Shocked by SS Conical!

[ClarnoBrewer]

I just received and assembled a 27g conical from MoreBeer. It's pretty awesome. Heated and cooled, all the bells and whistles. The body of the conical was already insulated and the heating and cooling stuff installed when it showed up.
I cleaned and tested it, no problems. Now it's full of 25g of beer, and I noticed that when the heating element is on, there's a small amount of current running through all the metal parts. It's not a lot, but enough to be mildly uncomfortable when handling it.

I removed the insulation and inspected all of the wiring I could see, and it all looks fine. It must be in the actual heating element, which is a thin, sticker-type film that wraps around the tapered part of the conical.

2 Questions: What can I possibly do to find and fix the short? Will being mildly electrified affect my beer in any way?

Thanks!

p.s. before you assume that I'm a rich bastard that should be able to hire technicians, the conical is used where I work. I don't actually own it, I just get to look after it from time to time.

 

[DarkPhyre]

the ground is not working.

 

[day_trippr]

the ground is not working.

Well, that much seems clear, but there really shouldn't be any potential on the body of the conical to begin with.

Something is quite wrong...

Cheers!

 

[GNBrews]

You should call MoreBeer and explain the situation. If you can feel it, the voltage is high enough to push a dangerous current through you.

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

Yeah, it's definitely not doing what it's supposed to. Well, it is, but it's also doing other things like shocking me. I'll give MoreBeer and see if they have any ideas. I just don't want to electrocute my yeast and ruin my beer! Oh, and I don't want to electrocute myself, either.

 

[phoenixs4r]

You just spent a lot of money on that thing, I'd make morebeer fix it.

 

[Hermit]

Get a meter and check to ground to see exactly how much potential there is.

 

[passedpawn]

Easy to tie a wire from exposed metal to the ground screw on any nearby outlet. This will fix the problem. Use round crimp-on terminals from home depot to make this easy.

 

[limulus]

For $2500, it should work without shocking you. How long have you had it and how was it paid for? If they don't play ball, the credit card company can help you.

 

[passedpawn]

BTW, there isn't a "short". This is a capacitive connection between some AC wiring and the tank. It happens. (we call it "leakage current" in the medical electronics biz).

Like I said before, it's not unusual or dangerous. Just connect the exposed metal to earth ground (the screw in the center of the outlet).

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

Thanks for all of the advice. I did call MoreBeer, and they've been really helpful in giving me some things to check. It's most likely one of the coils in the heating elements that's contacting the vessel. I need to pull the old one off and they'll send a new one out. However, I'm going to wait until this batch is done fermenting before I start yanking things apart. Until then, I may just ground the thing and deal with an extra wire. Thanks again!

 

[trigger]

BTW, there isn't a "short". This is a capacitive connection between some AC wiring and the tank. It happens. (we call it "leakage current" in the medical electronics biz).

Like I said before, it's not unusual or dangerous. Just connect the exposed metal to earth ground (the screw in the center of the outlet).

This is all true. I would bet that you have it sitting on a non-conductive surface of some sort. Either placing it on a concrete floor or as PP said tying it to ground will dissipate the charge. I've run into this sort of thing often enough in the lab. It's not fun to find, but easy to fix.

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

This is all true. I would bet that you have it sitting on a non-conductive surface of some sort. Either placing it on a concrete floor or as PP said tying it to ground will dissipate the charge. I've run into this sort of thing often enough in the lab. It's not fun to find, but easy to fix.

That's a really good point. Initially, I set it up and tested it, no problems. And it was sitting on concrete. Just before I filled it, I put wheels on it. That makes a lot of sense.

Thanks again guys. I'm an electrical idiot, so even the simple things throw me sometimes. Electrical idiot... that would be a good band name.

Also, I should reiterate that MoreBeer was very helpful when I called. It seems to be a great fermenter, and their service is very good.

 

[rmullins]

They are very nice conicals. I've got the 14.2G model in my garage. Its really nice being able to ferment at the exact temps I want without worrying about the fluctuating temps outside

 

[MaltnHops]

MoreBeer has excellent customer service and will make it right. Give them a call.

 

[day_trippr]

Beware of speculation posing as fact...

Cheers!

 

[passedpawn]

Beware of speculation posing as fact...

Cheers!

Great advice. Everything is speculation on an internet forum, so apply this advice liberally, especially to my posts!