant the alpha acids were converting to bitterness for 20 minutes until I figured it out. Just kegged that beer last night, it's not bad. But still....

2. Like the genius I am, when I started doing the RIMS system I wanted to monitor wort temp using the temp probe on the RIMS control panel. So I have the power cord to the RIMS tube connected while I also have the temp probe in its thermowell. I turn on the RIMS panel so I can monitor temp.....not realizing I don't have the pump going. That RIMS element can really raise the temp of wort FAST and A LOT in a small enclosed space like a RIMS tube.... Now, I don't connect the power to the RIMS tube until I'm ready to have it start heating....

[I really like the RIMS setup, there's just that slight learning curve there....]

3. Related to your issue above, I'm getting the dreaded no signal error on my EZBoil. I'm almost panicking until...guess what? It doesn't read effectively unless you actually connect it to the probe in the boil kettle....

[And btw, good on you for figuring out you had two bad cables. That's a good catch.]

4. It only took one time for me to figure out that heating at 100 percent isn't the best approach once the boiling point has been reached.....unless one likes cleaning boilover from the outside of the bk.....


That all sounds worse than it is. I've found that the trick (in my case at least) is to develop habits about when and how I do certain things. The RIMS tube power cord simply isn't connected until I have positive flow through the tube and all bubbles are out of it. Not hard, just something that is now habit, and that makes it much easier.

I love electric brewing for a variety of reasons--I can use the steamcatcher so brewing in the winter is easy, I can control the boil with great precision, I can set the kettle to heating while I go do other things, my control of mash temps is terrific....wouldn't go back. But there is a learning curve, at least, there was for me. And it's still ongoing, I'm sure.

 

[ZmannR2]

For sure electric is the only way to go IMO, that dang washer in the riptide, you're talking about the tiny stainless one on the shaft right?? I have no idea how I haven't lost mine yet. They should just come shipped with at least 5 of em they're so small!

That reminds me, the plastic part the TC clamp wraps around is breaking on mine, really wish they made a stainless head for these things.

 

[itsnotrequired]

45 brews in and knock on wood, no major issues yet. worst issue was i was doing a hop stand and maintaining the bk around 180 degree for about a half hour. started chilling and forgot to turn off the heating element, found out when the smell of burning hit my nostrils. was a pain to clean the element but 15 or so brews later and it seems to be working fine.

 

[Beholder]

I’ve had very few issues as well. My only one is similar to mongoose33 in that I have, on occasion, killed the pumps while forgetting to kill the heating element (k-rims), usually while letting the grist settle after dough-in.

Ten minutes of temperature rise gets it pretty toasty and classically I catch it when I hear the start of boiling on the heating element around 180 F... Then vigorous stirring to cool the water before starting the recirculation to maintain mash temp, though typically I have 20-30 min before the mash tun cools enough to warrant starting it.

 

[FatDragon]

Not an actual electric brewer (yet), but I've learned (and forgotten) multiple times that a 3500 watt plug-in heat stick on the same circuit as the living room air conditioner equals a flipped breaker, though it's a mystery to me why the kitchen outlets are on the same circuit as the living room air-con in the first place...

 

[doug293cz]

...

2. Like the genius I am, when I started doing the RIMS system I wanted to monitor wort temp using the temp probe on the RIMS control panel. So I have the power cord to the RIMS tube connected while I also have the temp probe in its thermowell. I turn on the RIMS panel so I can monitor temp.....not realizing I don't have the pump going. That RIMS element can really raise the temp of wort FAST and A LOT in a small enclosed space like a RIMS tube.... Now, I don't connect the power to the RIMS tube until I'm ready to have it start heating....

I’ve had very few issues as well. My only one is similar to mongoose33 in that I have, on occasion, killed the pumps while forgetting to kill the heating element (k-rims), usually while letting the grist settle after dough-in.

Ten minutes of temperature rise gets it pretty toasty and classically I catch it when I hear the start of boiling on the heating element around 180 F... Then vigorous stirring to cool the water before starting the recirculation to maintain mash temp, though typically I have 20-30 min before the mash tun cools enough to warrant starting it.

It's pretty simple to put the pump switch in series with the element enable switch, so that the element cannot be turned on unless the pump is turned on. Of course you cold forget to plug in the pump, so that interlock would not be sufficient. To really be foolproof you could wire a flow switch between the PID/EZBoil and the SSR.

Brew on

 

[mongoose33]

It's pretty simple to put the pump switch in series with the element enable switch, so that the element cannot be turned on unless the pump is turned on. Of course you cold forget to plug in the pump, so that interlock would not be sufficient. To really be foolproof you could wire a flow switch between the PID/EZBoil and the SSR.

Brew on

Not sure how easy or hard it would be to do that. I'm using this control panel from BrewHardware:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tempcontrol_ipb16.htm

 

[Beholder]

It's pretty simple to put the pump switch in series with the element enable switch, so that the element cannot be turned on unless the pump is turned on. Of course you cold forget to plug in the pump, so that interlock would not be sufficient. To really be foolproof you could wire a flow switch between the PID/EZBoil and the SSR.

Brew on

For the k-rims, the coil is also used for boiling, so I haven’t figured a good foolproof system. I suppose an alarm based on EZBoil mode and pump toggle could do it. But like M33, I just adjust process steps to avoid it and KISS.

 

[doug293cz]

Not sure how easy or hard it would be to do that. I'm using this control panel from BrewHardware:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tempcontrol_ipb16.htm

Not sure what the internals of the InkBird look like, so I'm also not sure how easy it would be to modify it.

Since I design circuits for control panels, I tend to think in terms of DIY panels. My advice might not be helpful to those with turn-key controllers.

Brew on

 

[doug293cz]

For the k-rims, the coil is also used for boiling, so I haven’t figured a good foolproof system. I suppose an alarm based on EZBoil mode and pump toggle could do it. But like M33, I just adjust process steps to avoid it and KISS.

A bit of a brain fart on my part, not thinking about the dual use of the element in a K-RIMS. For a K_RIMS, the appropriate interlock would be a float switch in the BK between the PID/EZBoil and the SSR. The potential issue with this solution is interference with a bag/basket if doing BIAB.

Brew on

 

[passedpawn]

I've got stories galore, not going to list them here, only to say if I was pro I'd be broke. Thank goodness it's a hobby and my failures only feed the grass behind my house.

 

[BBBF]

I have back up procedures planned and try to keep spare parts for cheap components that might fail (Note to self - Need a new spare SSR).

My panel has two 120v lines running through it. The PID controllers, pumps and BK element #1 are on one line. The 2nd line can be switched to the RIMS element or BK element #2. Once I unplugged the power to the RIMS side for the shop vac and forgot to plug it back in.

On my next brewday, I turned the panel on, heated the strike water in my kettle, pumped it into the MLT, set the RIMS temp, turned on the pump and element and left the room. The mash temp dropped like a rock and went unnoticed for an hour..