That's exactly the same problem I had with my Brewtus I. About 6 mos after I got it the off on switch came apart in my hands. I replaced it and it blew again about 6 mos later. When I opened the machine I found the H connector and associated wires fried. The short was frying my power switch. I rewired the H connector. Another year passes and I started to have problems again. It turned out the thermocouple wire insulation was also fried . It was probably from the heat of the original short. The thermocouple is the long black wire going from the controller to the boiler. You might want to run your hand along it to feel for any burnt spots. It might save you problems down the line.
On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 4:23 AM, Richard W <[email protected]> wrote: > > Ben, > You are probably more correct than I am on this issue. > But, the wires inside the Brewtus II have burned out twice now. The > last time was an explosive burn out that destroyed the h-connector. > It takes about an hour to repair, once you know what is wrong and I > don't want to have to do this again. > > I had the Instamatic TN311 for about 1.5 years before the problem > happened the first time. Two months later it happened again. > > I live in a large (250 apartments) coop building in Manhattan with > many elevators. The electric wiring was last updated in the 1960s. > Maybe there is a surge happening in the building when elevator motors > start up. > Maybe that h-connector (see picture above) is just prone to failure. > WLL tech support originally told me to remove it and connect the wires > directly. > > In any case, I am adding a surge protector and a different heavy > timer. I also removed the h-cnnector. > Maybe the problem will never happen again. Maybe the changes I made > will make a difference. Maybe the switch on the Brewtus is better > designed than the switch in the Intermatic timer. Maybe the building > was hit by lightening. > > In any case, I hope I never see the problem again. > > By the way, take a look at the reviews for the TN311 at amazon.com. > Several people report that it fails and heats up a lot, but others > report that it lasts forever. Maybe there is a sample to sample > quality control problem with it. > > On Jun 5, 11:14 pm, Ben McCafferty <[email protected]> wrote: > > Richard, > > I have used the same Intermatic TN311 (heavy duty, 15A, 1750 W) for over > two > > years continuously. > > > > Even if a spark was the same as a surge (which it's not--a surge is a > sudden > > rise in voltage, a spark is electricity jumping from one contact to the > > other when they get close enough--if memory serves, it takes 20,000 volts > to > > jump 1 cm or something like that), turning the machine on and off > manually > > generates a spark also, by your theory, and so should fail also. Again, > two > > mechanical switches. If anything, the timer takes the wear of sparking > away > > from the red switch, making the red switch essentially wires/conductors > > instead of a switch. > > > > bmc > > "Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel....." > > > > > > > > > From: Richard W <[email protected]> > > > Reply-To: <[email protected]> > > > Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 15:46:14 -0700 (PDT) > > > To: Brewtus <[email protected]> > > > Subject: Re: Brewtus II. No Power light. Sunday morning emergency > > > > > mariowar, > > > I suspect that 1st-line is right. > > > > > Most, but not all, mechanical switches produce a spark when the switch > > > is closed. Spark = voltage surge. > > > You can often see this by looking at a wall switch in a dark room as > > > you flip the switch. This is also why light bulbs burn out just as > > > they are switched on. > > > > > This is the timer I use: > > >http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN311C-Heavy-Duty-Grounded-Timer/dp/.<http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN311C-Heavy-Duty-Grounded-Timer/dp/> > .. > > > O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1244240412&sr=8-1 > > > > > I actually replaced this with a newer one recently because the > > > previous one failed. > > > First burn out of the Brewtus II was with the older timer. Second was > > > about a month after I got the new one. > > > > > I am going to get a surge protector as a precaution. > > > Maybe this one from Belkin would be the simplest and least expensive. > > > Maybe the one you linked to. > > >http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-SurgeCube-Surge-Protector-1-Outlet/dp/B0. > .. > > > ref=rsl_mainw_dpl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER > > > > > For those who responded that they never have had problems with > > > appliance timers, which brand & model have you used. > > > Not all switches are equal in quality when it come to sparks. Maybe > > > some timers are better than the one I have. > > > > > On Jun 5, 4:43 pm, mariowar <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> "Timers are just a switch and as such, can't actually produce a > > >> surge, > > >> Not any more than just flipping the switch on and off or plugging and > > >> un-plugging the machine." > > > > >> Ira, when I read it I found it weird as well, however, they service > > >> machines and they should know what they are talking about. > > > > >> http://www.1st-line.com/cofffact/power_protection.htm > > > > >> b) if you have a timer on the outlet, you should plug in the timer > > >> first, then the surge supresor, and then the espresso machine. We have > > >> found in several instances that timers can cause a surge."- Hide > quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. 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