FireKitty wrote:Hi folks, I finally got my 2400w weldless element from Mac's store wired up, and had a few questions due to what the sparky said when he gave me the goodies...
He reckons that this particular element 'will keep on getting hotter and hotter without a thermostat shutoff' - is this true? I assumed that the wattage would limit the temperature somewhat and stop the piece from self-destructing...
Any input or advice here? Could have posted in the newbies corner, but seemed more appropriate here in ElecHardware.
FireKitty
Some clarification from your sparky is needed.
The element in water will heat up. As it heats the resistence increases. My 2400w elements run at 2230w and 2250w once hot. Which is ok and will vary depending on exact input voltage, it does vary in Australia. The elements have a given physical size, the size against the wattage is our heat density. The heat density of an element determines what it can heat successfully. These are ok for wort.
What I think your electrician is leading to is they do not have boil dry protection to prevent them overheating. In the case of either the elements being run out of water/wort, or shit being burnt onto the elements preventing heat transfer into the water/wort then the element will overheat potentially then becoming dangerous.