Boil problems

[Zilla1]

Have Brewzilla 3.1.1 that is struggling to get to a full boil.
I do have to use a 25’ 14/3 ext cord but what worries most is lack of bubbles coming from 1/4 of the circular element when trying to boil 7 gal clear water.
Any suggestions, bad element, board, switch or is it the use of a cord.
Everything looks clean and new underneath and inside. Used a cord before, last two batches had to dump out though.

 

[fluketamer]

it wouldnt make sense to me that its the cord but i am not an electrician.

a few things .

1 what is the ambient temp
2 a hard full boil might not be necessary
3 wrap it up in neoprene or reflectex. - reflectex really helped my aio get to a boil and stay there.
4 as a last resort you can throw in a heat stick -

https://www.amazon.com/Immersion-In...715286504&s=kitchen-bath&sr=1-5&ts_id=3754791

but you will need to run it off a second line i think so you dont overload your outlet - again not an electrician

just my 2 cents

also why did you dump your last two batches ? i dont think a soft boil would result in dumpable beer.

 

[lumpher]

Have you tried multiple outlets? It's possible that 1 isn't pulling the full 110v. Another consideration is what Fluke mentioned: ambient temp. What is the outside temp? Is it windy where you brew? I know it sounds strange, but that can act as a cooling fan while you're trying to heat it up. You can also try wrapping it with Reflectix to see if that will help. 7 gallons is a lot to try to heat up with 110v (I know... my Mash and Boil is 110v and manages a slow rolling boil with 5.5 gallons without the Reflectix). And as Fluke mentioned, a slow rolling boil wouldn't ruin the beer. I've made many batches with nothing more than that; it just takes longer to heat up.

 

[fluketamer]

i get my vevor 110 to boiling in no time at all with the refelctex

that made the biggest difference for me

 

[whoaru99]

Use of the 25' 14ga cord in itself isn't inherently the problem. Way I read it, it's 2400W heating, at 240V, means about 10A. 10A through a 14ga cord 25ft should be just a bit over 1V drop.

 

[Zilla1]

it wouldnt make sense to me that its the cord but i am not an electrician.

a few things .

1 what is the ambient temp
2 a hard full boil might not be necessary
3 wrap it up in neoprene or reflectex. - reflectex really helped my aio get to a boil and stay there.
4 as a last resort you can throw in a heat stick -

https://www.amazon.com/Immersion-In...715286504&s=kitchen-bath&sr=1-5&ts_id=3754791

but you will need to run it off a second line i think so you dont overload your outlet - again not an electrician

just my 2 cents

also why did you dump your last two batches ? i dont think a soft boil would result in dumpable beer.

Trying a new boil now with just water.
Recalibrated the temp sensor and using short ext cord. Dumped cause couldn’t get to 212 and barely a simmer.

 

[Zilla1]

Trying a new boil now with just water.
Recalibrated the temp sensor and using short ext cord. Dumped cause couldn’t get to 212 and barely a simmer.

Plus I do have the neoprene jacket on.

 

[fluketamer]

Trying a new boil now with just water.
Recalibrated the temp sensor and using short ext cord. Dumped cause couldn’t get to 212 and barely a simmer.

i wouldnt have dumped it. i would have fermented it then made a decision. there is something called raw beer that isnt boiled. you prolly would have made beer and who knows it might have been good.

hop utilization is a different story.

 

[Whisky River]

I’m not sure what the element design is on the Brewzilla Gen 3 but on my old a Grainfather only about 3/4 of the element generates bubbles when boiling water. I think your problem is probably something else.

From a quick search, a 25ft 14 Ga 110v extension cord is only good for about 14-15 amps. My understanding is that these 110v systems are designed to be run on 20A GFCI circuits like you would find in a kitchen or outside outlet. I know for sure when you run one on a 15A circuit the performance is significantly diminished. Can you try plugging it directly in to a 20A GFCI circuit?

 

[whoaru99]

From a quick search, a 25ft 14 Ga 110v extension cord is only good for about 14-15 amps. My understanding is that these 110v systems are designed to be run on 20A GFCI circuits like you would find in a kitchen or outside outlet.

From what I see the 120V units are 1500W.

At 120V that's 12.5A.

12.5A through a 25ft, 14ga cord is only about 1.6V drop

Using an extension cord of the described length and gauge in this case isn't inherently the problem.

 

[whoaru99]

Trying a new boil now with just water.
Recalibrated the temp sensor and using short ext cord. Dumped cause couldn’t get to 212 and barely a simmer.

A 25ft, 14ga extension cord in itself isn't the problem in this use case. If a shorter cord makes a noticeable difference then the 25ft cord is defective and/or something else changed.

 

[doug293cz]

A 25 ft cord has a conductive path length of 50 ft (outgoing and return current), and a 14 AWG copper wire has a resistance of 2.6 ohms/1000 ft, thus your cord has a resistance of ~0.13 ohms. A 1600W @ 120V resistive heating element has a resistance of 120^2/1600 = 9.00 ohms, so the total resistance is ~9.13 ohms, and the current will be 120/9.13 = 13.14 amps. And the power will be 13.14^2 * 9 = 1555W, so the extension cord is costing you about 45W, or 2.8%, of your max rated heating capacity. So not a huge power hit.

Brew on

 

[lumpher]

Another question I thought of is what temp do you set on it to boil? I set mine to 218.

 

[bmwguy]

If the cord is warm it is too small.A number 12-3 would be better, a 10-3 would be best.

 

[whoaru99]

Aruguably an 8-3 or 6-3 or 2-3 et al would all be even "better" yet, albeit a big cost for negligible difference.

14ga as he has isn't the problem at his length and current.

 

[Bobby_M]

Another question I thought of is what temp do you set on it to boil? I set mine to 218.

Set it to the highest temp the controller allows. The temp probe is directly adjacent to the heating element so it's always going to be hotter there. You do not want the element power modulating before the whole column of wort is boiling. Boil intensity is meant to be PWM'd (time cycle pulses), not temp controlled.

 

[camonick]

Dumped cause couldn’t get to 212

Boiling temp is 212° only at sea level. It looks like you’re in Kansas. The elevation range of Kansas is 700-4000 feet depending on where you live in the state which is a boil temperature of 210-204° respectively.

Boiling Point of Water at Different Altitudes​

Altitude ft. (meters)	Boiling Point - Fahrenheit	Boiling Point - Celsius
0 ft. (0 m.)	212 ºF	100 ºC
500 ft. (152 m.)	211 ºF	99.5 ºC
1000 ft (305 m.)	210 ºF	99 ºC
1500 ft. (457 m.)	209 ºF	98.5 ºC
2000 ft. (610 m.)	208 ºF	98 ºC
2500 ft. (762 m.)	207 ºF	97.5 ºC
3000 ft (914 m.)	206 ºF	97 ºC
3500 ft. (1067 m.)	205.5 ºF	96 ºC
4000 ft. (1219 m.)	204 ºF	95.5 ºC
4500 ft. (1372 m.)	203.5 ºF	95 ºC
5000 ft. (1524 m.)	202 ºF	94.5 ºC
5500 ft. (1676 m.)	201.5 ºF	94 ºC
6000 ft. (1829 m.)	200.5 ºF	93.5 ºC
6500 ft. (1981 m.)	199.5 ºF	93 ºC
7000 ft. (2134 m.)	198.5 ºF	92.5 ºC
7500 ft. (2286 m.)	198 ºF	92 ºC
8000 ft. (2438 m.)	197 ºF	91.5 ºC
8500 ft. (2591 m.)	196 ºF	91 ºC
9000 ft. (2743 m.)	195 ºF	90.5 ºC
9500 ft. (2895 m.)	194 ºF	90 ºC
10000 ft. (3048 m.)	193 ºF	89.5 ºC