2000w not enough for 4G, other ideas?

[alphaomega]

I think fixing the original post power issues would be a better than telling him to put a lid on the boil. Lacking the BTUs to boil sufficiently is a real problem and putting the band aid fix of putting a lid on the kettle is not the answer.

Well it's ok, then we just disagree
If you have an insufficient boil, putting the lid on (partly, or fully) is an easy and IMHO good fix. And will cost nothing to try. A covered, but good boil is certainly better than an uncovered near-boil.

You know, if you scrape your knee, a band aid fix IS the proper fix. Knee surgery is just not called for. A simple fix can in fact be preferrable to a complex one.

I don't think you're wrong in listening to advice from accomplished brewers, that is a good idea most of the time. Everything isn't black or white though, some things are down to preference, some things are just down to guesstimations that has become accepted as 'best practice' (possibly without solid grounds).
So, do listen, but be don't just accept everything said as absolute truth. It might be best practice now, but progress is made by challenging old dogma.

 

[LarMoeCur]

Nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree. There are 100 different ways to skin a cat!

 

[processhead]

So did the OP ever measure the actual resistance of his heating element? Or the actual voltage being supplied to the terminals of the element?
As was mentioned, I think this needs to be confirmed to address his weak boil issue.

 

[BrunDog]

So did the OP ever measure the actual resistance of his heating element? Or the actual voltage being supplied to the terminals of the element?
As was mentioned, I think this needs to be confirmed to address his weak boil issue.

Agree again with this. Measure the voltage here and at the source to look for a large discrepancy. Power doesn't magically disappear.. if it is being generated (heat), it's got only one place to go.

 

[ba-brewer]

For boiling, I am running in manual mode on PID (Auberins) at 100%.
.

Which PID are you using? I have an EZboil and there is an option setting which backs the power down as the temp approaches boiling to help prevent boil overs. Not sure if this option is also done on other PIDs, but check the manual.

 

[augiedoggy]

Which PID are you using? I have an EZboil and there is an option setting which backs the power down as the temp approaches boiling to help prevent boil overs. Not sure if this option is also done on other PIDs, but check the manual.

Very true I was surprised when mine did it the first time since I thought something was wrong.

 

[ZmannR2]

Which PID are you using? I have an EZboil and there is an option setting which backs the power down as the temp approaches boiling to help prevent boil overs. Not sure if this option is also done on other PIDs, but check the manual.

What is that power setting???? Because I have a 5kW boilcoil that won't boil even 6 gals! It seems like the second it hits 209 it backs off!

 

[ZmannR2]

Found it!!!!!! I bet this is the OP's problem too!

 

[augiedoggy]

To be fair guys if your switching to manual pwm mode for the boil (which you really should be for an even consistent controlled boil and consistent boil off rates) you shouldnt see this problem.

 

[augiedoggy]

What is that power setting???? Because I have a 5kW boilcoil that won't boil even 6 gals! It seems like the second it hits 209 it backs off!

its programed that way to prevent a boil over because thats when your supposed to switch to manual power and go to something like 75%...

 

[ZmannR2]

Ok well I disabled it for now until I can find the exact temperature at which a good steady boil is achieved. I hope the OP reads this solution as I'm pretty sure this is his problem!

Thanks so much ba-brewer!!

 

[bignick270]

So my Auber PID is SYL-2352, not an EZ-Boil.

I do change it to manual mode for the boil, i will double check to make sure I have it manually changed to 100% ( could be something I overlooked).

After looking at the manual for the SYL-2352 and thinking about it, when I change to manual mode for boil, I do not think I ever pressed the "Set" button to change display mode to percentage. I think I just bumped the temp up and change to manual mode by pressing the A/M and verify by the A/M led and my current probe showing 16 A. Would that automatically set to 100% pwm?

 

[ba-brewer]

@ZmannR2 Glad to see you found the option and found some use of my comment.

I don't recall my issue, but I disable the feature. Reading the description of the feature it is unclear how it is intended to work, but it seems like it would be more useful if Bout controlled the output power once the Bast temp was reached.

 

[ba-brewer]

So my Auber PID is SYL-2352, not an EZ-Boil.

I do change it to manual mode for the boil, i will double check to make sure I have it manually changed to 100% ( could be something I overlooked).

After looking at the manual for the SYL-2352 and thinking about it, when I change to manual mode for boil, I do not think I ever pressed the "Set" button to change display mode to percentage. I think I just bumped the temp up and change to manual mode by pressing the A/M and verify by the A/M led and my current probe showing 16 A. Would that automatically set to 100% pwm?

I have not used that PIDs so cant really say how it works, but according to the manual section 5.4.3 the power setting when going into manual mode is what ever percentage it was in PID mode just before switching.

 

[ZmannR2]

Welp. I thought the BAST function was holding me back and now I'm still topping out at 209 degrees. And I have a 240V 5000W boilcoil and filling it only with 5 gals of water. It should be destroying that water. Anyone have any other ideas???

It gets to 209 very fast and suddenly stalls

 

[ZmannR2]

I'm thinking that regular water doesn't really boil that vigorously. When you boil the wort it'll be much more vigorous

 

[ba-brewer]

I'm thinking that regular water doesn't really boil that vigorously. When you boil the wort it'll be much more vigorous

You said you are using a boilcoil, if that is the blickman boilcoil those seem to have a pretty low power density so maybe with the power being distributed over a larger area it looks less vigorous.

The initial part of the boil wort does seems to behave different than water but once the break drops I think they look about the same in my kettle.

I have two short 1500W(70WPI) elements and the surface directly over the elements shows the most activity while boiling.

 

[ZmannR2]

Yes it's a BoilCoil 20. We'll damn that's just weird. But ok I guess that's how they're designed.

 

[ZmannR2]

I'm pretty pissed about this boilcoil. I went all out n bought a 5000W element that can hardly make a rolling boil

 

[Btaz]

I'm pretty pissed about this boilcoil. I went all out n bought a 5000W element that can hardly make a rolling boil

Can you bypass the PID and connect the element directly to the outlet (with GFCI). also try emailing the company for suggestions.

 

[TexasWine]

It gets to 209 very fast and suddenly stalls

I'm pretty pissed about this boilcoil. I went all out n bought a 5000W element that can hardly make a rolling boil

I'm about 99.9% sure the your frustration is misplaced. This is based entirely on the fact that it gets to 209F quickly.

With 5k watts across the line, you should see a rolling boil, even with water and even with the low wattage density of a Boilcoil. And even with 1250 watts (1/4 of 5k) you should see a nice simmer.

Perhaps you should start a new thread to garner some more troubleshooting feedback. You're buried in someone else's thread right now.

In the meantime, going to ask a couple of questions, not to insult, but just to make sure all the boxes are checked.
-Are you in boil mode?
-Did you set bast to 0?

 

[augiedoggy]

I'm pretty pissed about this boilcoil. I went all out n bought a 5000W element that can hardly make a rolling boil

Now im confused? are you sure you have 240v going to the element? if your using a 5000w (240v) As mentioned if your wiring is wrong and your getting 120v your getting 1250w max which is not really enough for a good boil on 6 gallons.

5000w is plenty for up to 20 gallons of liquid to make a good boil.

Like Texas wine mentioned please post some details like if your in "boil" mode with the manual pwm dial set at 100 or at least above 70%

This is one of those situations where having an amp meter which everyone seems to think is useless, really comes in handy because it tells you exactly how much power your element is drawing.

 

[bignick270]

I did some testing tonight. The element is 7 ohms and during load there is 116v at the element. I did a short boil and made sure manual mode was set to 100%.

I just got to settle that the boil is not super vigourous (i did start brewing on propane).

 

[ZmannR2]

Ya that makes about 1889 watts. Honestly man there's some
Good stuff out there about not really needing a vigorous boil. Such as this:

http://brulosophy.com/2017/05/29/boil-vigor-weak-vs-strong-exbeeriment-results/

 

[bignick270]

I just ran another batch on Sunday and noticed I hit a plateau around 203 but if I cover the pot half way with the lid I can get up to 207 with a decent rolling boil. At this point I can remove the lid and the temperature will remain around 206 to 207 for the duration of the boil.

 

[ZmannR2]

I set my ezboil to beep at 210 at which I’ll remove the lid and it will pretty much be coming to a boil soon after that.