Heating Elements and Cleaning

[Brwd.By.Boucher]

Frustrated that after every brew I have to pull the heating elements and scrub black off of the elements. Once I hit the hot break I pull the power back a bit and just keep a decent boil....

What works best to just pull the elements out and soak them?


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[augiedoggy]

Frustrated that after every brew I have to pull the heating elements and scrub black off of the elements. Once I hit the hot break I pull the power back a bit and just keep a decent boil....

What works best to just pull the elements out and soak them?


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There should be NO black on the elements, if there is somethings wrong and your getting scorching. This is most commonly caused by the watt density being too high or there being protiens settled on the elements before turning them on.

Our elements get a very light tan film that wipes off after brewing. sometimes its a medium brown but nother even close to black. CIP usually removes most or all of it with minimal wiping, sometimes I rotate the elements half way through CIP and dont even need to remove and clean manually.

Which elements are you using? are they ripple style or the 21" long straight ones?

[Wattco]

Watt density might be high but you might also want to look into passivating the elements as well. Water might also have too many minerals in it which happens depending on the quality of your water in your area...Filtering it might help. This is a good article that might give insight: https://www.wattco.com/2018/08/elect...rewery-winery/

[WaterEng]

While low watt density can decrease the prevalence of organic buildup on elements, there is no substitute for removal of all the organic buildup. Eventually, the buildup will insulate the element from the wort and there will be burning of those organics. I've witnessed cases where all the brewery's beers come out 'smoked'.

In my experience, a fresh organic buildup can be easily wiped from element surfaces immediately after the kettle is emptied after the boil. If the CIP isn't getting it off, you have little choice.